Raccoon Creek State Park is one of my favorite state parks that I have visited so far. After an hour of driving we arrived, deciding to start with the Frankfort Mineral Springs. As my fiancé and I walked along the small trail I stopped multiple times to capture photographs of the creek that we were following, which led to the mineral springs waterfall. The cave-like structure was very interesting because the waterfall wasn’t big, but it was large enough to entertain some small children who were playing underneath it. The small bridge that let us cross over to the decomposing stairs was an remarkable scene as well. After carefully strolling up the steps, we got to see the spa house. I read the plaque, which stated, that the commonwealth of Pennsylvania restored the 19th century health spa. It upset me quite a bit when I saw all the graffiti on the outside and inside of the building. It’s very sad when people destroy historical landmarks. It was interesting though to see how small the spa foundation was, and the fact that it was half built into the hill.

After seeing the Frankfort Mineral Springs spa, we made our way back to our car and took another look at the map. Our next stop was Kings Creek Cemetery. At first we didn’t know where the road was taking us, but we soon found out that it was taking us back into the woods. When we got out it was very quiet and I noticed that there were two houses farther into the woods. I thought that was fascinating, living next to a cemetery, especially a historical one. Once we walked down a smaller trail we started to see the tombstones, most of them were either broken or not readable. Some we found were replaced with newer stones; I’m assuming some of the more prominent founders. A lot of the original ones were covered in moss and cracks, showing their age. After spending some time there we decided to visit another part of the park.

We walked down a long stone trail, seeing some horses as we passed by. That’s always a good thing on my part. As we made our long walk down this trail, we didn’t run into anyone else. It was just nature and us. We passed some small creeks and meadows. The biggest find on that trail was the Doak Family Farm. There was a cabin, an outhouse, a straw hut, and a couple of fields that scanned behind the building. There was no sign saying exactly what it was used for but my guess would be for tours or educational programs.

Next we decided to visit the wetlands. As we walked the wetlands trail, bugs started to bite us since the sun was going down. I wanted to try and get a nice sunset shot. As we walked along the swampy, muddy trail we got to see some geese and bullfrogs, which was pretty much it for wildlife. We found a nice area and set camp. We stood around, waiting, but as I saw the sun setting I realized it was not the ideal spot for a sunset photograph. So we packed up our things and headed out for one last trail. As we were leaving, we got to meet the cutest pitbull puppy. He was only four months old. He was such a cutie!

Our last stop was the lake where the swimming area was held. We walked along the stone sidewalk and watched as people played in the water and had their little picnics. It was a beautiful night because it wasn’t too hot or too cold out. A perfect day for a hike or a swim. As we made our way to the edge of the swimming area, we accompanied some fishermen and watched the sun disappear behind the mountain. It was the perfect spot for my sunset shot that I wanted. We watched as some fish jumped for the bugs and listened to the loud boasting bullfrog that was hiding in the grass.

After our long day we headed home. Even though we didn’t see any wildlife I was satisfied with the shots that I had gotten and enjoyed my time being out in nature. Please enjoy these photographs and my behind the scenes video of our adventure there!

Hope you enjoyed my behind the scenes of Raccoon Creek State Park! Make sure to check out the final images when you're done!

Final Images