Worlds End State Park

Welcome to Pennsylvania's Worlds End State Park.

Park History: Worlds End State Park has a unique geological history dating back hundreds of millions of years. The landscape in and around Worlds End State Park was formed by natural forces such as the retreat of an ancient sea as well as continental collissions assocated with drift over a period of millions of years. The erosion of high mountains dumped a large amount of sands, clays, and gravels that eventually formed into the sandstone and shale found inside the park today.

In more recent history, like much of Pennsylvania, the lands in and around Worlds End State Park were once a major heart of the timber industry. The scars of over-logging took their toll in the form of floods and forest fires and in 1929 the State of Pennsylvania began purchasing the first tracts of land for conservation purposes. The Civilian Conservation Corps helped the State of Pennsylvania build many of World End State Park's facilities.

The origin of the name Worlds End dates back to an 1872 map that named this region Worlds End. One man with the forestry department W.S. Swingler wrote the following on the subject

“There was even a dispute as to the proper name of the area. Some people called it Worlds End, others Whirl’s Glen, and still others Whirls End. The first name arose from the topography of the place. Seven mountain ranges converge on the point and one does receive the sensation of being at the ultimate ends of the earth. The proponents of the second name base their claim upon the whirlpool in the Loyalsock Creek and the third name was probably a contraction of the other two. Since the whirlpool had largely disappeared, it was decided that the name Worlds End would be the most appropriate. Hence, the name Worlds End State Forest Park.”

In 1936 the name was changed to Whirls End and then back to Worlds End in 1943.

Wildlife: Animal fossils have been discovered in Worlds End State Park that existed before the dinosaurs. Some of the animals that live here today include bobcats, river otters, black bears, white-tailed deer, coyotes, and over 200 species of birds. Please treat their home with respect.

For the lover of the outdoors Worlds End State Park boasts over 20 miles of hiking trails, a river stocked with trout, and much more. R.E.M. comes here once a year to sing his song "It's The End of the world as we know it and I feel fine" (Actually that's a RecPlanet Joke). Come on out and have a blast!