Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn announced that the department has opened up a public survey for input on plans at Big Elk Creek State Park in Chester County. “We are eager to hear from the public about its needs and amenities desired at Big Elk Creek, as we develop plans for the park,” Dunn said. “We welcome feedback from locals who will be directly impacted by the park, as well as those who plan to visit the park as its operations expand.”

The 10-question survey can be accessed here or through Big Elk Creek State Park’s website. The survey will close Sunday, August 13. Feedback from the survey will be considered as a part of a master plan DCNR’s Bureau of State Parks is preparing to conserve and restore the land, while also providing recreation opportunities for all at Big Elk Creek State Park.

Trails are open to the public, but the park currently does not have infrastructure traditionally associated with state parks, such as restrooms and a park office. The park conserves 1,700 acres in southern Chester County, extending an important wildlife corridor and providing refuge for a wide array of rare and threatened species. The property contains 3.5 miles of Big Elk Creek, a tributary of the Elk River and the Chesapeake Bay, and more than 690 different plant species. The park also contains 2.1 miles of the Mason-Dixon line along the Pennsylvania/Maryland state border, Elk Township’s Spring Lawn Trail, and adjoins the 5,300-acre Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area in Maryland.

Big Elk Creek is one of three new parks DCNR announced in 2022, the others being Susquehanna Riverlands State Park and Vosburg Neck State Park. DCNR is planning a similar survey for Susquehanna Riverlands State Park to be announced at a later date. There is no plan for a public survey for Vosburg Neck State Park because of development restrictions and existing infrastructure for recreation.

 

Visit DCNR’s website for more information Big Elk Creek State Park, and check out DCNR’s Calendar of Events for events on public lands. This post adapted from a release by DCNR.