French Creek State Park Snow Hiking: Hopewell Lake Loop

Snowy trails and a frozen lake created spectacular views of French Creek State Park. The Hopewell Lake Loop is a short, family friendly hike around Hopewell Lake in French Creek State Park. Come share my snowy hiking experience!

I grew up hiking in French Creek State Park, specifically, around Hopewell Lake. We went fishing here, we’d take canoes out on the lake, we’d hike with our dogs here, and there’s a playground I loved as a kid,.

I can remember going to the playground after half-day kindergarten. I would beg to go to this playground and to take the dogs for a walk around the lake. “Can we please go to Hopewell Lake today, mommy?” I would whine from the backseat of our old gray car.

Fast forward to age 24 when I moved back to Pennsylvania and I realized that Hopewell Lake was part of French Creek State Park and there was more than just this one trail. Cue the literal facepalm.

Even as I’ve expanded my horizons and explored more of French Creek State Park’s hiking trails, I continue to come back to the Hopewell Lake Loop on a clear day. Maybe it’s the childhood memories, but I absolutely love this loop. It’s easy and the lake makes it beautiful. But I’ll get to that!

The Lake is a beautiful place no matter the season. Fall has the colors, Spring has the rebirth, Winter has the snow and lack of people, and Summer brings out the crowds.

Hopewell Lake Overview

The loop around Hopewell Lake is about 2.5 miles long and is easy for kids out of a stroller. Dogs are also welcome as long as they are on a leash. Heads up, the trail is not stroller friendly.

This trail has about 100 feet of elevation gain and can be very muddy in spots. There are a few wooden bridges to help you cross the streams leading to the lake.

The one steep spot is located on the far side of the lake, next to the dam. You walk down a steep set of stairs next to the waterfall flowing from the lake and then back up another section of this hill to stay along the lake. Besides, this small section, the trail is mostly flat.

Signs and blazes on trees make this an easy trail to follow too! (The signs are new since I was a kid).

Let’s look at a few more details about the park and then I’ll take you on my most recent hiking experience!

French Creek State Park – Location

French Creek State Park is located in both Chester County, PA and Berks County, PA. Yes, you read that correctly, this park is in two counties as once.

This state park is located in eastern PA, about an hour and 15 mins north west of Philadelphia.

French Creek boast over 7000 acres, many hiking trails, 2 popular lakes, a campground, and many creeks/streams. While it doesn’t have the vistas that other state parks have, it still provides some great hiking, and in my case, a local adventure location.

Parking

French Creek State Park has many parking locations, paved and unpaved. Some might be better described as side-of-the-road-pull-offs, but either way, there is plenty of parking.

If you are planning to hike the Hopewell Lake Loop, you will want to park by the lake. The closest entrances to the lake are the West and the South Entrance.

If you enter through the West Entrance, you will find the parking lot via Park Road. If you use the South Entrance, you will enter via route 345 to South Entrance Road, and then Park Road.

Use the address 866 Park Rd, Elverson, PA 19520 to find this parking lot easily.

Camping

French Creek State Park’s campground can host many different camping situations. Campers and RVs, tents, and for our “glamping community” there are also Yurts and Cottages for rent.

There are sites with and without electric, there are bath houses for all and the campground is also dog friendly. You also have access to the plethora of trails that French Creek State Park offers.

While I have not personally camped here (it’s only 20 minutes away from where I live), the campground has good reviews! My brother has camped here a few times with friends and he has always talked positively about his experiences.

You can find the campground map here and you can book a site on this website. Tent sites start at $25 a night and go up from there depending on your needs.

Planning on going camping here or any other campground soon? Check out my Camping Checklist Freebie!

A Glimpse at the Trails

French Creek State Park offers over 35 miles of hiking trails. While I will mostly be focusing on the Hopewell Lake Loop in this post, here is a quick overview of all the trails. You can also find a Topo map of the trails here!

The Trails:

• Boone Trail – 6 miles (Blue Blazes)
• Buzzard Trail – 3 miles (Yellow with Red Stripe Blazes)
• Hopewell Lake Loop – 2.5 miles (Brown Signs)
• Horse-Shoe Trail – 130 miles, 8 miles in Park (Yellow Blazes)
• Kalmia Trail – 1 mile (Purple Blazes)
• Lenape Trail – 5.5 miles (Green Blazes)
• Mill Creek Trail – 6 miles (White with Red Stripe Blazes)
• Raccoon Trail – 1.7 miles (Red Blazes)
• Six Penny Trail – 3 miles (Orange Blazes)
• Turtle Trail – 3.6 miles (White Blazes)

These are all classified as Moderate for hiking, so nothing is too difficult. These trails are multi-use so watch out for bikers, runners and even horses if you are on the Horse-Shoe Trail.

New to hiking and want to hike these trails? Not sure what all to pack in a backpack for a day hike? Check out my Backpack Essentials Checklist Freebie!

Side Note: The Horse-shoe Trail is over 130 miles and runs from Valley Forge to above Harrisburg, PA. There are 8 miles in French Creek, but hiking this trail in it’s entirety would be quite a feat!

What Else is There to Do?

Besides hiking and camping, there are lots of things to do in French Creek State Park.

Fishing is very popular, no matter the season! You can fish from a boat, or ice fish if the lake is frozen.

Kayaking, canoeing, and small motor boats are also popular to bring here. The lake is a great place to come for beginners, as it’s protected by trees. I personally learned how to canoe here.

In the Summer the pool is open as well. It’s $10 a day to swim for guests, but this can bring some fun to the whole family.

If you are just going for a day, it’s also a great place for a picnic with the family. There are picnic tables and barbeque grills all around the lake. Plus, there’s a playground (swings, slides, the whole bit) for kids of all ages right near the parking lot.

Wildlife

French Creek State Park has loads of wildlife that you might see! Over the years I’ve seen many different species and if you’re quiet, you might too.

I’ve seen the typical whitetail deer, ducks and geese here. But I’ve also seen some lesser creatures while in this park. The spring often brings in bald eagles, who commonly nest on the islands in the lake. I’ve also seen beavers, busy as can be building dams.

I’ve also been there and seen nothing, so don’t get your hopes set too high, this is a popular state park. The mornings and evenings will bring you the best chances to see these incredible creatures.

While we didn’t have any wildlife encounters on our hike around Hopewell Lake, we had a great time! The snow created picturesque trails and the frozen lake brought out the ice fishers and cross-country skiers.

Our Hike

As I said before, I’ve hiked the Hopewell Lake Loop many times, but my first time hiking it in the snow came in the beginning of 2021. If was a randomly warm day in February and my husband and I had to hit the trails.

We go pretty stir-crazy being cooped up during the winter, but especially crazy after being stuck at home for most of 2020. So we packed up Luna (our yellow lab) and headed for French Creek State Park.

The lake was completely frozen (to Luna’s dismay, she REALLY loves to swim) and the trails were completely covered in snow. But we were prepared with high boots so we didn’t have a problem with this.

We parked at the parking lot mentioned above (866 Park Rd, Elverson, PA 19520) and if you are looking at the lake and the boat ramp, the start of the trail is to the left. You hike around the lake in the clock-wise direction and it brings you back to the parking lot after about 2.5 miles.

Staying to the left of the lake you will soon step into the woods, but don’t worry, you are essentially staying along the lake. Plus there are brown signs marking your entire walk too.

Bridges and Away From the Lake

Follow the signs and you are led away from the lakes edge. You can see this on the map (Garmin tracked my hike via my Garmin Vivoactive 3) from my smart watch. The reason for this is the lakes edge can become incredibly muddy due to the streams that flow into the lake in this section.

In order to cross said streams, there are a few man-made bridges you must use. The trail continues to send you up into the woods, but then it takes you back down along the lake for the remainder of the hike.

The woods along the lake, and in all of French Creek are beautiful. This area is known as the Hopewell Big Woods and is the last unbroken forest in SE Pennsylvania. With over 100 square miles, these woods are preserving nature in both Chester and Berks counties of PA.

The Dam and the Waterfall

After crossing these bridges and hiking in the woods for a while, you are taken back down towards the lake. The day we were there, the lake was completely frozen, but in the other seasons, this area is quite beautiful. Its the secluded back corner of the lake and always provides a quiet escape.

As you press on you begin to hear heavy water flow: a stark change from the quiet woods. You come out of the woods and you see the dam and the water flowing from the dam. This dam has 2 sections, a lower section where the water flows from, and the higher section in case the water levels ever get too high.

These long stretch of stairs above takes you down to below the water fall. These stairs are relatively new and give you excellent views of the man-made falls. However, I believe the best views come from the bridge down below the falls.

You can choose to continue below the dam, or hike back up the other side of the waterfall. We prefer to hike back up the other side of the falls as it takes you back to the edge of the lake. However, it is a little steep and some choose to stay below and meet back up with the trail in a few hundred feet.

Whichever you choose, the trail continues along the edge of the lake. You are now heading back towards the parking lot and approximately halfway done the trail.

Along the Lake Again

As you head back towards the parking lot, you continue along the edge of the lake. The trail takes you in and out of the woods until you come to the community swimming pool.

The pool is open in the summer time and can be used for just $10 a day.

Stay to the right of the pool otherwise you will end up in the pool parking lot (I’ve done it before and I ended up back tracking to the lake). So stay to the right.

There is also a place near the pool where you can rent boats and there is a floating dock. All of these things were tucked away for the winter, so we continued on.

The Last Stretch

The last half mile of the trail will take you past a handi-cap dock, where people can often be seen fishing, when the water isn’t frozen, that is.

There are also many picnic tables in this area. This is a great place for family picnics on a spring, summer or fall afternoon. And the playground is only a short walk away from these tables.

You finally cross an open-grate bridge and enter back into the parking lot where you started. As you head back to your vehicle, you may find yourself wanting to try another trail, and as mentioned above, there are plenty to check out!

However, if this is enough adventure for one day, you can always come back another day and try another hike then.

Final Thoughts

My husband and I both enjoyed this hike. It’s short and relatively easy, plus it was great to get outside on a warm day in February.

We plan to go back and check out more of the trails that French Creek State Park has to offer. This was the first of our (hopefully) many hikes this year so stay tuned for more information on these hikes!

This is a great warm up hike to get back into hiking shape for the spring and summer months.

In eastern PA and in need of a doable day hike? Be sure to check out the hikes in French Creek State Park!

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