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Frances Slocum State Park
Frances Slocum State Park consists of 1,035 acres in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County. Frances Slocum Lake is the focal point of the park and forms a horseshoe covering 165 acres. |
Explore
Directions - Weather - Recreation - Trails - Winter Activities - Winter Report - Environmental Education - Calendar of Events - Accessibility - History - Nearby Attractions - Volunteers - Rules and Regs - In an Emergency - Contact Us - Downloadables and Maps
Park Advisories
| 8/5/2008 9:16:00 AM | Firewood Advisory: Invasive Beetles found in Firewood Threaten Forests! Before bringing firewood to a Pennsylvania State Park, please read the information in the linked page about a very real threat to forests in Pennsylvania and all of North America. Firewood Advisory |
Directions
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The park is five miles from Dallas and ten miles from Wilkes-Barre. From Exit 170B of I-81, take PA 309 north 7.2 miles. Turn right (east) onto Carverton Road and drive for 4.2 miles. Turn left (north) on West 8th Street Road and go 1.3-mile. Turn left (west) onto Mt. Olivet Road and go one mile. The park entrance is on the left. |
Recreational Opportunities
Hiking - Trail Biking - Picnicking - Swimming - Boating - Fishing - Hunting - Sledding - Ice Fishing - Ice Skating - Organized Group Tenting - Camping
 Camping: modern sites, some with elec. Explore the campground map. Pets are permitted at this campground. Explore pets in campgrounds for more information. Explore camping for more information. 
Make a reservation |
Free Camping for Campground Hosts: one host position in the modern campground
The campground host sites amenities include 30 and 50-amp electric service, with water and sewer hookup. Contact the park office for additional information and availability.
Campstore: The campstore is located along the campground road, overlooking the eastern shore of the lake. This concession, open daily between Memorial Day and Labor Day, sells food, ice, firewood, and other camping necessities. Day-use visitors can also find snacks, ice cream, souvenirs, and fishing bait. 570-696-0689
Organized Group Tenting: Organized groups can rent this modern area, which can accommodate up to 40 people, and has drinking water, fire rings, picnic tables, flush toilets and shower facilities.
Explore organized group tenting for more information.
Swimming: The swimming pool is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, unless posted otherwise. A seasonal snack bar has fast food and beverages.
Fishing: The 165-acre Frances Slocum Lake is a warm-water fishery. There are crappie, bluegill, perch, catfish, muskellunge, pickerel, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, walleye and stocked trout. Ice fishing is permitted. An accessible fishing pier is between Picnic Pavilion Three and the main boat launch.
For complete information on fishing rules and regulations in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site.
Boating: electric motors only The 165-acre Frances Slocum Lake has two boat launches, two mooring areas and courtesy docks. A boat concession rents rowboats, paddleboats and canoes.
Motorboats must display a boat registration from any state. Non-powered boats must display one of the following: boat registration from any state; launching permit or mooring permit from Pennsylvania State Parks that are available at most state park offices; launch use permit from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
For complete information on boating rules and regulations in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site.
Picnicking: You may picnic year-round in the picnic areas. Drinking water, restrooms, garbage and recycling receptacles, charcoal grills and charcoal disposal pits are available. All areas are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Three accessible picnic pavilions may be reserved up to 11 months in advance for a fee. Unreserved picnic pavilions are free on a first-come, first-served basis.
Make a reservation |
Hunting and Firearms: About 700 acres are open to hunting. 350 acres are open to hunting, trapping and the training of dogs during established seasons. 350 acres are open to archery hunting. Common game species are deer, waterfowl, turkey, rabbit and squirrel.
Hunting woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, is prohibited. Dog training is only permitted from the day following Labor Day through March 31 in designated hunting areas. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Game Commission rules and regulations apply. Contact the park office for accessible hunting information.
Use extreme caution with firearms at all times. The park is used by other visitors during hunting seasons. Firearms and archery equipment may be uncased and ready for use only in authorized hunting areas during hunting seasons. In areas not open to hunting or during non-hunting seasons, firearms and archery equipment must be kept in the owner's car, trailer or camp.
For complete information on hunting rules and regulations in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission Web site.
Trail Biking: Trail biking is permitted on many of the trails in the southwestern side of the park.
Hiking
9 miles of trails
Buck Trail: white blazes, 0.8 mile
While skirting stone walls and old fields, and passing through stands of pines, this trail connects to Macanaquah Trail in several places.
Campground Trail: white blazes, 1 mile
Campers can access this trail from the Stony Point parking lot or from behind the Organized Group Tenting Area. A short stretch of Campground Trail follows Larch Tree Trail.
Deer Trail: yellow blazes, 1.3-mile, 2.5 miles, 3.8 miles
This interpretive trail has three loops of varying lengths which allow you take a short walk or an adventure of almost four miles. This trail starts at the environmental interpretive center and passes through a diversity of habitats including lakeshore, thicket, hemlock stand, mixed forest, marsh and hardwood forest. A portion of this trail passes through hunting lands. Use caution when hiking in hunting seasons.
Frances Slocum Trail: blue blazes, 0.7-mile
This loop trail begins and ends at the boat rental parking lot. On this trail you will see beautiful forests and the rock shelter where American Indians temporarily held their small captive (Frances Slocum).
Hilltop Trail: orange blazes, 0.6 mile
The trailhead is on Green Road. Hilltop Trail is the starting point to access all trails on the western side of the park or can be hiked as a short loop.
Lakeshore Trail: red blazes, 1.4-mile
This trail begins at the Campground Road bridge or the Big Pines Picnic Area and follows the lake shore. It is popular with shore anglers.
Larch Tree Trail: orange blazes, 2 miles
orange blazes, 2 miles
This hilly trail loops around the northeast corner of the park and through a large stand of larch trees.
Macanaquah Trail: blue blazes, 2.5 miles
This trail begins and ends on Carverton Road and intersects other trails.
Winter Activities
The lake ice thickness is not monitored. For your safety, be sure the ice is at least four inches thick and carry safety equipment. Call the park office for snow and ice conditions. Explore the Winter Report for current snow and ice depths.
Ice Skating: The ice skating area is near the fishing pier.
Ice Fishing: Ice fishing is permitted on the entire lake except in the ice skating area.
Sledding and Tobogganing: A good slope is west of the swimming pool.
Environmental Education
Natural and cultural history programs are conducted by a park environmental educator from March through November. The park provides environmental education and interpretive programs that usually begin at the campground amphitheater from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Curriculum-based environmental education programs and teacher workshops are available to area schools.
An environmental interpretive center in the day use area features exhibits on American Indians and ecological topics. A self-guiding nature trail starts nearby and interprets the park’s natural resources.
Explore the Calendar of Events for a listing of events from today forward.
Explore environmental education and interpretation for more information.
Access for People with Disabilities
If you need an accommodation to participate in park activities due to a disability, please contact the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks:
888-PA-PARKS (voice)
888-537-7294 (TTY)
711 (AT&T Relay Services)
Frances Slocum
The park is named for Frances Slocum, a young girl who was kidnapped by American Indians. Frances was one of ten children of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Slocum. This Quaker family lived on what is now North Street in Wilkes-Barre.
On November 2, 1778, a small group of Delaware Indians entered the Slocum home and carried away Frances who was then just five years old. The first night after her abduction was spent in a crude shelter under a rock ledge along Abraham Creek, believed to be within the state park boundary. Frances tried to escape during the first night but was soon recaptured. Frances was taken along as the American Indians moved westward and spent the rest of her life with them.
Her brothers never gave up the search. Fifty-nine years after her abduction they found her living on a reservation near Peru, Indiana. She had been married twice and had borne four children. Frances refused the pleas of her brothers to return to Pennsylvania. The brothers wrote to her and learned many of the details of her abduction and life with American Indians.
Frances Slocum died in Indiana in 1847, at the age of 74. The Mississinewa Reservoir and State Forest in Indiana contains the Frances Slocum State Recreational Area and Lost Sister Trail. Along the Mississinewa River in Indiana, there is a monument that marks the final resting-place of Frances Slocum, also called Mocanaquah, the "Young Bear."
Park History
Frances Slocum Lake was created to control flooding. Picnicking areas and the dam were constructed and opened in the spring of 1968. In 1972, Tropical Storm Agnes devastated large areas of the adjacent Wyoming Valley. Frances Slocum State Park was closed to the public and 280 families moved into temporary houses in the park until their homes were restored. After the last family moved out, the park reopened to the public in June, 1974.
Nearby Attractions
Two nearby state parks, Lackawanna and Ricketts Glen, offer camping and other attractions.
For information on local attractions and accommodations, contact; Luzerne County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 888-905-2872, www.tournepa.com.
In an Emergency
Contact a park employee or dial 911.
For directions to the nearest hospital, look on bulletin boards or at the park office.
Nearest Hospital:
Wilkes-Barre General Hospital
575 North River Street
(North River and Auburn streets)
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18764
570-829-8111
For More Information Contact
Frances Slocum State Park
565 Mount Olivet Rd.
Wyoming, PA 18644-9333
570-696-3525
Manager: Rex Bradish
E-mail: francesslocumsp@state.pa.us
An equal opportunity employer
Make online reservations or call toll-free 888-PA-PARKS, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday, for state park information and reservations.
