Check out Brodhead Watershed Association’s “Finding fun in the Brodhead Watershed,” a map of nature-based water activities, all but one of them public and free - nature’s original water park.

Waterfalls. Fishing holes. Places to paddle and wade. Drivable views and hikeable views. Even two short kayak routes. You’ll find something here for people of most abilities. One side of the map gives you an idea of where activities are, and the other lists corresponding addresses, GPS and descriptions, and indicates activities suitable for children and people who use wheelchairs. We even tell you where your well-behaved, leashed dog can go with you.

Even with the arrival of artificial indoor playscapes trying to mimic the outdoors, our area’s most precious real attractions are unchanged. Pine-scented air. Icy, fast-running creeks and streams that provide safe drinking water for ourselves, visitors and neighbors. Thousands of acres of deep forestland nourishing our atmosphere. Wetlands teeming with life. Places where the balance of nature rules.

Most of the locations on the map are free to visit - protected with public tax dollars by townships, boroughs, Monroe County and the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. These lands protect drinking water and native forests, provide healthful recreation, and support wild trout fisheries and wildlife habitat. The map and the Get Outdoors Poconos series of public hikes are supported by a grant from the William Penn Foundation. For information about the hiking series, see brodheadwatershed.org/gopoconos/.

Copies are available at Western Pocono Community Library, 131 Pilgrim Way, Brodheadsville, PA 18322; 570-992-7934

BWA will mail a map to members only. Email your address to admin@brodheadwatershed.org to request one. Not a member? You can join online at brodheadwatershed.org/become-a-member/ and then email your map request to admin@brodheadwatershed.org.

For information: info@brodheadwatershed.org or 570-839-1120.