“The more you get to use state parks and see what they have to offer, the more you’re going to want to make sure they continue in perpetuity.”
When Greg Sassaman arrived at Leonard Harrison State Park in 1978, he found a rundown facility with a chain-link fence and a trail barely worthy of the name.
What followed was a decades-long labor of love that transformed Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon into the destination it is today!
The Turkey Path rehabilitation stands as Greg’s crowning achievement.
Without modern battery-powered tools or motorized wheelbarrows, his crew relied on manpower and, remarkably, horsepower. Working with naturalist Greg Hornsby, they convinced Harrisburg to hire a draft horse to haul timbers, concrete, and stone down the treacherous canyon trail using a wooden stone boat!
The innovation worked. Youth Conservation Corps and Pennsylvania Conservation Corps teams built platforms and steps that have endured over 40 years, reducing injuries while protecting the natural landscape from erosion caused by shortcuts.
Greg championed interpretation, helping visitors understand what they were seeing, and fought to preserve the area’s wild character. He believes that Pennsylvania offers far more than its cities. The remote sections, the wild places, deserve protection and advocacy.
Once state parks, always state parks.
Key Topics:
- Condition of Park in 1978 (01:18)
- Turkey Path Trail Development (02:57)
- Changes in Park Interpretation (07:26)
- Bald Eagles Return to the Area (13:37)
- Train Fires in the Canyon (14:58)
- Camping Evolution at Colton Point (19:18)
- Bear and Porcupine Encounters (22:08)
- Advocacy for PA’s Wild Spaces (24:20)
Resources:
The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation inspires stewardship of YOUR state parks and forests through volunteerism, education, recreation, and philanthropy.
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🎶 Podcast music provided by Evan Mongeau
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