(See page below for driving directions)
{Hammer Creek} Much of the Hammer Creek Valley is in public ownership, and this park adds 415 acres to that end. It is located between the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's Speedwell Forge Lake and the wooded State Game Lands of the nearby Furnace Hills. {Meadow}
In the park you will find a diversity of habitats, including a successional upland woods, a maturing forest, a wooded wetland, cultivated fields and an overgrown, wet meadow along the Hammer Creek.
{Trail}
Though undeveloped, this park has a hiking trail through its scenic woods and a small parking area along Speedwell Forge Road.
Beautiful patches of native woodland wildflowers, of many common and not-so-common species, are the pride of Speedwell's forests. Most of these flowers are in bloom from mid-April until mid-May. Nodding trillium, perfoliate bellwort, showy orchids, dwarf ginseng, rattlesnake plantain, wood anemone and birdsfoot violet are species of note that flourish in this woodland. {Path}
A variety of tall plants, such as Joe-pye weed, goldenrod and spotted jewelweed, blossom in August and September in the wet meadow.
Deer, ruffed grouse, wood thrushes, veeries, and several kinds of woodpeckers live in Speedwell's forest. Hunting and fishing are allowed in the park during authorized seasons.
From Lititz:
Follow Route 501 North five miles to Brickerville. Turn left on to Route 322 West for 200 yards and turn left onto Long Lane. Follow Long Lane 1 1/2 miles. When the road ends, turn left onto Speedwell Forge Road. Follow one half mile; cross a small bridge and turn right into the parking lot.
