Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Pennsylvania / Northeast Pennsylvania

Thunder Swamp Trail

Delaware State Forest (southern Pike County, PA 402)

The Thunder Swamp Trail system winds through Delaware State Forest in southern Pike County, in the Poconos. The Keystone Trails Association (KTA) describes an 18.3-mile main loop bisected by PA Route 402, with a long spur to the Stillwater Natural Area, and calls the footway “very rocky” even though the ground is mostly flat and full of swamps and wetlands.

DCNR says the system offers “short loop trails for day use and longer loops for overnight, backpack camping.” The Fastest Known Time (FKT) route page says the trails were built in the 1970s by the Youth Conservation Corps and are maintained by the Pocono Outdoor Club and state forest volunteers.

The hike

The official trailhead is at the southern crossing of PA 402, about 15 miles north of Stroudsburg (KTA). The FKT page puts it about 14 miles south of Exit 30 on I-84, with the main parking area on the left. Jeff Mitchell, who posted a 19-mile loop in 2023, gives coordinates for the PA 402 trailhead and says maps are free online from Delaware State Forest.

Mitchell describes rolling, fairly easy terrain with no big climbs, but a trail that is “often rocky,” with occasional ledges and boulders. It passes many creeks and swamps, including Saw Creek, Red Rock Run, Spruce Run, and Bushkill Creek, and most stream crossings have bridges. He notes a short wet area on the north side of the loop just west of PA 402 and some brushy stretches.

KTA’s 2026 event page says the system extends into the Pennel Run and Stillwater Natural Areas, with an orange-blazed main loop and yellow-blazed side trails, and that the trails cross streams and wetlands. The FKT page adds that the site of the first tree planting in Pennsylvania lies near the northern end of the system. In September 2026, KTA moved a trail care weekend here from the Pinchot Trail, with plans for brushing, chainsaw work, and fresh blazes.

Mitchell says the trail “is generally well blazed and established” and calls it “ideal for beginning backpackers and is perfect for a weekend overnight trip.” He finds the best color in mid to late October and warns that “the TST can be very buggy in hot, humid weather.” He also notes the trail is rarely crowded.

Lengths vary widely by source, because the system includes the main loop, a spur, and side trails; KTA’s trail page puts the main loop and spur together at 31.7 miles.

For another northeast Pennsylvania overnight, see the Pinchot Trail.

Tips

Camping

DCNR’s Delaware State Forest page lets backpackers camp in most areas without a permit for one night per location. A permit is required to stay more than one night at a site, for groups of more than 10, for an emergency contact, or for a spring campfire. Don’t camp within 200 feet of a forest road, within 25 feet of a trail, or within 100 feet of a stream or open water. Camping isn’t allowed in any of Delaware State Forest’s natural areas, which here include Pennel Run and Stillwater, or in the Dixon Miller Recreation Area on the Promised Land Tract.

Inside Intel: Mitchell says the largest campsites are on the west side of the loop, along Spruce Run and Bushkill Creek. There are no shelters.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Small campsites on Spruce Run:

Thunder Swamp's campsites tend to be small, so a dinner that cooks in its own pouch suits a tight site by Spruce Run or Bushkill Creek. See the backpacking meals testers like.

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Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.