It doesn't necessarily require a hike to the top. You could even drive up here to Big Pocono State Park, with amazing views overlooking all of the Poconos from way up high here on Camelback Mountain. There is so much to explore here at Big Pocono State Park.

At 2,100 feet above sea level, Big Pocono—also known as Camelback Mountain—is among the highest vantage points anywhere in these Pocono Mountains. On a clear day, you can see far-off landmarks beyond Pennsylvania, even the iconic Delaware Water Gap.

In winter, the mountain and state park is a popular downhill destination for skiers, snowboarders, and snow tubers at Camelback Resort.

“This place is unbelievable. Like, look, you could probably see, oh, one hundred and fifty miles maybe. It's amazing. The view is amazing.” — Phil Dolan, Orange, CT

Hikers from Connecticut got to share in this view for the first time. Others have been coming here for years, hiking the trails or just picnicking at the top of Camelback and Big Pocono.

“Easy. Super accessible. The drive in was really pretty easy.” — Phil

On this particular summer day, visibility was low, but our spirits were high—hiking out to an overlook with Park Manager Justin Waid, Steph Sherman the environmental educator here, and PA's Director of Outdoor Recreation, Nathan Reigner.

“From small main street shops like Dunkelberger's in Stroudsburg to major resorts like Camelback here in the Poconos, we have everything from high adventure to family fun. And it's the connection of all of these, along with arts and culture, that really makes the Poconos such a great outdoor destination.” — Nathan Reigner

Reigner and his team are building a coalition for outdoor recreation across the Commonwealth to boost the economy and highlight the nexus of nature and nourishment for us all—baked right into the experience in all PA state parks, including Big Pocono.

“Well beyond its beauty, we see the mosaic of land and opportunity that makes outdoor recreation in Pennsylvania so great. The way our public assets like our state parks, our trails and our rivers, combined with local assets—downtowns, county parks, and businesses—to form those beautiful public-private partnerships that are really going to help our outdoor economy grow and remain strong moving forward.” — Reigner

In moving forward, Big Pocono is surrounded with reminders of the past. Big, big rock formations that were left here by glaciers millions of years ago!

“When we think about twenty million years ago, we're under a giant sheet of glacial ice that has just churned up the Appalachian Mountains at this point. And we're at the end point of it, where all of that history and that power from the ice age just literally got melted and dumped here.” — Steph Sherman, Big Pocono State Park

You can tell Steph Sherman loves her job—loves sharing knowledge with visitors to this place sometimes called Pocono Knob, a peninsula of the Pocono Plateau.

The types of vegetation at this elevation are much different than the rest of the Poconos. But the view and the perspective it provides is quintessential Pocono Mountains.

“So it's been wonderful because here in the Poconos, we have over two hundred years just of resort and people coming to us from urban areas. And I always love to remind people: you are part of a legacy here in the Poconos of living, recreation, and enjoying the peace and holistic nature that heals.” — Sherman

“Camelback Mountain seems to protrude above everything else that is around it. It's really known by the locals. Some people, I've heard it called Pocono Mountain. It's pretty nostalgic almost, for some people. You've been up to Camelback Mountain, and it's something that everybody can do.” — Justin Waid, Big Pocono State Park

The accessibility combined with unique features make Big Pocono stand out. The cabin more than a century old, where travelers once took refuge, is now a historic feature. And the nearby fire tower—a newer old technology—was used to triangulate fires around the region.

“So this journal entry here is titled Thursday, April sixteenth, nineteen thirty-one. Everyone in office Staton tending fire calls. Staton was the district forester fire warden, probably at that time. Eighteen fires today. Weather: warm, clear, and very dry.” — Garrett Beers, PA DCNR

We joined for a spectacular view with state foresters as the fall foliage shone bright last autumn.

“So on a clear day, you can see as far as the Catskill Mountains, which is about one hundred miles away. But you can also see other iconic areas of the Poconos and farther south.” — Waid

Intertwined right within Big Pocono State Park is a four-season destination in its own right—Camelback Resort. The ski mountain began operations more than 60 years ago. The state park and the resort work together to keep this mountain, the trails on the slopes, and the facilities by the hiking trails in tip-top shape.

“Without that relationship, there wouldn't be Camelback. We do help with the maintenance and management of the state park, but also a good amount of the mountain is leased from the state. So without them, we wouldn't have the ski area, we wouldn't have this zip line, and we wouldn't have Summit House, the beautiful building behind us.” — Clinton Frantz, Camelback Resort

When Camelback opens for the ski season, access to the state park closes—usually in December—reopening in spring. A relationship between the two that benefits everyone who comes here in any season.

“It's evolved from, like you said, starting with the ski area, then adding the outdoor water park, snow tubing shortly thereafter, and then to the hotel and indoor water park in 2015. So the property has evolved. We have mountain adventures that began in 2010. Just as the property has grown, that relationship has become that much stronger.” — Frantz