Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is a 2500+ acre sanctuary for birds of prey in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
The first time I ever visited Hawk Mountain was in Middle School for a class where we were studying birds of prey. Looking back I’m surprised this specific topic was studied, but I loved the first visit to Hawk Mountain. I was more interested in the views from the mountain than the birds. Some things never change.
My next visit to Hawk Mountain was with my parents a year or so later. I remember my Dad driving us in his Isuzu Trooper up the mountain and my mom becoming more and more worried as we increased in elevation that the car was going to overheat. Thankfully, we made it to the top without having to involve AAA.
Since then, I’ve been a few times with friends to hike and explore. It’s about $10 for adult admission with kiddos and seniors around $5-$7. After parking and paying admission, people tend to either bird watch or hike or both.
Hiking is my preference. There are a few trails here with some more difficult than others. Here’s a map of the variety of trails with my favorite being the 1 mile lookout trail. Other trails travel along the ridge or go down into the valley and are between .25 and about 5.5 miles.
There’s a lot of visitors that hang out on the rocks or some cleared areas to birdwatch. Pack your binoculars and some snacks and enjoy watching the raptors fly through the sky.
If you want to explore the area for the weekend, there’s quite a few breweries, hotels, and restaurants in the area. Here’s a list compiled on Hawk Mountain’s website of all of those!
Happy Travels!
