Spread across five northeastern Pennsylvania counties, the Endless Mountains Region is found to be a rich, diverse landscape covered in a sea of green, sprinkled with small rural towns and filled with an endless supply of natural beauty. Not a true mountain chain, but its highly eroded plateau has been turned into a land of rugged mountain-like topography, made up of layered sedimentary sandstone and shale.
   Here in Lackawanna and Wyoming counties, the Countryside Conservancy has been able to set aside ten natural preserve parcels, totaling 264 acres in the Endless Mountains. Protecting their natural beauty and primitive impressions, most preserves are open for the public to explore from dawn to dusk.
   The Little Rocky Glen parcel was obtained in 2004, featuring the wooded glen and the South Branch of Tunkhannock Creek. The 26 acre park surrounds a deep sandstone gorge, where heavy forested slopes loom over the river valley. Trails follow along the creek bed and also lead out to the cliffs overlooking the glen. As you follow beside the stream over natural ledges, stately hemlocks tower overhead. Mosses and ferns seek out the shadiest spots among the jumble of rocky ridges and puzzling formations (is it an arch ?). An excellent spot for fishing, the creek flows in cascades and rapids, pausing briefly in deep pools and potholes. Not far from Tunkhannock and Factoryville, this small preserve is a great area to picnic, hike and enjoy some of Pennsylvania's natural beauty.

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