Explore Varden Conservation Area on Conservation & Heritage Day

Peter Becker, Tri-County Independent
·2 min read

Varden Conservation & Heritage Day is set for Saturday, Sept. 9, near Lake Ariel, Wayne County. Nature programs, talks about local history, music and other activities are planned, along with hiking on the extensive trail system available every day through forest and meadow.

Friends of Varden Conservation Area hosts the event between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Activities include:

  • Selfie pictures taken with live animals

  • Children's fishing and a bug hunt with an environmental educator

  • Crafts and games

  • Food and music

  • A talk on the "History of Outhouses" by a speaker from the Wayne County Historical Society

  • "Mystery History," a presentation by Waymart Area Historical Society

Hayes Market in Waymart is sponsoring the 2023 Varden Conservation Day.

The land for Varden Conservation Area was donated in 2001 to the state by Dr. Mead Shaffer, a veterinarian whose family farmed the land. It is managed by Promised Land State Park, a component of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources.

Shaffer, who is in his 90s, encouraged the public to attend. He said the event has been building back since being canceled due to COVID-19 in 2020.

Dr. Mead Shaffer
Dr. Mead Shaffer

There are about eight miles of trails, two manmade ponds, bluebird boxes and an old farmstead area. Two creeks run through the 444-acre conservation area.

There are two sections, on either side, east and west of where Route 196 and Route 296 meet in Varden, a community in western Wayne County between Hamlin and Waymart.

Varden Conservation Day is held on the eastern parcel known as the Tannery Tract, at 225 Tannery Road, Lake Ariel. From Route 196/296 at Varden take Gravity Hill Road (Route 296) and turn left onto Tannery Road to the entrance. From Route 191 coming from Honesdale turn right onto Tisdale Road and go through the hamlet of Gravity, joining onto Gravity Hill Road; turn right onto Tannery Road.

The tract on the west side is known as the Middle Valley Tract, accessed by Middle Valley Road. Both tracts are open to the public daily, sunrise to sunset.

A pileated woodpecker seen at Varden Conservation Area, Lake Ariel
A pileated woodpecker seen at Varden Conservation Area, Lake Ariel

In an interview when Shaffer's donation was made public, he said, "Environmental education always has been my primary concern. I trust this land will allow present and future generations to observe and study the diverse ecology found in the Varden Conservation Area."

The land was in his family since 1793. Shaffer grew up there, where on this farm he developed his interest in becoming a veterinarian. He was a founder of Conchester Animal Hospital in Boothwyn, Delaware County.

Varden Conservation Day was first held on Sept. 11, 2010.

For more information, call Promised Land State Park at 570-676-3428, email promisedlandsp@pa.gov or visit bit.ly/47OlcAb.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Conservation & Heritage Day set for Saturday at Varden