Originally protected by fire wardens employed by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company, Stony Valley needed some extra help by the mid-1900s. The tallest structure in State Game Lands No. 211, the fire tower atop Stony Mountain, has been protecting this wilderness area for decades. Located along the Appalachian Trail, the tower was dismantled by the 1970s, and then a new one constructed further down the mountain, which appears to offer a better vantage point including Dehart Dam (drinking water for the City of Harrisburg). It is not advisable to climb the fire tower.

DIRECTIONS: Take the 22/322 Dauphin Boro/Stony Creek exit. Continue on Allegheny Street, and follow "To Stony Creek" signs which will guide you to turn right on the second road. Make a right onto Erie Street, then a left on Stony Creek Road. Drive approximately 5 miles down Stony Creek Road until it becomes dirt, at which time the road is renamed Ellendale Road. Please be advised Ellendale Road is an unmaintained dirt road. Continue an additional 0.9 miles east on Ellendale Road. A game land gate will be on your lefthand side with a pulloff.

Park and continue through the gate up the mountain on Rattling Run Road / Horse-Shoe Trail, walking approximately two miles. Right before the turnoff to the fire tower you will bisect the blue-blazed Water Tank Trail. The turnoff to the fire tower will be on your left. Continue approximately 0.5 miles until you reach the fire tower.

Use State Game Lands #211 Map 1 of 3.