Pandapas Pond

Elevation: 2196 ft.

Pandapas Pond Day Use Area offers an 8-acre manmade pond that provides fishing, hiking, and picnicking opportunities. The accessible 1-mile loop trail, at an approximate elevation of 2200 feet, circles the lake and meanders through the surrounding Appalachian hardwoods and pines and some rhododendron thickets. In migration, this area can produce large numbers of warblers, including Blackpoll and Bay-breasted warblers. Nesting neotropical migrants are plentiful as well. Look for Scarlet Tanager, Blue-headed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Hooded Warbler, as well as typical eastern hardwood forest nesters such as Wood Thrush, Ovenbird, and Eastern Wood-Pewee. Residents of this area include Great Horned and Barred owls, Pileated and Red-bellied woodpeckers, and Green Heron. The first parking lot to the left off of FR 808 provides access to the Poverty Creek and Gap Mountain trails for horse riding and mountain biking only. These trails are extensive and network with other USFS trails. These hardwood forests are home to similar bird species listed above, but are also home to a variety of non-avian wildlife. Look for eastern box turtles and white-tailed deer throughout this area. Amphibian lovers will enjoy spending time along Poverty Creek where green and pickerel frogs are numerous. Salamanders, such as the northern dusky and red-backed, have been found here, too.