Fishes Penns Creek, Spring Creek
Spring creek · Central Pennsylvania · Pennsylvania
Penns Creek Fishing Guides
Pennsylvania's largest limestone spring creek, born at Penns Cave and famous for the Green Drake hatch through the Poe Paddy wilderness reach.
Map of the Penns Creek
17 numbered points: 1 access point, 5 campsites, 6 bridges, 1 park or conservation area, 3 regulation section limits, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 16, 2026.
- Access / boat ramp (1)
- Campsite (5)
- Bridge crossing (6)
- Park / conservation area (1)
- Regulation section limit (3)
- USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.
Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
Open the printable mapAll 17 points on this map
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penns Cave Road bridge T-road crossing, upper Penns Valley | Bridge crossing | 40.86610, -77.60952 | First road crossing below the Penns Cave outlet, where the creek is still a small spring run. |
| 2 | Special-regulation reach — upper limit SR 45 bridge, Spring Mills | Regulation section limit | 40.85638, -77.57423 | Upstream end of the PFBC miscellaneous special-regulation reach, which runs down to the Elk Creek confluence. Read the rules on the PFBC page before you fish it. |
| 3 | Siglerville Millheim Pike bridge Penns Valley crossing above Coburn | Bridge crossing | 40.85642, -77.48911 | Last easy valley crossing before the creek turns into the roadless Seven Mountains gorge. |
| 4 | Slot-limit reach — upper limit Elk Creek confluence, Coburn | Regulation section limit | 40.86039, -77.46153 | PFBC puts the boundary at the Elk Creek mouth; plotted here at the Coburn confluence, because OSM's Elk Creek channel stops about 0.8 km short. |
| 5 | Penns Creek Path footbridge Mid State Trail, below Poe Paddy | Bridge crossing | 40.83613, -77.40843 | Rail-trail footbridge on the Mid State Trail through the gorge — the walk-in route to water no road reaches. |
| 6 | Lykens Valley Camp Camp site at Poe Paddy | Campsite | 40.83672, -77.40909 | Tagged as a camp site in OSM on the gorge bank beside the trail bridge; confirm whether it is open to the public before planning on it. |
| 7 | Poe Paddy access Slipway at the Poe Paddy Drive bridge | Access / boat ramp | 40.83483, -77.41622 | Small hand-launch at the end of Poe Paddy Drive — the usual put-in for the gorge. Unnamed in OSM; placed by the road it sits on. |
| 8 | Catch-and-release artificial-lures reach — upper limit 600 m below the Swift Run mouth | Regulation section limit | 40.83416, -77.40552 | PFBC measures this limit 600 metres downstream of Swift Run; plotted by walking 600 m down the centreline from the mapped Swift Run confluence. |
| 9 | White Mountain Road bridge Lower gorge crossing near Weikert | Bridge crossing | 40.85628, -77.29423 | One of the few places a road touches the creek between Cherry Run and Glen Iron. |
| 10 | Penns Creek Campground Private campground on the creek bank | Campsite | 40.85751, -77.25146 | |
| 11 | Sunsational Family Campground Private campground, Glen Iron reach | Campsite | 40.86024, -77.23529 | |
| 12 | PA 235 bridge Route 235 at Millmont | Bridge crossing | 40.86448, -77.19959 | State-route crossing; the valley road (Creek Road) shadows the creek from here down. |
| 13 | State Game Lands Number 201 Pennsylvania Game Commission | Park / conservation area | 40.87953, -77.05632 | Public ground on the north bank of the lower creek — walk-in access, no facilities. |
| 14 | USGS 01555000 — Penns Creek at Penns Creek Live discharge and water temperature | USGS gauge | 40.86675, -77.04831 | The gauge the water page reads for flow, temperature and the percentile against the historical median. |
| 15 | Little Mexico Campground Private campground below Mifflinburg | Campsite | 40.87099, -76.93883 | |
| 16 | Penn Avon Campground Private campground, lower creek | Campsite | 40.83207, -76.87143 | |
| 17 | US 522 bridge, Selinsgrove Susquehanna Trail (US 522) | Bridge crossing | 40.81400, -76.85542 | Main crossing at Selinsgrove, about 5 km above the Susquehanna confluence. |
Guides on the Penns Creek
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Penns Creek
Penns Creek begins at the mouth of Penns Cave in Centre County and is the largest limestone spring creek in Pennsylvania. From the cave it runs east through Spring Mills and Coburn, then turns into the gorge below Poe Paddy where the valley narrows and the creek drops through a long boulder-and-ledge reach with no road along it. Below Weikert it opens out again and warms, and by the time it reaches the village of Penns Creek and this gauge it is a large freestone-influenced stream with a strong smallmouth component. The limestone water at the top is what makes the whole system: it buffers the pH, moderates winter temperatures and grows the insect life the creek is known for.
Penns is a wild brown trout fishery for most of its length, and the browns are the reason people travel for it. The famous event is the Green Drake, usually the last week of May into early June, when the hatch and the spinner fall bring the largest fish in the creek up in the last light of the evening — and bring a crowd with them. Outside of that fortnight the creek fishes well and quietly on sulphurs, caddis, tricos and terrestrials, and the winter midge fishing in the catch-and-release water is underrated. Rainbows and the occasional brook trout appear in the upper reaches; smallmouth bass and rock bass take over below Weikert as the water warms.
This is a wading fishery. The gorge reach from Poe Paddy down to Cherry Run is reached on foot along the old railroad grade and through the Poe Paddy tunnel, and it is the classic Penns experience: a long walk in, big pocket water, and no easy exit. Wading is genuinely difficult, with slick ledge rock and deep slots, and a staff is not optional.
The gauge at Penns Creek reads the lower river and is the standard flow reference for the whole system. High summer readings usually mean the lower water is too warm for trout and the smallmouth fishing is the better call.
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The photo at the top of this page is not Penns Creek.
It is a regional stand-in, honestly captioned but generic — we will not put a name to a river we cannot prove. Send us a photograph you took here and it replaces the stand-in, with your credit on it.
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Access
Penns Cave headwaters area — the top of the system, limited public access, mostly private above Spring Mills.
Spring Mills and Coburn accesses — road-adjacent water and the start of the special-regulation reach.
Poe Paddy State Park — parking, campground and the trailhead into the gorge.
Poe Paddy railroad tunnel and grade — foot access downstream through the wilderness reach.
Cherry Run — the lower end of the gorge walk-in and a common take-out point.
Weikert and Glen Iron road accesses — mid-river parking on the transition water.
Village of Penns Creek — access at the USGS gauge, smallmouth water in summer.
Seasons
Spring: blue-winged olives and grannom into April; the Green Drake usually lands in the last week of May into early June.
Summer: sulphurs and tricos early, terrestrials through the day; the lower river warms and turns to smallmouth.
Fall: cooling water brings the browns back on the feed; low, clear conditions and long leaders.
Winter: midge fishing in the catch-and-release water on mild days; the limestone influence keeps the upper creek open.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Penns Creek?
As of Oct 22, 2:00 am, the USGS gauge Penns Creek at Penns Creek, PA reads 254 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Penns Creek?
Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass on the Penns Creek in Pennsylvania.
Are there fishing guides on the Penns Creek?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Penns Creek. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Penns Creek?
Penns Cave headwaters area — the top of the system, limited public access, mostly private above Spring Mills. Spring Mills and Coburn accesses — road-adjacent water and the start of the special-regulation reach. Poe Paddy State Park — parking, campground and the trailhead into the gorge. Poe Paddy railroad tunnel and grade — foot access downstream through the wilderness reach. Cherry Run — the lower end of the gorge walk-in and a common take-out point. Weikert and Glen Iron road accesses — mid-river parking on the transition water. Village of Penns Creek — access at the USGS gauge, smallmouth...
When is the best time to fish the Penns Creek?
Spring: blue-winged olives and grannom into April; the Green Drake usually lands in the last week of May into early June. Summer: sulphurs and tricos early, terrestrials through the day; the lower river warms and turns to smallmouth. Fall: cooling water brings the browns back on the feed; low, clear conditions and long leaders. Winter: midge fishing in the catch-and-release water on mild days; the limestone influence keeps the upper creek open.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Penns Creek?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Pennsylvania agency site: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/fishandboat/fishing/regulations