DIRECTIONS: From I-78 exit 23 (Shartlesville), go north on Mountain Road. At 0.3 miles, continue straight ahead onto Forge Dam Road (Mountain Rd goes right). Go 1.1 mile to the intersection of Forge Dam Road and Northkill Road at the green storage shed on the left. This is the Northkill Gap area and the most popular area of the State Game Lands to bird. Parking is permitted at the shed. Walk around the gate and uphill. This is the Northkill Gap ravine. Walk around the gate through the ravine toward the mountaintop. Bird variety is low along the ravine. However, Veery, Wood Thrush, Black-throated Green Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Ovenbird, are just a few of the species found here. Walk the mountaintop food plots on the west side of the ravine once reaching the mountaintop. There is an excellent number of breeding Chestnut-sided Warblers along this one mile loop through the fields. PA 183 Area - From I-78/PA183 (Exit 19) in Berks County, go north on PA 183 for 2.8 miles and turn right onto a dirt road near the mountaintop. The dirt road leads to a large parking lot 0.1 mile from PA 183. Walk up the dirt/stone road until reaching the top of a hill. Continue on the mountaintop road, passing five towers on the left. Watch closely for migrant warblers in the edge cuttings along the entire area. October is the best time to find Winter Wrens. Listen closely for their "chip-chip" call. A good day will produce 10 or more Winter Wrens. Continue on the road, passing a gate (1.25 miles from the parking lot) until reaching food plot 21. The east side of the food plot is particularly attractive to sparrows during October into November. Continue on the road until reaching food plot 18. This area is a hotspot for flycatchers during August and September, and sparrows during October. Northkill Road and Gap area - From I-78 exit 23 (Shartlesville), go north on Mountain Road. At 0.3 miles, continue straight ahead onto Forge Dam Road until reaching the intersection of Forge Dam Road and Northkill road at the green storage shed. To reach the Northkill Road parking lot, turn left onto Northkill Road, travel 0.15 miles and park in the lot on the right. To reach the Forge Dam Road parking lot, continue straight on Forge Dam Road 0.5mile to the parking lot on the left. Walk along Northkill Road from the parking lot to Forge Dam Road. The most productive areas occur here, but are not restricted to this area. Check the brushy area behind the parking lot as well as the pond along Forge Dam Road. Louisiana Waterthrush may be heard throughout the area but the best chances of seeing one are near the bridge and stream. Auburn Lookout Area - From I-78/PA 61 (Exit 29) near Hamburg, go north on PA 61 and turn left at the light at Cabela's on Cabela Drive. Go 0.2 mile and turn right onto Mountain Road. Continue west on Mountain Road for 3.0 miles, and turn right at the state game land sign and dirt road on the right. Follow the dirt road for 0.1 mile to the parking lot. Walk past the gate up the road. When reaching the mountaintop, walk across the field, bear right for 50 yards and enter the footpath on the left and walk a short distance to the lookout. This walk is 1.25 miles and strenuous with an 800 foot elevation rise. Port Clinton portion of SGL 110 - From PA 61 in Port Clinton, go west on Broad Street 1.2 miles to the parking area on the right. (You will go over the Little Schuylkill River and railroad tracks, and then continue straight up a hill on a narrow lane, passing a cemetery on the right. The road will turn to dirt. After reaching an extremely sharp left turn, the parking lot is on the right.) Walk uphill along the ravine. When reaching the top of the hill, bear left, walk a short distance, and then another left to the top of a ridge. Walk west along the ridge for 0.9 miles, then back. This area is referred to as Southwest Ridge. This area is excellent during spring and fall migration. As an alternative to Southwest Ridge, there is a loop trail that starts at the top of the hill and leads to the Schuylkill River (opposite Stony Creek) and loops back up to the top of the hill on the north side of a ravine. There is little migration here, although it is excellent during the breeding season, and a high number of Red-eyed Vireos and Ovenbirds are found there. Stony Creek - From PA 61 at Deer Lake in Schuylkill County, go west on PA 895 toward Auburn. Turn left at the first street in Auburn after the railroad overpass. Turn left at the first street in Auburn after the railroad overpass. This is Front Street. Continue south on Front Street, then left onto Bear Creek Road. Continue on Bear Creek Road until reaching a small parking area at the top of a hill. During hunting season this road will be open to vehicles only. Walk or drive the remaining 0.7 miles downhill on the single unimproved dirt lane road before crossing through the stream. The parking lot is a short distance from the stream. Walk the path through the Virginia pines, through a field until reaching the Auburn Fish and Game property line. Pine Warblers are found in the pines every year. Look for Northern Parula in the more brushy area. Return to the parking lot and bird the field at the end of the parking lot and field and another across an old railroad bed. This old railroad bed is now the Bartrum Trail and offers excellent birding for those walkers and hikers. Walk east and downhill toward the river. Cross the tracks with extreme care and enter the hardwood forest until reaching the Schuylkill River. Do not bird along the tracks as they are very busy and actively patrolled.