100-acres in The Susquehanna River - one of the
larger grand islands found in the river, McCormick Island (named
for the prominent Harrisburg McCormick family) can be seen from
both shores and multiple bridges. The I-81 Bridge uses it for a few
of its piers. This island has been used by generations and it's
layered with artifacts. Indians used the island for seasonal
camping while hunting and fishing on the river. Archeologists have
found their cooking implements, stone tools, ceramics, beads, and
metal objects. With all that said, a portion of the island north of
the I-81 bridge is protected.
In 2007, the City of Harrisburg (owned the island
since 1912, when James McCormick gave the land to the city) sold
the historic island to the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy to
preserve it for all the birds that use it as a migratory stop over
as well as simply protecting the habitats the island supports. The
island is open to public use with walking trails and more are
planned and places for picnicking and camping. Fishing, boating,
kayaking, canoeing and jet skiing are also permitted.LEAVE NO
TRACE
McCormick Island regularly supports thousands of
waterfowl in migration. You can see Great Egrets, Yellow-crowned
Night Herons, Black-crowned Night Herons(classed as an at-risk
species in Pennsylvania and also being considered for endangered
species status in Pennsylvania ), Common Loons, Horned Grebes,
Red-breasted Mergansers, Lesser Scaups, and Buffleheads(love that
bird's name). With all those birds, using this huge plot of mud in
the Susquehanna, The National Audubon Society has listed it as an
Important Bird Area. This island is truly "for the birds"! They
love it because it has everything - forest, wetland and open water.
We saw Black-crowned Night Herons, Great Blue Herons, a pair of
Bald Eagles and numerous Egrets when placing the cache - pretty
cool! You can also run into river otter, beaver, muskrat, frogs,
toads, a few types of turtles and northeastern water snakes - we
saw one of them and followed raccoon tracks in the mud during our
visit.
While it's cool to enjoy McCormick
Island, please stay away from Wade Island to the west. Wade Island
Rookery, another popular migration stopover for birds is protected
and access is not permitted. It's off limits to humans - stay
away!
The terrain rating is 5 because you need a boat
to get here, but it would be pretty close to that on the island
too. Depending on the land route you choose, you can run into
vegetation (Japanese Knotweed) that seems like it may eat you,
seemingly impassible debris piles, slippery mud that can send you
in a direction you hadn't planned and then there's the wildlife
that seems to jump out of everywhere - startling the bejesus outta'
ya'...but wait that's all the fun part! You're looking for a simple
ammo can hanging on a broken tree limb.