The little-known abandoned St. Lawrence Quarry in Berks County, PA is filled with secrets, surprises, and hidden relics from the area’s illustrious history.
Although we have had many adventures in the greater Reading area, we never heard of the abandoned St. Lawrence Quarry and stumbled on it inadvertently. Our first reaction was, “What is this place?!” Our second reaction was, “How did we not know this was here?”
The abandoned St. Lawrence Quarry is wedged in between two hills in the borough of St. Lawrence, about 3 miles east of Reading. We were pleasantly amazed that such a place existed. But maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised given that the woods of the greater Reading area are renown for hidden relics of the area’s illustrious history.
We’ve provided a map at the bottom of the post. The parking area has room for one vehicle. If that is occupied, you can park on Stoner Ave. in the neighborhood to the south and walk in. Head uphill for a few minutes then the trail levels off. Shortly after you pass the spruce stand to your right, if you look carefully from the trail, you can see the back of the two old spring houses shown above and below. Coordinates are approximately 40.33149, -75.86056.
There is a network of crisscrossing trails throughout the St. Lawrance Area. From the abandoned spring houses, we got back on a trail heading east, near an abandoned water pool of some sort in the woods at 40.33122, -75.86012. The water from the spring houses flowed to the pool then continued in a small stream down the hill. We followed one of the trails south, downhill, and encountered the amazing find below at 40.32739, -75.85820.
We found the ruins of an old house with a stone foundation and multiple concrete steps and slabs in the vicinity. The chimney is still standing!
What kind of car would this have been? How old is it? Why was it left here?
Here are the remains of a second car within view of the house ruins. What was this place?
We followed the creek south and the ruins of a dam/pool are within view of the house ruins. I wonder what this would have looked like in its day?
What a find! But it gets better. We followed a trail northeast from the house ruins and found these ruins at the base of the quarry.
What would this have been? Guessing from the holes, would it have been a screen or sieve? Reach out if you know what it is, or go to the YouTube video at the bottom of the post and leave a comment.
We found it! The rocky bottom of the St. Lawerence Quarry is visible from the mysterious structure. We explored several trails skirting the base of the quarry and saw some impressive boulder fields.
The weather during our visit was rainy and misty, so we resisted the temptation to scale the slick cliff-like rock at the bottom of the quarry. Rather, we scrambled up an embankment to the east side of the quarry. The quarry is carved out of the side of the hill and much of it consists of loose boulders. You can make it up the hill by walking/climbing up along the edge of the quarry, remaining on terra firma.
We ventured out on the boulder field where it was more stable to take in the scenic view at 40.33081, -75.85400. The long hill at the center and left in the photo above is Neversink Mountain. The hill immediately to the right and behind is the southern slope of Mt. Penn, home of the famous Reading Pagoda. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see much on account of the mist, but it made for a cool mystique, appropriate for the mysteriousness of the adventure. Below is a misty shot of the terrain next to the quarry.
From the St. Lawrence Quarry rock face, we continued north along the rocky rim of Schwartzwald Hill and encountered some abandoned power line towers. The trail fizzled out and the terrain became rockier and slicker, so we came down from the ridge through the open woods and in about a minute met up with a trail heading north. We paralleled the spine of Schwartzwald Hill until we encountered private property at 40.34049, -75.85300. Then we headed west then south down the hill and encountered an antique bottle dump at 40.33801, -75.85667.
We descended from the bottle dump to explore the hollow between Schwartzwald Hill to the east and Guldin Hill to the East. There was a network of numerous trails that seemed to turn back on themselves and several small streams or at least ephemeral stream beds. We rambled up Guldin Hill and took the trail at the top north as far as it went until we encountered private property at 40.34221, -75.85605. On this beautiful early fall day, the forrest floor was a pallet of color.
We then took the trail south and encountered what would make for scenic overlooks of Exeter Township below from the cliffs along the southwestern edge of Guldin Hill. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get good views on account of the foliage and the fog. We will have to come back on a clear winter day. We descended Guldin Hill taking a trail to the south and swung east at the bottom of the hill’s steep edge. The trail brought us near where we started, but we weren’t done yet.
We decided to continue along the base of Guldin Hill to the east re-entering the hollow. Near the first spring houses we encountered at the beginning of the adventure, we found another spring house built into the base of Guldin Hill.
From the abandoned spring house, we headed back to the trailhead. The woods are full of ruins and relics, like to old pump above. I suspect there is more yet to explore at St. Lawrence Quarry.
To our knowledge there are no trail maps of the St. Lawrence Quarry, so we provided a rough track below. Overall, our exploration was about 6 miles.
The trailhead is at 40.32985, -75.86282 with parking space for one vehicle. If that is occupied, you can park in the neighborhood to the south.
Here is a zoomed-in segment showing various ruins and points of interest.
This serendipitous adventure is one of the reasons we love exploring the greater Reading area. The St. Lawrence Quarry is one of those hidden gems that you could drive past a hundred times and never know it was there. With surprise after surprise and a challenging hill hike rewarding the adventurer with a scenic view, the St. Lawrence Quarry is well worth the visit. And I have a feeling there are more surprises concealed in the suburban Reading hills. What will you discover?
While you’re in the neighborhood, explore some more Reading area ruins
Be sure to check out our other adventures.
