Places to Go: Frank, Emma Elizabeth, and Edna Reifsnider State Forest

If one were to build — brick by brick — a place for outdoor recreation, one might start with a place like Frank, Emma Elizabeth, and Edna Reifsnider State Forest (SF), where people used to mine the clay to make bricks.

Located on nearly 1,400 acres in Warren County, Reifsnider SF consists almost entirely of forest and woodland, but signs of the area’s clay-mining past can still be seen, most notably the largest of the area’s three fishing ponds — a 4-acre waterbody known by staff and locals as The Big Pit. Other signs of the area’s history take a keener eye to recognize, said MDC Forester Jeff Bakameyer.

“There are actually a couple of places you definitely could tell there was an old roadbed from a long time ago,” Bakameyer said. “And we have seen a couple of old remnants of fire brick or the kilns there where they dried it.”

While the area offers hiking, fishing, birding, and more, be aware that bird songs are not the only things you’ll be hearing.

“The number one draw — year-round I would say, but definitely September, October, and early November — is the unstaffed shooting range,” he said. “We get a lot of use of the shooting range from people sighting in their deer rifles.”

Reifsnider State Forest consists of 1,389.1 acres in Warren County. From Warrenton, take Route M east 2.5 miles, and Schuetzenground Road south 3 miles.