Hardrock Trail and Osborn Hill Loop

This A Frame (named for resemblance between its shape and the letter "A") was used to move heavy equipment and machinery. The cables needed to be replaced when they had worn out from the heavy strains and constant stretching caused by the weight of the heavy equipment that was moved.

This 350,000 volt generator was used to power electricity to the mines in case of a power outage. Luckily it was only there in emergency and was never needed.

This mine was once a large competitor with nearby Empire Mine. After William Bourn took over the mine he soon bought this mine along with several others along the same vein as the Empire Mine. Today you can still see some old machinery left out and rusted.

Here you will find the foundation of the Orleans Stamp Mill which crushed ores from the nearby Orleans Mine which you just passed. The stamp mill operated until about 1900 when it was no longer profitable to run.

Turn right at the fork to follow the Hardrock Trail around the Empire mine site, or continue along the Osborn Hill Loop Trail. (or, you can take the trail to the left to follow the Orleans Trail)

Stay to the left on the main trail and you will soon arrive at a bridge crossing over Little Wolf Creek.

To your left (and up a slight hill) you will find the Osborn Hill Loop Trail which will take you near the Daisy Hill Mine, Conlon Mine, Besty Mine and Prescott Hill Mine. Not much remains from the former mines, so if you are short on time you may be better off just continuing along the Hardrock Trail to your right.

This section of the Hardrock Trail is also called Little Wolf Creek Road and was built for trucks so that they could carry waste rock from Empire Mine to other sites nearby.

Veer to the right here to continue along the Osborn Hill Loop Trail.

Here you will find a nice picnic table where you can take a rest or enjoy a snack before confining along your way. Daisy Mine is only a short detour below, and you will see a sign for a "scenic overlook"

This is where the ore cards of the Pennsylvania Mine dumped the waste rock, which you can still see today.

The Work Your Own Diggins Mine is named for the practice of renting out land to individual miners who would then own anything they found on their property.

This mine did not last very long, and a court eventually ruled that it was an offshoot of nearby Pennsylvania Mine. Today not much remains in its place.

This area housed an air compressor to supply fresh air to the miners below. The two buildings that remain today were used to hold transformers involved in the electrical systems of the Pennsylvania Mine.

To continue back to the visitor center, follow the small path behind the 2 concrete buildings, it should be marked with a trail sign.

Here ends the official Hardrock Trail and begins a path along the road. This path is not officially on State Park property but on the estate instead, and was used by miners walking back after a long day of work. After the bend in the road you will pass a driveway to the estate where you can peer in on the gardens and large house.

You can enter the gardens and also walk around the old mine site by entering through the visitor center.