In January of 2019, my friends and I made the voyage to yet another abandoned Pennsylvanian gem, the abandoned Birchwood Airpark and Resort, located in between Mount Pocono and East Stroudsburg. As my Passion Blog can attest, I have been to many abandoned places, but this resort one of the creepiest locations I have explored. The resort is divided into 3 main sections. On one side of the road is a little pond surrounded by several cottages with a pool area and deck near the back. On the other side of the road is another pond with more dilapidated cottages, a small bowling alley, mini golf, and a shooting range. In the back of the resort–hence the name–lies an abandoned airstrip that presumably allowed wealthy visitors to fly in and spend a weekend at the resort.
In the 1960s, the resort was in it’s prime and served as destination resort in the heart of the Poconos. It catered well to couples wanting to have a romantic getaway or even for honeymooning newlyweds. After struggling to stay open through the 80s and 90s, the resort finally shut down in 2000. The final days of its operation were sustained with resort-wide erotic weekends in which people would pay to be a part of events such as “spanking parties.” While there have been plans brewing about the resort’s revitalization, they crumbled when the main company behind the plans was indicted on 11 felony charges for theft and failure to remit charges totaling upwards of 1.5 million dollars to the state of New York. The resort will likely remained abandoned for years to come.
The resort reemerged in the news in 2014, though (this is the creepy part I mentioned before). Back near the airstrip of the resort, an old airplane hangar was involved with a chilling police manhunt through the Pocono Mountains. In 2014, Eric Frein shot and killed a Pennsylvania State Trooper and critically wounded a second trooper. Frein led Pennsylvania police and federal deputies on a 48 day manhunt, which resulted in school closures and stay-at-home orders, ultimately culminating at that exact airplane hangar. Police finally found Frein, and he was seeking shelter in the hangar along with his supplies, including a first aid kit, a Bible, cooking materials, radio, hygiene products, and even DVDs. Frein was prepared to be on the run for the rest of his life. In May 2020, Frein was issued a death warrant and is set to face the death penalty as soon as Governor Wolf’s moratorium on death penalties is lifted.
I ventured to the resort in January of 2019 with snow still on the ground. I was mostly interested in the location because I knew that it was where Frein was caught. My friends and I explored the resort, climbed in the empty pool, played bowling with a rock in the bowling alley, and explored the cottages. As we were leaving, we got stopped by police because they thought we were trespassing. We talked our walk out of it and were on our way. I hope to return sometime and explore even more.
