The majority of the park is in Todd Township along Pennsylvania Route 994, east of the unincorporated village of Entriken.

The park borders Rothrock State Forest and Raystown Lake National Recreation Area.

[2] These three sections of state and federal owned property combine together to provide hunting, hiking and fishing opportunities for the outdoorsman.

[3] The history of Trough Creek State Park dates back to the pre-colonial Native American inhabitants who hunted and fished in the area prior to being forced out by colonial settlers who came to the area just after the American Revolutionary War.

[4] The area in and surrounding Trough Creek State Park was settled in 1780 by Nicholas Crum.

[5] The lumber boom that swept through the hills and forests of Pennsylvania did not reach the Great Trough Creek area until 1910.

The passing steam locomotives on the railroads would ignite this dry brush causing massive wildfires that swept through the mountains and valleys.

[4] The area in and surrounding Trough Creek State Park no longer resembles the desolate wasteland left behind the ironmen and lumbermen.

The efforts of the men of the Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression helped to bring about the revitalization of the forests.

These men cleared the streams and forests tangled brush, they built bridges on state roads, cleared paths in the forests, planted trees and built many of the facilities used today at Trough Creek State Park which was formally opened in 1936.

[4] Trough Creek State Park is in the southern section of the Ridge and Valley region of Pennsylvania.

Balanced Rock is perched atop a cliff alongside Great Trough Creek.

[7] Copperas Rock has been stained a coppery-yellow color by ferrous sulfate that has leached from a small coal deposit.

A small cave found near Copperas Rock is thought to have been carved out by early settlers who used the ferrous sulfate mordant to set dyes to homespun fabrics.

This has been formed in the shaft by the freezing and thawing of the rocks, melting snows and humid summer air.

[7] Trough Creek State Park is open to year-round recreation, including camping, picnicking, hunting and fishing.