93rd Annual "Sheeprock Trek" and Thanksgiving Sunrise Service

5:45 AM

Hike departs from the Macungie Volunteer Fire Department

Hot chocolate and doughnuts will be served after the service at the Macungie Volunteer Fire Department. In the event of inclement weather conditions, the sunrise service will be held at the Macungie Volunteer Fire Department starting at 5:45 AM.

Thanksgiving Day 2021 marks the 93rd year of the Sheeprock Trek, an annual observance first described in a 1929 Allentown Morning Call article as "a novel undertaking." William Shoemaker, a local civic leader, state legislator, and founder of the first Macungie Boy Scout Troop, organized the Trek in 1929 as an activity sponsored by the Young People's Council of Solomon's Reformed Church. Sheeprock was chosen for this annual pilgrimage because, from that point on, the mountain "there is presented a grand panoramic view of two-thirds of Lehigh County and parts of Berks and Northampton counties."

The name Sheeprock, or Sheep Stable, was derived from local folklore when a farmer, caught in an unexpected storm, led his sheep to shelter in a cave below the rocky pinnacle. The cave thus served as a stable, or a shelter, from the cold north wind. Historian O. P. Knauss chronicled the Trek during the early years, writing "Few scenes anywhere are as glorious and inspiring, and at early sunrise the view is particularly beautiful." That fact is as true today as it was in 1929, and is the main reason that this unique Thanksgiving tradition has survived over the past 93 years. On Thanksgiving morning, let us once again give thanks for the opportunity and freedom to again enjoy what O. P. Knauss first described as "a scene which never fails to incite wonder and delight."

For more information, call or text the Macungie Historical Society at 610-965-0372