By Alyssa Stacy | Fall Intern ’19
PA state parks contain hidden gems and exciting things to do. Spend an afternoon, a day, or a weekend at the park with family and friends and reconnect with nature! Whether that be through camping, hiking, bike riding, or white water rafting (…the list goes on!) there’s something that everyone can enjoy!
Here’s 10 State Parks and their proximity to Pittsburgh:
Photo of Point State Park from DCNR Flickr
Point State Park is located at the tip of the golden triangle and features a beautiful fountain that is a staple to the park. What was once Fort Pitt during the French and Indian War is now an ideal place to spend the day sunbathing by the fountain, hanging out with friends, and exploring the 36.4-acre park.
Fun Fact: The fountain’s water doesn’t come from any of the three rivers, but a “fourth river” that is below ground!
It’s the perfect place in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh to take a walk, go bike riding, fishing, boating, and kayaking. There’s a beautiful view of the city, Heinz field, and the rivers surrounding it.
Photo of Raccoon Creek State Park from DCNR Flickr
This 7,572-acre park with a 101-acre lake is a place you have to visit.
There’s over 42 miles of trails that can be hiked and explored. Not only is there a campground where you can rent a cabin and stay the night, but there’s also small game hunting, swimming, boating, fishing, biking, and horseback riding trails.
It doesn’t just stop there, in the winter you can also go skiing, ice skating, and snowmobiling!
There’s also enviromental education programs, the Wildflower Reserve, and the Frankfort Mineral Springs.
Photo of Keystone State Park from DCNR Flickr
Derry, PA is home to this 1,200-acre park that many enjoy taking vacations and day trips to visit. Keystone State Park has miles of trails, camping, cabin rentals, and a lake. It is a quick drive from Pittsburgh and is close to the Laurel Highlands.
Go fishing for trout and carp on the lake, hike along the trails, or go swimming! There’s also hunting, sledding, and boating depending on the time of year.
Photo of McConnells Mill State Park from DCNR Flickr
Located in Portersville, McConnells Mill is the home to a gristmill and a covered bridge, both built in the 1800s and open to the public.
This 2,546-acre park was created by glacial lake drainage, which made deep valleys, scenic waterfalls, and many hiking opportunities.
Be careful around the water, as the Slippery Rock Creek Gorge is a dangerous whitewater creek that will swiftly take you into the current. Swimming is not permitted, but if you’re an experienced whitewater rafter, you can take a six mile ride down the creek!
Hike along the trails and you might find yourself at Hell’s Hollow Falls, an easier trek to make to see a waterfall. This isn’t the only waterfall though, many of the trails will lead to other beautiful waterfalls—if this sounds like your kind of thing, sign up for our 8 mile Waterfall Hike on 11/16/19!
Photo of Laurel Ridge State Park from DCNR Flickr
This 13,625-acre park spans multiple counties and features a 70 mile hiking trail. It stretches across the Laurel Mountain from the Youghiogheny River (near Ohiopyle) to the Conemaugh Gorge (near Johnstown).
The scenic views provide great photo-ops, and the forest is filled with lush green leaves and plants. During the late spring/summer months, different types of flowers bloom along the forest floor. Check out the variety of bird life and the black bears that call the forest their home.
It’s the perfect place for hiking, wildlife watching, skiing, and hunting.
Ohiopyle is known for it’s perfect location of white water rafting along the Youghiogheny River Gorge on the Laurel Ridge. Any experience level can take on the challenging and exciting rapids! Or, join an authorized concessionaire on a raft for a guided trip!
The rapids aren’t the only thing this park has going for it. It has 20,500 acres to explore via hiking, biking, fishing, rock climbing, camping, and hunting—and that’s just a few! A couple waterfalls are throughout the park too and can be reached through the trails!
There’s unique opportunities for wildlife watching, if you’re lucky you may be able to spot white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, river otters, and bald eagles!
Pymatuning State Park holds a special place in my heart since I spent a good chunk of my childhood camping here. It’s a 16,892-acre park, and the reservoir is a whopping 17,088 acres.
There’s a couple campgrounds in Pymatuming, Jamestown and Linesville- both excellent places to stay for the weekend and have pet friendly options!
Go tubing, kayaking, or canoeing down the Shenango River. Rent a pontoon or go boating on the lake for an eventful day out!
There’s also trails to hike, fishing, and hunting.
Another cool place to visit? The spillway! Feed the carp (and ducks) that gather around the spillway, it’s an awesome sight to see them so close!
Photo of Cook Forest State Park from DCNR Flickr
This 11,536-acre park in northwestern PA is bordered by the Clarion River. It’s a National Natural Landmark, and is often referred to as the “black forest” of PA.
There are 52 miles of trails in which you might be able to spot black bears, deer, turkey, river otters, and more. You can enjoy hiking these trails, as well as bike riding, hunting, fishing, and kayaking!
Check out the history behind the park, and see the scenic views along the river.
Photo of Presque Isle State Park from DCNR Flickr
Pennsylvania’s only “seashore” is just north of Pittsburgh! The 3,200-acre park offers a sandy peninsula and a coastline that many vacation to. It is located in Erie, and is a favorite spot for many.
Fun Fact: The word “Presque” means “almost an island” in French. Several times, the park has been an island due to storm waves.
Go swimming in Lake Erie, or walk/bike/skate along the trail that circles the park! Hike along the trails, and you might see a few of the 339 (recorded) bird species that are seen at the park.
This park has a staple like no other: a 301 ft. high railroad bridge that was partially destroyed to a tornado in 2003. The destroyed pieces of the bridge lay on the Kinzua Gorge floor, but visitors can walk what remains of the bridge and overlook the gorge, and the area around it.
The visitor center features exhibits and history behind the area, wildlife, the bridge, and its fall. Hike amongst the ruins of the bridge to get a closer look, or bike along the Kinzua Bridge Scenic Byway!
Wildlife in the area includes black bears, deer, coyotes, porcupines, bobcats, and more. Hunting is permitted in season.
By Elena Shahen, 2019 Summer Intern
Marc Oddo, a Pittsburgh Native, will be embarking overseas on June 5th to the Danube River. This is where he and a friend plan to kayak almost 2,000 miles. This is his second big Kayaking adventure.
Marc’s first big trip happened a few years ago. He saved up enough money working at Kayak Pittsburgh to paddle from the North Shore Kayak Pittsburgh location, all the way to New Orleans.
He first fell in love with kayaking when a friend gave him a kayak and he used it as a mode of transportation to get back and forth from work every day.
I’m chasing clarity and a calm mind, and I feel like I should at least learn to appreciate life before I die
Marc is inspired to take long paddling trips with two simple things in mind; the first being that he is going to die one day, and the second is clarity. Marc explained how kayaking allows him the space to think without worries of the past, present, or future. The river can pull his worries away on its current.
“I’m chasing clarity and a calm mind, and I feel like I should at least learn to appreciate life before I die,” said Marc. More specifically, Marc has an appreciation for being able to wash his clothes and hair in the river every morning.
So Marc takes to the water again, but this time he’ll be passing through 11 or 12 different Eastern European Countries. His journey will begin in the Black Hills of Germany and end down at the Black Sea of Romania. This trip will take 2 to 3 months, with Marc averaging about 25 to 35 miles of paddling per day.
This is not new to him, being that he had paddled between 45 to 70 miles a day on the Ohio and Mississippi. Marc says he plans on steadily moving down the river, but looks forward to stopping in the bigger cities to check out any National Forests, Monastery Breweries, or other beautiful attractions along the way.
One of Marc’s favorite kayaking memories was when he pulled an overnight paddle during a full moon. He was coming from Louisville and was passing Fort Knox when Marc and his friend thought they both saw a UFO.
The rest of the night was eery, foggy, and quiet. By the time the sun rose and he could see the mile markers, Marc realized they had paddled over 70 miles. After that he found an amazing camp spot on the side of a cliff, and had the best sleep of his life.
“I’m still wary of taking on more exotic rivers of the world, so this is kind of a kiddie hill for me. I’ll get to understand logistics of travel better and hopefully it will lead me to other amazing river adventures across the world,” said Marc.
For his Europe trip, Marc is preparing for anything that could happen, from bad weather to gypsy robberies, or maybe even some aggressive wildlife. He has only packed the essentials, tarp, hammock, bug net, cooking supplies, and rain gear. As for clothing he is taking a more unconventional approach and plans on having one pair of zippable pants, water shoes, and one or two shirts. One shirt reppin Venture Outdoors 🙂
Marc feels that his first steps at Kayak Pittsburgh is what lead him to go out and take big adventures like this one. Not only does he credit Kayak Pittsburgh for helping him learn how to judge if a river is save to paddle, river navigation, kayaking techniques, and general safety, but how Kayak Pittsburgh taught him about being okay with being an amateur.
“Seeing people kayak for the 1st time and coming back with huge smiles on their faces made me feel like if they can do it for an hour out there, I can do or a few hours anywhere,” said Marc.
So what is next for Marc Oddo? He definitely wants to plan for another big river trip next spring or even travel to the Southern Hemisphere for a paddle in the winter. Marc tells us he has something exciting brewing up in Sicily in September and will update us more when he can talk about it.
I know everyone here at Venture Outdoors and Kayak Pittsburgh look forward to seeing Marcs updates on this journey, and if you want to learn more about his last big trip you can check out his blog
“When we look back at how we are today and our successes, we tend to think of our hardships first. So I say bring it on, and hopefully there will at least be a cold beer waiting for me somewhere.”
-Marc Oddo
