Visiting Ohiopyle State Park
Ohiopyle State Park has been on our list of places to visit for at least 2 years now. We made the drive out there last Saturday.
The directions on the iPhone said for us to make a right on this tree covered area... there was no place to make a turn, just trees and mountain. We kept driving along the road and decided to find the park entrance on our own. This is the second time the Maps on the iPhone drops us off in some random location, when looking for a state park.
We saw a small parking lot that had a camera sign next to it, so we parked the car and went to look. And we found this amazing overlook.
The pictures don't do the view justice! It was beautiful!
We kept driving down the road, and came to the Ohiopyle town. There were canoe rentals, bike rentals, white water boating tours. I have not been to a park with a town in the middle of it, so this was a nice experience. We had pizza for lunch, then we headed out to check out the falls and do a bit of hiking.
This is the first thing we see when we park the car:
And this is the view from the park office
And the view of the closest viewing point. At this space, a girl wearing only shorty shorts and a sports bra, asked us move because we were on her picture shot. I refused to move, and she rolled her eyes at me and stood there until I moved to get her picture. I wanted to punch her.... I was in a weird mood that day.
We picked to see the Cucumber falls, because they were the closest to us. I mapped out our route on the map, but Roger saw a sign on the road and wanted to follow that instead. We had to walk up a road hill, in which cars were speeding by. It was scary. I chose to walk behind the road fence, because the walking space on the road was not big enough and I wasn't in the mood to risk my life.
The Cucumber falls were very dry and there were a lot of kids taking weird pictures. I think it was bring your College Graduate to the Park day... This kids didn't look older than my brothers.
We took the plan trail, Meadow Trail, back to the car. It was marked as an easy trail, but it was not an easy hike. There were climbs, lots of rocks, and small trails. But I enjoyed the hike very much.
We walked along The Youghiogheny River and took some more pictures.
We hiked into the Natural water slides, this was pretty cool. The slides were smooth rocks, from which water ran through, there were a few people on the slide. It looked scary to me.
After our hike, we went for ice cream.
It was a very short trip, but it was a great adventure! We plan to go back soon to hike longer and check out the other two water falls, the walking bridge and the other overviews. We also talked about going there to do some boating next summer.
Ohiopyle, the town, reminded me a lot Jim Thorpe, which then made me miss Jim Thorpe. Ohiopyle is going on my top 5 State Parks in Pa.
What is your favorite state park?
What is in your Have to see park on your list?
What do you consider an easy hiking trail?
Have you ever done boating on rapids?
The directions on the iPhone said for us to make a right on this tree covered area... there was no place to make a turn, just trees and mountain. We kept driving along the road and decided to find the park entrance on our own. This is the second time the Maps on the iPhone drops us off in some random location, when looking for a state park.
We saw a small parking lot that had a camera sign next to it, so we parked the car and went to look. And we found this amazing overlook.
The pictures don't do the view justice! It was beautiful!
We kept driving down the road, and came to the Ohiopyle town. There were canoe rentals, bike rentals, white water boating tours. I have not been to a park with a town in the middle of it, so this was a nice experience. We had pizza for lunch, then we headed out to check out the falls and do a bit of hiking.
This is the first thing we see when we park the car:
And this is the view from the park office
And the view of the closest viewing point. At this space, a girl wearing only shorty shorts and a sports bra, asked us move because we were on her picture shot. I refused to move, and she rolled her eyes at me and stood there until I moved to get her picture. I wanted to punch her.... I was in a weird mood that day.
We picked to see the Cucumber falls, because they were the closest to us. I mapped out our route on the map, but Roger saw a sign on the road and wanted to follow that instead. We had to walk up a road hill, in which cars were speeding by. It was scary. I chose to walk behind the road fence, because the walking space on the road was not big enough and I wasn't in the mood to risk my life.
The Cucumber falls were very dry and there were a lot of kids taking weird pictures. I think it was bring your College Graduate to the Park day... This kids didn't look older than my brothers.
We took the plan trail, Meadow Trail, back to the car. It was marked as an easy trail, but it was not an easy hike. There were climbs, lots of rocks, and small trails. But I enjoyed the hike very much.
We walked along The Youghiogheny River and took some more pictures.
We hiked into the Natural water slides, this was pretty cool. The slides were smooth rocks, from which water ran through, there were a few people on the slide. It looked scary to me.
After our hike, we went for ice cream.
It was a very short trip, but it was a great adventure! We plan to go back soon to hike longer and check out the other two water falls, the walking bridge and the other overviews. We also talked about going there to do some boating next summer.
Ohiopyle, the town, reminded me a lot Jim Thorpe, which then made me miss Jim Thorpe. Ohiopyle is going on my top 5 State Parks in Pa.
What is your favorite state park?
What is in your Have to see park on your list?
What do you consider an easy hiking trail?
Have you ever done boating on rapids?
Thanks for sharing your Ohiopyle adventure! It is definitely on my list of state parks to go to. Paul and I were going to go there a couple years ago. We went out to Western PA to check out my alma mater IUP. I hadn't been there since 2004! Then he played disc golf at a course in Indiana. Then we stayed overnight and did Fallingwater the next day. Fallingwater is FREAKING AWESOME and only 2 miles from Ohiopyle. Next time you go to Ohiopyle I rec Fallingwater. After Fallingwater we were going to go to Ohiopyle but we were too tired and wanted to get home!
ReplyDeleteWe did drive to Falling water, but it was closed and there was a huge sign saying all the reservations for the day were taken. We hope to go back and do falling waters, as well as the Flight 93 Memorial.
DeleteI don't blame you for just wanting to drive home, it's a loooong drive back! But I love all the tunnels!
I've read about OhioPyle while reading up on PAA waterfalls worth seeing. I wondered if it was worth the drive. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteThe Big fall by the river is absolutely worth the drive! And the town itself is pretty cool! But the falls are still better at Ricketts Glenn, we still hope to make it out there this fall.
DeleteI've never heard of this park, but I've never been to PA! My favorite state park is in northern Wisconsin, where I vacation frequently. It's called Peninsula State Park and it's spectacular.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I have to look up that park!
DeleteThose are some beautiful pictures. I love being out with nature and seeing all it has to offer.
ReplyDeleteYes, being out in nature reminds us how beautiful the world is!
DeleteI thought of you when I was there! I just imagined you would like it! There is a hike near where I live that it pretty much a straight up a mountain hike, and the view on top is priceless! you would love it!
ReplyDelete