Go Hiking!

With the weather improving here in northwestern Pennsylvania, for my family that means it’s time to get our butts outside and do stuff! Unfortunately, COVID-19 completely messed up all planned activities for this year.

To keep the kids entertained, we have been doing a lot of hikes. There a couple of hikes we often do around the house thru our woods. We also really enjoy the Richmond Twp Recreation Center walking trail for at home options.

We have also decided to check out some of the local parks, (within a couple hours of the house), and I wanted to give my thoughts on those.

Kinzua Damn

On a whim, we decided to take a drive out to Kinzua a few weeks ago. We didn’t even really check to see what was and wasn’t open since we were seriously in need of time out of the house and figured worst case, it was just a pretty drive.

We picked up lunch on our way and went to the parking lot at the Kinzua Eagle Viewing Platform and ate then walked around and checked out the views from below the damn

We then went down to the actual dam, which we were able to walk out on and the kids really loved! It wasn’t super busy and people were doing a great job of giving each other space!

When we finished up checking out the dam, we decided to take a little drive and see what else was around. We saw the sign for Jakes Rocks and decided to go check it out. So glad we did! There were some amazing trails that led to scenic overlooks and even though there was snow on the ground, the trails were still easily navigated!

Over all, this was a huge win for us. The kids are asking that we go back in nicer weather so they can climb on the rocks! I’m going to do some looking into campgrounds in the area since all our summer plans have been cancelled at this point.

Oil Creek State Park

Since the weather changed for the better on Mother’s Day, we decided to get out and do some hiking! The kids and husband did a short hike at Oil Creek State Park the week prior and had enjoyed it, so we decided to go give one of the harder trails a try!

We parked at the Pioneer parking area and hiked the trail from there to Pioneer Falls. The trail meets up with the Gerard Hiking Trail at the falls, which we then hiked out and back for a while. I think total, we did 3 miles, which I was happy with since it’s longer than we normally do with the kids.

The trail was marked as a moderate skill level and it was definitely more what I was looking for with a nice dirt path over rocks that was well marked. We will definitely be going back!