Just north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, you’ll find a vast area of farmland. I don’t mean a couple of farms here and there, I’m talking miles and miles of nothing but farms. Forty-five minutes outside of Pittsburgh, you’ll enter a small town called Dayton. With a pizza shop and a neighboring ice cream shop your only entertainment, your stay can feel stagnant, but just an hour away you can begin your tour of northwestern Pennsylvania’s most beautiful waterfalls. The best part of this trip is that you can begin at the closest falls and make your way through all of the stops.
The first stop on our journey was Freedom Falls. With a short hike from the parking area, you can view the waterfall. Depending on the time of year, the waterfall’s appearance changes but it is always worth the trip. Downstream from the falls, the Rockland Furnace stands. Aside from a later stop, Rockland Furnace was one of my favorite aspects of the entire road trip. A short fifty-minute drive from Freedom Falls will bring you to Springfield Falls. Springfield Falls presents a bigger hiking challenge, especially for beginners, but when you finally reach the bottom, the view will take your breath away. If you choose to venture down to the bottom of the waterfall and enter the stream, be careful to note the amount of water coming from the falls. If it has rained a lot in recent days, the waterfall becomes more powerful and can be potentially dangerous.
Our next stop was thirty minutes from Springfield Falls just a mile from the Ohio border. Quakertown Falls was the westernmost waterfall on our trip. While it can be a bit tricky to locate, the waterfall is surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery, include Big Run Falls just five minutes away. Old buildings that date back to an old amusement park surround Big Run Falls. There is an observation deck but you can also walk down to the stream and the falls.
My favorite stop on our trip was our next stop. My husband talked about Mcconnell’s Mill State Park from the time we got married until the day we finally made the trip. We spent an entire day in the park, hiking the many trails and viewing the several waterfalls in the park. Mcconnell’s Mill closed in 1928 and was dedicated a state park in 1957. Directly next to the mill is a beautiful man made waterfall. The park also has a covered bridge. The bridge may have been my favorite spot simply because we do not see them often in the south. I was in love. Throughout the park there are many falls, all worth the hike. From Kildoo Falls to Breakneck Falls, the park has so much scenery that you could easily spend more than a day hiking in the park. While we did not participate in the whitewater boating, Mcconnell’s mill does offer the opportunity. The boating will definitely be a necessity on our next trip.
Buttermilk Falls was another one of my favorite stops because of the large pool that it falls into. The pool creates the perfect swimming spot for visitors. I could have frolicked in the water with my nephew all day. The falls is also welcoming to visitors that would rather stay dry. There is plenty of room to walk around the waterfall at the top and the bottom without getting wet from the mist of the waterfall.
This trip was not consumed entirely with large, beautiful waterfalls. Between each major waterfall we found smaller waterfalls. The small waterfalls allowed my three-year-old nephew to play in the water around the waterfall and to venture under the falls. While the purpose of the trip was to visit the large waterfalls in northwestern Pennsylvania, I was glad that our entire family was able to enjoy the trip. Even my overprotective mother-in-law was able to enjoy herself while hiking to different waterfalls. The trip evolved from a road trip to waterfalls into an amazing family bonding experience.
Other features that make them more intriguing accompany each major waterfall. Old mill buildings and bridges surround the waterfalls of Mcconnell’s Mill State Park. Buildings from an old amusement park that many residents never knew was there surround Big Run Falls. This trip through the major waterfalls of northwestern Pennsylvania truly showed me the beauty of Pennsylvania, but not just the natural beauty. The manmade remains that were left behind enhance the natural beauty of every waterfall. If you love the outdoors and plan to visit northwestern Pennsylvania anytime soon, this road trip is for you.
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