Celebrating Milestones
125. 25. 20. How big can one year get?
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 If you follow the work of the Foundation (and of course we hope you do), you already know that 2018 is being celebrated far and wide as the 125th anniversary of our State Parks and Forests. We linked you to the special page of our website with information on how you can celebrate in our last issue of Explore PA (and I'm happy to provide that link once again, since the content is expanded and will be revised as the year goes on).
However, the significance of the year doesn't stop there as 2018 is also the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Keystone Recreation, Park & Conservation Fund, a key piece of the funding pie for the public lands we love. Yes, it was already five years ago that we touted the 20th anniversary (raise your hand if you remember our "Float the KEY Facts" promotion). Those key facts have not changed in any way. The outdoors is still a great investment for the Commonwealth and they still play a vital role in our every day health and well-being.
Yes, it's budget time - and indeed election time - again. Can we count on you to help us once again share the message that unless there is full and sustainable funding for our state parks and forests, Pennsylvania will lose something far greater than just money?
(And, incidentally, the 20th anniversary part of the equation is two-fold. Pennsylvania's state forests have been cited as sustainably managed for 20 years as of 2018 AND the Foundation turns 20 in 2019. I think there's going to be a lot more cake in our future.) |
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Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator
Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation
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| The winners were deserving, the food was delicious. And generous donors provided nearly $2,000 in silent auction proceeds to plow into the fund for purchasing recreational equipment for our parks and forests. Read more in the summer issue of Penn's Stewards, our print newsletter, available now on the website. |
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The Alleghenies
Slicing PA Right Up the Middle
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As noted in the last Explore PA, readers have asked for specifics - specific regions of the state to visit, specific activities to enjoy there, specific images of the beauty and fun. Survey says next up is The Alleghenies. And (for reasons that will become apparent shortly) cycling!
Carving a nice little chunk out of south and central Pennsylvania, the Alleghenies includes places large (State College) and small (Martinsburg) and all the little towns and visitor attractions an outdoor person could want. Boating and fishing? Raystown Lake. Mountain biking? The Allegrippis trails system. A challenging hike? The Thousand Steps, just for starters.
There is no shortage of state parks and forests to check off your Pennsylvania State Parks and State Forests Passport quest. From Bald Eagle to Warriors Mark state parks and Buchanan to Rothrock state forests, spend a few days exploring and the book will fill up.
You don't really even have to think when it comes to paying the region a visit; five different three-day itineraries are available on the visitors' website to cover every aspect of outdoor (and some indoor) Alleghenies adventures. And who doesn't love a Fun Fact? Included here: Horseshoe Curve has been drawing railfans to its 220-degree curved sweeping view since 1879 when its surroundings were beautified for public use; Bicycling magazine has called the Alleghenies one of the top five cycling areas in the country; and Herbie the Love Bug can actually be found at Huntingdon's Swigart Museum, the oldest automobile museum in America.
What are you waiting for? By train, car, bicycle, horse, foot, or boat, "this place speaks to you." |
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| The entirety of the Lower Trail's 17 mostly-flat miles from ever-nearer to Canoe Creek State Park to Alexandria provides an accessible cruise by wheelchair or trike. Find full directions to Lower access points on the Rails to Trails of Central Pennsylvania website. |
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| Thirty-six miles of single track mountain biking trails is heaven to some folks. If you are one of those people who believe rocks were meant to hop and stumps jumped, find your bliss at Allegrippis. (There are two acres of practice area, too!) |
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| The Fort Roberdeau Revolutionary Tour is a 22-mile cruise through the beautiful backcountry roads outside of Tyrone. The fort is one of Pennsylvania's best kept secrets and the surrounding rolling farmland is a road cyclist's dream. Get a map and cue sheets for this and other wonderful bike tours from the Alleghenies website. |
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| The Foundation's newest chapter, the Friends of Rothrock, will be concentrating a lot of effort into the creation and improvement of the many multi-use trails already found within the Rothrock State Forest including the trails over Tussey Ridge, shown here during the Trans-Sylvania Mountain Bike Epic. |
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| Take these rides (and ideas for day hikes, backpacking, and fun on the water) with you by downloading our Pocket Guide to Recreation in the Alleghenies. |
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125 Years of State Parks and Forests
A Legacy We Can All Be Proud to Support
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 How will you celebrate the 125th? Let the Foundation's website at PAParksAndForests.org/Get-Involved/-125-Years-ParksAndForests help you find the best way to participate. There are games, trivia, challenges, and events taking shape across the Commonwealth.
The Foundation's goal is to add 125 new members to our rolls this year and our current membership promotion is a ZIP code scavenger hunt. If your zip code contains a 1, a 2, and 1 5 (in ANY order), join the Foundation now (or before August 31) and we'll enter your name into a drawing for a $25 state park gift card.
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Amusements Corner
Trivia - and Some Time in the Kitchen or By the Campfire
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 Summertime means berries and with all the calories you are burning now in outdoor activity we have no guilt at all in sharing this Pound Cake and Berry Campfire Skillet for your dessert-making pleasure. Not even sure we can call this a recipe because you can swap out almost all of the ingredients to titillate your own taste buds.
As to trivia, in April we asked what Pennsylvania state park was the first created to protect a natural landmark. Congratulations to Shannon D. who knows it was Cook Forest State Park and was randomly chosen as our winner. The natural landmark was the old growth Forest Cathedral; in the ensuing months (early last month in fact), the Forest Cathedral lost two of its most spectacular specimens. The Seneca Pine and the Longfellow Pine (formerly the tallest white pine in the eastern US) were blown down in high winds on May 4. 'Tis the nature of big trees to eventually fall but heavy are our hearts.
Large (and in this case deep) is also the central theme to the question this time around. Pine Creek is known as the "Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania," but what (Alleghenies) geologic feature may be said to give that canyon a run for its money in terms of "grand canyons?" For a bonus entry, what recreational asset gives you a gorgeous introduction to it?
Send your answer to Pam Metzger at the Foundation. All correct answers go into the hiking boot for a drawing for a "wearable checklist" to the state parks and forests - otherwise known as our bright orange bandana. |
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1845 Market Street | Suite 202 | Camp Hill, PA 17011
