Blog

Filter

Culture Economic Development Fishing Hunting News Outdoor Recreation PA Wilds Made Stewardship Travel

May 17, 2024

Fire tower preserved for visitors in McKean County, thanks to Lumber Heritage Region

After serving for 49 years in fire detection and forest preservation efforts, a portion of the iconic Prospect Hill Fire Tower is now on display at the McKean County Historical Society, welcoming visitors to experience its rich history. The McKean County Historical Society and the Prospect Hill Fire Tower are in Smethport, at the edge of the Allegheny National Forest and Surrounds landscape and the Dark Skies landscape of the PA Wilds region, as well as along the Scenic Route 6 journey.

May 16, 2024

A win as rare as Bigfoot: Cafe offers food challenge

I personally love the idea of Bigfoot. Is he real? I don’t care about the science. I love the stories. The rumors are that you can challenge the legendary cryptid, Bigfoot. Was I up for the challenge? For my birthday, my wife took me out to breakfast at Conspiracy Coffee Co. in Mansfield where I could partake in "The Bigfoot Challenge."

May 9, 2024

Volunteers stop the spread of invasive garlic mustard in Allegheny National Forest

Community volunteers helped with the  successful removal of invasive plants from the Allegheny National Forest with help, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. On Thursday, April 25, 2024, a group of seven volunteers removed 24 lawn bags full of garlic mustard from the Buckaloons Recreation Area at the forest’s annual garlic mustard pull.

May 8, 2024

Places Mom will love in the Pennsylvania Wilds

Mom deserves to be celebrated every day, but especially on Mother’s Day. What better way to honor the mom in your life than by reconnecting her with another mother… Mother Nature! We’ve put together a list of exciting destinations that moms will love visiting in the Pennsylvania Wilds.

May 7, 2024

PA Wilds Stays: Overnight accommodations in the Allegheny National Forest and Surrounds landscape of the Pennsylvania Wilds

Covering more than 500,000 acres, the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) is Pennsylvania’s only national forest. It dominates the western end of the Pennsylvania Wilds and features some of the region’s most treasured places and experiences. Choose the lodging establishment that fits your needs, book a night there, and start exploring the Allegheny National Forest and Surrounds!

May 2, 2024

2024 ATV permits available and season dates set for Northcentral Regional ATV Trail in PA Wilds

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced that permits for the Northcentral Regional ATV Trail, formerly called the ATV Regional Trail Connector Pilot, are now available for purchase. The 650-mile riding area will include parts of Clinton, Lycoming, Potter, and Tioga counties, in the Pine Creek Valley and PA Grand Canyon landscape and Dark Skies landscape of the PA Wilds region.

April 30, 2024

BIRD LORE: You can help birds, just by looking around

Maybe you don’t think of yourself as a “birder,” but you enjoy noticing birds. Perhaps you’ve even used something like the Merlin App to help you figure out what bird woke you up with his raucous song outside your window at 5:30 am. I’d like to invite you to join a vast group of citizen scientists, from experts in the field of ornithology to everyday folks who just enjoy watching birds, as we assess the breeding populations of birds in Pennsylvania.

April 26, 2024

Forest Fridays: Not-so-common wildflowers in Tioga State Forest

My favorite common spring ephemeral wildflowers—hepaticas, can easily be identified by the unusual, leathery lobed leaves and the variably colored flowers. With closer inspection, photographs, and a bit of botanical knowledge, it is possible to document some remarkable diversity of this common species. Recently, a population of sharp-lobed hepatica with double flowers growing along a road in Tioga State Forest caught the attention of botanists.

April 24, 2024

Clearfield County stone – “The rock of ages”

The legacy and history of stone quarried from the Pennsylvania Wilds is legendary. One of the key players in the PA Wilds stone industry is Russell Stone Products based in Curwensville, Clearfield County, in the I-80 Frontier landscape of the PA Wilds region. Russell’s varieties of stone have been used at hundreds of locations throughout Pennsylvania, New York — and the world – since the late 1800s. 

April 19, 2024

Forest Fridays: Willow world

My first memory of a willow tree is the pussy willow that existed between the garage and our dog’s house on the property of my childhood home. I vividly remember stopping to admire its velvety catkins each spring. A few miles away into town, a local streambank is still lined with weeping willows. I can remember how they first caught my eye, their cascading foliage swaying gracefully in the wind.