Jennings Environmental Center, Moraine State Park, & Cascade Park - Pennsylvania

 To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.

- Marie Davis

July 20, 2025

During a 16-day camping trip in July 2025 with our daughter and her family, we spent a week in northwestern Pennsylvania so we could explore some state parks in the area. This blog entry features three parks we visited on one day during our stay in the area.

Jennings Environmental Center

The Jennings Environmental Education Center, located in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, is one of several state parks dedicated to providing environmental education and recreational programs to the public. The park has over 5 miles of hiking trails. It has areas for picnicking and wildlife watching and has many events and workshops open to the public throughout the year.

Jennings has a unique combination of prairie and forest environments. Most of the park is covered by forest that includes streams and wetlands. One of the park’s main features is the 20-acre prairie ecosystem, a home to prairie plants. It features the beautiful blazing star prairie flower. We were happy to see that they were in full bloom during our visit. There were also signs letting us know that the endangered massasauga rattlesnake could be found there. Thankfully, we didn’t see any snakes while we were there!

We wandered along the Prairie Loop Trail, stopping to take photos of the many wildflowers that were in bloom. We saw quite a few we hadn't seen before and one we couldn't identify. It was a really nice park to explore. It would be nice to come back again in spring to see what's blooming then.

  

Moraine State Park

Moraine State Park is located near Portersville in western Pennsylvania, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. It’s a huge park, covering 16,725 acres and featuring the 3,225-acre Lake Arthur. It’s a very popular park. Each year over a million people visit it for fishing, boating, wildlife watching, picnicking, disc golfing, hiking, biking, horseback riding and swimming. Although camping in the park is limited to organized groups, there are 11 modern cabins available for rent to visitors year round.

Moraine State Park gets its name from the hilly deposits of gravel, sand and clay that were deposited there about 12,500 years ago. Today, in addition to the man-made Lake Arthur, the gently rolling hills and lush forests leave visitors with plenty of room to explore.

Lake Arthur features 42 miles of shoreline and nine public boat launches for boats with up to 20 horsepower motors. In addition, there’s a privately owned/operated boat rental facility on the south shore with everything from kayaks to motorized pontoon boats. The lake was used to portray New York’s Hudson River in the movie “The Pale Blue Eye”, starring Christian Bale.

Lake Arthur

Lake Arthur

In addition to the numerous boat launches and fishing jetties, the lake has two “swim at your own risk” beaches; one on the north shore and one on the south shore. The lake is stocked with muskellunge, walleye, channel catfish, bass, northern pike, bluegills and crappies, making it a popular spot for fishermen.

Lake Arthur

State Park Marina

Our main reason for visiting the park was so that we could ride our bicycles on a paved, 7.1-mile long multi-use trail. The trail winds along the north shore of Lake Arthur between the Bike Rental Building in the northwest corner of the park and the Davis Hollow Marina, where it dead ends. The trail was mostly shaded with a few small hills here and there, making for a very pleasant ride. After returning to our start we enjoyed our lunch at a shaded picnic table before heading to our last stop of the day.

Cascade Park

Although it's not a state park, Cascade Park, located near downtown New Castle, Pennsylvania, was next on our list. It's a former amusement park that operated from 1897 until the early 1980s. The park was home to roller coasters, many amusement rides, and what at one time was the largest dance hall in Pennsylvania.

Big Run Falls is a 20 to 25-foot-tall waterfall located in the center of the park along the edge of a very large hollow. This circular area makes it hard to get close to the falls, but it also offers a great overlook from which to view it. The viewing area is located next to the roadway through Cascade Park and close to a parking area, making it a very easy waterfall to visit.

Big Run Falls

Just downstream from the waterfall, we could see some of the rails that used to be part of the Comet, a roller coaster that was built in 1955 and used to dive into the valley near the waterfall. We also saw the remains of a swimming pool and several buildings that used to house amusement park rides and concession stands. The 1898 dance pavilion still stands near the entrance to the park.

Cascade Park was a nice way to end our day. Seeing the old buildings brought back happy memories of amusement parks we had visited in our youth.

If you'd like to see the 9-minute YouTube video of our day visiting these parks, click here.

* All photos and videos are the property of the blog owners unless otherwise noted. *

Mercer/Grove City Pennsylvania KOA - Campground Review

Life's better when you add fresh air and a warm campfire.

- Anonymous

July 19 to July 26, 2025

During a 16-day camping trip in the summer of 2025, we planned to visit a bunch of state parks in western New York & Pennsylvania with our daughter and her family. For this leg of the trip we needed a campground with full amenities that would put us somewhere in the middle of the areas we planned to go, as well as providing us with the opportunity to do our laundry. We don't usually choose to stay at a KOA, simply because they have a lot of amenities we don't use and we don't wish to pay the higher fees that go with them. However, this KOA was our only choice for a campground in the area we wanted, and it turned out to be a good one.

The Mercer/Grove City KOA is located just outside of Mercer, PA. The campground has 155 sites including full hookup sites, water/electric sites, tent sites, 5 cabins and 4 lodges. Each site had a fire ring and picnic table. There was also on-site garbage collection if you left your bags at the road edge of your site. We had a full hookup site with a good amount of room between our camper and the next site where our daughter and her family were camped. The site on the other side of us was a seasonal site and it was a little closer to us, but we had plenty of room behind our site as well as at the road end for parking. Plus, our neighbor had a bunch of birdfeeders at the back of the site that were fun to watch and provided some great photo opportunities. The campground was busy when we arrived on the weekend, but emptied out quite a bit during the week. We had our loop almost entirely to ourselves for a couple of days before it started filling up again.

As far as the amenities go, there were 2 bath houses that were very clean and the free WIFI was among the best we've ever had at a campground. The Office/Camp Store was well-stocked with the usual supplies and some souvenirs. The staff were very helpful and friendly. A spacious laundry room with washers and dryers was located at the back of the office/store complex and had a separate door leading to the outside, providing access when the office/store was closed. Behind the office/store complex in a separate building was an event hall that was used for different activities on the weekends, and was also where you could buy fresh baked Amish goods on a Saturday morning. A dump station was located near the park entrance.

There was a dog park, but even though we walked around most of the park during our stay, we never did see it. There was also a nice pond located across the road from the campground. We followed a path from directly across the main entrance that wound all the way around the pond to a nice grassy area with a dock for fishing. We didn't do any fishing there, but we did see others with lines dropped in.

The swimming pool was located next to the office/store. It was a little small for the size of the campground, but was nice and very busy during most of our stay due to the warm weather. Other activities included a gem mine, playground, basketball court, gaga ball pit, an RC race course, volleyball net, sand play area, and a variety of outdoor games such as a giant Connect Four game.

We enjoyed our stay at this campground very much. It was right in the middle of the areas we planned to visit, the price wasn't terribly high, and we really couldn't find anything to complain about the campground itself. Even though we don't usually camp at KOAs, we would consider staying at this one again if we return to the area.

If you'd like to view our YouTube video campground review, please click here.

* All photos and videos are the property of the blog owners unless otherwise noted. *

Exploring Erie, Pennsylvania

 When we experience adventure, we find ourselves in the present moment and savor all the beauty that life has to offer.

– Unknown

July 18, 2025

In July 2025, we spent three nights camping just outside of Erie, Pennsylvania, mainly to visit Presque Isle State Park. During our second full day in the Erie area we explored a few other sites.

Schaeffer's Auto Art

Schaeffer's Auto Art is a quirky roadside attraction tucked on a back road in the Erie suburbs. The owner of the property made sculptures from repurposed car parts and industrial scrap metal. There's no charge to wander the grounds, but it's important to keep in mind that parking is very limited and it is private property. So be respectful and stick to the area surrounding the sculptures. We enjoyed the larger-than-life sculptures such as the giant spider and giant bumblebee. It was a fun, quick stop on our way into Erie.

Erie Land Light

Next we drove to the east side of Erie to the Erie Land Lighthouse, built in 1818. It was the first lighthouse on the Great Lakes in the United States. The light was built on a cliff overlooking the entrance to Presque Isle Bay. The light in the tower was discontinued in 1899. The lighthouse has been restored and visitors can climb the tower when it's open. Unfortunately, it wasn't open during our visit, but we were able to walk the grounds and take some photos.

Erie Land Lighthouse

Avonia Beach Park

Avonia Beach Park is located on the shore of Lake Erie in the town of Fairview. Trout Run, a high-quality trout stream, empties into the lake at the park. As a result, it's popular with fishermen. But it's also known for having beautiful sunsets.

The park is small at only 3.6 acres, but very picturesque. There is a gazebo and a house on the property that can be rented for events. The beach isn't very wide and is quite rocky, but we enjoyed walking along it and were able to find some sea glass.

July 19, 2025

Erie Bluffs State Park

We had some time in the morning to do a little more exploring before heading off to our next camping destination, so we headed to Erie Bluffs State Park. This day-use park is small at only 587 acres, but a great place for hiking and soaking in nature. The park has one mile of shoreline on Lake Erie, and is perched on top of 90-foot bluffs, giving excellent views out over the water.

View out over Lake Erie	Kayakers on the lake below us
View of Lake Erie from the top of the bluffs

There are five miles of trails in Erie Bluffs State Park. We chose to follow the Transition Trail to the Bluffs Edge Trail to make a lollipop loop. Although we didn't see a lot of wildlife, we did see a lot of wildflowers and butterflies on our way out to the bluffs. The paths were easy to follow and mostly level. The walk through the woods to the edge of the bluffs was peaceful and we didn't run into a lot of other people. It was a great place for a relaxing walk. If we are ever in the area again, we would definitely set aside more time to explore some of the other trails in the park and walk on the beach below the bluffs. The wildflowers should really be nice in the spring!

Monarch Butterfly Wild Leek   Black-eyed Susan

Wild Potato Vine Monarch Butterfly on Knapweed   American Germander

Goldenrod

If you visit, be aware that there are not a lot of amenities in the park. There is only one non-flush toilet at the east end of the park where there is also a picnic pavilion. There are no amenities at the main park entrance.

If you'd like to join us virtually on our walk in Erie Bluffs State Park, click here for our YouTube Video.

That brings our visit to the Erie area to an end, but not our camping trip with our family. We were next headed about an hour's drive south to another campground and a few more parks to visit.

* All photos and videos are the property of the blog owners unless otherwise noted. *

Presque Isle State Park - Pennsylvania

 The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.

- Eleanor Roosevelt

After spending the previous week visiting Letchworth State Park in New York, we headed west toward Erie, Pennsylvania where we planned to spend two full days exploring Presque Isle and some sites in and around the Erie area.

July 16 to 19, 2025

During our visit to the area, we camped at Folly's End Campground in Girard. The campground is located along the Elk Creek, Lake Erie's largest tributary.

The campground has 83 water & electric sites in two loops. Two of those sites also have sewer hookups, although one of the two sites was a permanent site. We opted for a water & electric only site, leaving the full hookup site for our daughter and her family, who were camping with us. Our site was located next to the creek, making it handy for fishing, although we didn't catch anything when we tried. There were picnic tables and fire rings at each site.

Our campsite

Our campsite

Elk Creek as seen from our campsite

The campground had 2 bathhouses, one on each loop. The bathhouse in our loop was very much in need of updating, but it was usable.

Other amenities included a full-service flyfishing shop in the small camp store, a dump station, pump out service, a playground, horseshoe court, hiking trail, picnic shelter, basketball net, ping pong and a ball field.

We try to give honest reviews of the campgrounds we stay in and rarely have to give a negative review. However, we would probably not choose to stay at this campground again. The loop we were located in had mostly permanent sites, and the people weren't very friendly. Adding that to the bathhouse with old, leaky fixtures, it just wasn't what we had hoped for. On the positive side, it was a quiet campground, although I'm sure it's more lively on the weekends. Fortunately we were only planning on staying a couple of nights.

To be honest, we really didn't ride through the rest of the campground to check to see if conditions there were better. We spent most of our time in the area exploring Erie and the state parks, so it was good enough for the three nights we stayed. But we would not opt to stay there again unless we had no other choice.

Presque Isle State Park - July 17 & 18, 2025

Presque Isle State Park, near Erie, Pennsylvania, is a 3,200 acre sandy peninsula that curves into Lake Erie. The park is often referred to as Pennsylvania’s only “seashore,” and is the state’s only Great Lakes shoreline. In addition to a beautiful shoreline, the day-use park offers visitors a lot of recreational activities, including swimming on its beaches, boating, fishing, hiking, bicycling, and in-line skating.

Karl Boyes Multi-Purpose National Recreation Trail

Our first full day in the park turned out to be a very cloudy and windy day. Undeterred, we started out early riding our bicycles on the Karl Boyes Multi-Purpose National Recreation Trail. The 13.4 mile trail loops around the perimeter of the state park.

We parked at the first parking area after the park entrance, and then took a quick peek at a very stormy-looking beach. After collecting our bikes, we crossed Peninsula Drive to the other side where we followed the flat, paved path along the Presque Isle Bay shoreline. We had great water views, passed by observation decks, picnic facilities and a marina. There were plenty of places to stop along the way to rest for a bit and use restrooms, as well pavilions where we could get out of the rain from the brief squalls that blew through.

View from First Beach (7/17/25)

We stopped briefly at Waterworks Park, which originally included two settling ponds to help with the cleaning of Erie's water supply, a pumphouse, bath houses, pavilions, a ferry slip and picnic shelters, making it a popular destination. The pumphouse and water supply system operated from 1917 to 1949. The Erie Water Works Authority turned the property over to the state park in 1957. Today the pumphouse is a surrey and bike rental concession and the pavilion is rented for events. The settling ponds are now stocked with trout and used for fishing. We stopped to take some photos of the Waterworks Tower, built in 1906, which looks a lot like a lighthouse, but is really a steel intake tower for the water supply.

Waterworks Tower (7/17/25)

After about 5 miles we arrived at Crystal Point and the Perry Monument. Built in 1926, The monument commemorates the victory of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Just around the corner from the monument in Misery Bay is the Lady Kate, a boat that offers tours of Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay.

Perry Monument (7/17/25)

After passing over a bridge separating Misery Bay from the inland lagoons, the trail goes on-road for a long stretch via bike lanes that aren't fully separated from traffic. However we found that the vehicles passing us kept their speed low. Along the way we passed by a park where you can rent canoes and kayaks, or launch your own.

Shortly beyond Misery Bay we left the trail and turned right onto Coast Guard Road, riding past picturesque houseboats on Horseshoe Pond as we made our way to the North Pier and its lighthouse. The lighthouse is located at the end of the Erie Harbor Channel on a long pier. The Erie Harbor North Pierhead Light, also known as the Presque Isle North Pier Light, was built in 1858 and is a square, metal tower. You can walk out the pier to the light and enjoy views of the boats passing through the channel into Presque Isle Bay.

Boathouses on Horseshoe Pond (7/18/25)

North Pierhead Lighthouse (7/18/25)

After returning to the trail we continued past the access road for Gull Point before arriving at Budny Beach (Beach 10) on the northern side of the Peninsula. The wind from this point on was pretty ferocious, blowing sand over the dunes and across the road.

About 1.5 miles later we arrived at the Presque Isle Lighthouse. We took a few quick photos before heading back on the trail. We planned to drive our truck back later to do a full tour of the lighthouse, built in 1872, and to climb the 79 steps to the top for the view.

Presque Isle Lighthouse (7/17/25)

After leaving the lighthouse on our bikes we quickly passed by 5 beach access points until the trail turned right onto a separate road with no vehicular traffic. The wind blowing through the openings in the dunes did a wonderful job of sandblasting us as we pedaled along! We ended our ride where we had started, at Beach 1. During our ride we ran into a little rain, but that was mild compared to the wind. We managed to see most of the main features of Presque Isle during our ride, but we were very happy to be out of the wind!

If you'd like to ride along with us on the path around Presque Isle, click here for our YouTube video.

Tom Ridge Environmental Center

After completing our bike ride we explored the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, which is located at the entrance to the state park. The center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except on major holidays. However, the center is only open on Sundays and Mondays between November 1 and March 31. Admission is Free.

The 65,000 square-foot green-designed building includes the park office, a visitor center, a gift shop and a cafe. The center has interactive exhibits that teach visitors about the forces of wind and water and their effects on the peninsula over time. In addition, we learned about the history of Presque Isle, its ecosystems, wildlife, plants, bird migration and more. There's also an outdoor play space for children and a 75-foot tall glass enclosed observation tower from which we had views of Lake Erie.

View from on top of the Tom Ridge Environmental Center (7/17/25)

To watch our virtual tour of the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, click here for our YouTube video.

Presque Isle Lighthouse

We also returned to the Presque Isle Lighthouse so we could explore it more. The redbrick dwelling with attached 57-foot tower was built in 1872. It's still a working lighthouse and is maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard. There is an admission charge to tour the lighthouse, but you can explore the grounds and visit the gift shop for free.

Presque Isle Lighthouse (7/17/25)

View from the lighthouse gallery (7/17/25)

We toured the lighthouse and found the docents to be quite knowledgeable. We made a video while exploring the inside of lighthouse and grounds. You can click here to view it.

Presque Isle Lagoons - Kayaking

We spent part of our second full day in the area back at Presque Isle to do some kayaking. Although you can rent kayaks in the state park, we opted to bring our own so we could explore the lagoons in the interior of the peninsula. The lagoons were formed in 1909 when the Pennsylvania Department of Fisheries dredged the interior ponds for use as a fish hatchery. Although the fish hatchery never happened, the lagoons were created and connected to Misery Bay. The waterways became clogged by reed grasses and narrow-leaf cattails. Eventually the state cleared the invasive species making them navigable. 

Today there is a free pontoon boat ride through the connected lagoons that are also very popular with kayakers. We saw quite a few kayakers during our nearly 2 hour exploration, but the maze of lagoons kept us from feeling like we were crowded. Actually, the further we paddled away from the boat launch located next to the Presque Isle Canoe & Boat Livery, the more peaceful and quiet it became. We felt like the rest of the world was a million miles away and all we could hear were the quiet sounds of our paddles and the calls of birds flying overhead as paddled our way around Big Pond, and over to Long Pond. 

The lagoons are home to coyotes, beavers and otters, although we didn't see any of them. Fishermen can also catch crappie, bluegill, sunfish, largemouth bass, rock bass northern pike, carp and bowfin.  We had a great time exploring the lagoons and ponds that were alive with lily pads, flowers, blue herons, eagles, and osprey, as well as dragonflies flitting around us as we paddled along.

Osprey in its nest	Bird in flight
Great Blue Heron

We paddled as far as the bridge crossing over the northernmost point of Long Pond before turning back to where we started at the boat launch near Misery Bay. It was the perfect day to paddle around the lagoons - we had gentle breezes keeping us cool the entire way. We made a YouTube video of our adventure in the lagoons. You can click here to view it.

Lady Kate Boat Tour

After completing our exploration of the lagoons, we joined our daughter and her family for a ride on the Lady Kate. The Lady Kate is a 65-foot tour boat docked near the Perry Memorial in the state park. It took us out into Presque Isle Bay for a 90-minute narrated tour of Erie and Presque Isle's shores. Normally, it also goes around Gull Point into the open waters of Lake Erie to see the other side of the Isle, however the winds were still high that day and the surf on the lake too rough. Instead we cruised a little deeper into Presque Isle Bay.

Bicentennial Tower, Erie shoreline Sun Life Marina's Perry Landing Presque Isle's Waterworks Tower North Pier Lighthouse

Scallywag Pirate Ship Windsurfer in Misery Bay Tourist sailboat Perry Monument

If you would like to ride along with us on the Lady Kate, click here for our YouTube video.

Gull Point - Hiking

We weren't quite finished exploring Presque Isle after our boat ride, so we drove out to the parking area for Gull Point and hiked the trail there. Gull Point is the easternmost point of the peninsula and is a popular area for birdwatchers. Every year shorebirds migrate from beyond the Arctic Circle to South America and back again, stopping there on their way.

This portion of the peninsula has been reserved as a State Park Natural Area for the birds to rest, feed and nest. Although most of the area is closed to the public from April 1 to October 31, we were able to hike on a designated trail that took us to two observation platforms. We were only able to get photos of some geese and sea gulls - the other birds were too quick to capture on film, but we did enjoy the walk out to the point and back. The trail became a little elusive as it veered off onto the shore of Lake Erie and we had to look closely for the path leading back to the point on the other side, but the walk on the beach was an added bonus. It was a nice way to fill the time before meeting our family for dinner in Erie.

View across a marshy pond   Fowlers Toad, found along the trail

One of two observation decks   Purple Loosestrife

If you'd like to tag along on our walk to Gull Point, click here for our YouTube video.

We managed to explore quite a bit of Presque Isle during our two full day visit. We biked it, kayaked it, hiked it, and boated along its shore, doing all the things we love to do most!

* All photos and videos are the property of the blog owners unless otherwise noted. *