Seven Hours and 140 Miles Later
This past Sunday Bob and I went on a drive around the Allegheny Reservoir, starting at Kinzua Dam. Kinzua Dam, located 6 miles east of Warren, PA along Route 59, impounds the 12,080-acre Allegheny Reservoir. Of those 12,080 acres, 7,783 acres are within Pennsylvania. The remaining 4,297 acres are in New York. The Allegheny Reservoir is 27 miles long with 90 miles of shoreline and includes many recreational facilities to include marinas, boat launches, and campgrounds. There are splendid views of the Allegheny Reservoir from Jakes Rocks and Rimrock. You can see Kinzua Dam from Jakes Rocks as well.
- Directions to Jakes Rocks: From Warren go east on Route 59. Just before Casey Bridge turn right onto Longhouse National Scenic Highway and follow signs to Jakes Rocks.
- Directions to Rimrock: From Warren go east on Route 59, over the Casey Bridge. Continue to the top of the long hill on Route 59 into McKean County. At the top of the hill, there is an access road to the right (marked Rimrock) that leads one directly to the Rimrock parking area.
Sunday was a beautiful Spring day, with blue skies and temperatures (eventually) in the lower 50s. The day started out pretty cool. The temperature hadn’t even reached the freezing mark when Bob and I started our drive at 9:00AM. We made frequent stops while driving around the Allegheny Reservoir.
Our first stop was at Kinzua Dam.
A thin stream of water falling from the top of the cliff opposite Kinzua Dam fascinated me.
I liked the way that the sun shone on the waterfall.
Our second stop was at Jakes Rocks.
We followed the trail through the forest to the overlook of the Allegheny Reservoir.
While we admired the view of the Allegheny Reservoir, several young people joined us. One young man told us that they had been camping. I think he was amazed that they had camped out on such a cold night! There was time to snap a couple more photographs, as we walked along the forest trail, on our way back to the parking lot.
Bob enjoyed climbing the rocks.
I preferred having my picture taken, while standing beside a rock.
As you exit Jakes Rocks, there are three scenic overlooks. You can see Kinzua Dam from two of the overlooks.
Bob at first overlook of Kinzua Dam
View of Kinzua Dam at Second Overlook.
You can see the Allegheny River at this overlook too.
Casey Bridge Overlook
From Jakes Rocks we continued our drive around the Allegheny Reservoir via Longhouse National Scenic Byway (FR262). We passed by at least one boat launch, as well as three campgrounds — Dewdrop, Kiasutha and Red Bridge.
Elijah Run boat launch
We turned left onto Route 321 and followed it until we met up again with Route 59. We turned left onto Route 59 and made our way to our next stop, which was at Rimrock.
Bob found more rocks to climb at Rimrock.
Two Views of Allegheny Reservoir from Rimrock Overlook
My favorite stop during our drive was at the Sugar Bay boat launch along Route 321.
Sugar Bay boat launch, as seen from Route 321. This would have been a perfect spot for a picnic.
The view from the Sugar Bay boat launch
After leaving the casino, we continued our way around the Allegheny Reservoir. We followed Interstate 86 west towards Erie, exiting the Interstate at Steamburg. We followed W Perimeter Road through Scandia, into Warren. Before reaching Warren we made one last stop at the Webbs Ferry boat launch.
We returned home at 4:00PM — 7 Hours and 140 Miles Later.
The Beauty Around Us 
3 Responses to “Seven Hours and 140 Miles Later”
Linda & Bob you both have great vision and prose for the pics that you shoot…great shotscarl
You guys always take such cool mini-vacations to the places right in our own backyard. or maybe you just have a different way of looking at all of it.
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