Kinzua Dam | The Beauty Around Us

Posts tagged ‘Kinzua Dam’

The Super Moon

This evening’s full moon was closer to Earth than it has been in more than 18 years. Tonight’s moon has been referred to as a “super moon”. I had hoped to capture a picture of the moon close to the horizon. I missed the fact, though, that the moon had to crest a hill before I would be able to see it. I did manage to get a decent picture of the “super moon”, albeit sized smaller than I expected.

The “Super Moon”

An Autumn Ride

Bob and I went for a 90-mile motorcycle ride yesterday afternoon. We rode to Kinzua Bridge State Park, which is located near Mt. Jewett, Pennsylvania.

We had perfect riding conditions. The sunshine was brilliant, the sky blue with only a few clouds in view, and the temperature in the upper 60s or low 70s. We enjoyed the beauty of the red, yellow and orange colors of the leaves that surrounded us during our ride.

Kinzua Bridge State Park

It has been 7 years since Kinzua Bridge was blown down by a tornado. Remnants of the bridge still lay on the forest floor. I wrote a blog post about the Kinzua Bridge a little more than a year ago. If you are interested in reading that post about Kinzua Bridge and seeing a few more photographs, you may do so by clicking here. Prior to the tornado of 2003, Kinzua Bridge was a prime spot to enjoy the Autumn colors.

While at Kinzua Bridge State Park, we conversed with a man who doesn’t get “up this way much”. He told us that he lives 100 miles away, in Kittanning. Kittanning, you say? Well, I grew up near Kittanning. We share a few names, people whom we both know. As it turns out this man doesn’t live in Kittanning. He lives near Kittanning, in Worthington. I mention the name of a family who lives in Worthington. We made an amazing discovery! This man lives next door to the family mentioned. This man’s neighbors — Connie and Paul F. — are friends of mine. Connie and I graduated high school together. Wonders never cease! The world is a small place, isn’t it?

On our way back home from Kinzua Bridge State Park we stopped briefly at the Big Bend Recreation Area, along the Allegheny River, for a view of Kinzua Dam.

Bob, with Kinzua Dam in the background

Although Kinzua Dam is located only 6 miles from where we live, this was the first time that either Bob or I had seen Kinzua Dam from this vantage point.

We made one more stop before returning home. An 18-foot tall cast iron fountain was installed recently in Warren. I hadn’t yet seen the fountain.

Heritage Fountain

The new fountain is located at the intersection of Second and Pennsylvania Avenues in Warren, PA. This fountain is the centerpiece of Warren’s Downtown Streetscape Revitalization Project. I’ll be happy when construction in downtown Warren is completed. I believe the Streetscape Project was initiated sometime in 2009; however, construction in Warren has been ongoing since late 2002.

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.

The third overlook is of Casey Bridge and the Allegheny River.

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

After leaving Rimrock we back tracked a bit on Route 59, returning to Route 321. We turned left onto Route 321 and followed it until we reached Route 346. We turned left onto Route 346 and followed it into New York, at which time the road became Route 280.

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

While at the boat launch I took several photographs of a pair of Canadian geese.

Route 280 took us to Allegany State Park, to Interstate 86. As we were within a few miles of the Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, NY, we decided to go there for lunch. We enjoyed the casino’s all-you-can-eat buffet featuring prime rib and seafood. After eating lunch we played the slots. It wasn’t our lucky day; we walked away with a few less bills in our pocket. We aren’t big spenders, so our loss was not large.

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.

View at Webbs Ferry boat launch

We returned home at 4:00PM — 7 Hours and 140 Miles Later.