Welcome to FriendsOfOhiopyle.info
We are a dedicated group of volunteers working to help care for Ohiopyle State Park in Ohiopyle, PA.
This weekend will be a busy one for Friends of Ohiopyle and we hope you can join us and help out.
Take your pick of work--the Youth Fishing Festival is going to start with registration at 9 am. We can use help getting people signed in and setting up. We will also need people to help serving lunch for the kids as well. Not a fishing or kid person? We will have crews headed out onto the trails to clear them for the busy upcoming season. Pack a lunch and come spend the day at the park. The weather is looking to be awesome and it's a great place to be! Hope to see you there!Mark your calendars! Our next trail date is set for Saturday, March 2, 2013.
What's the game plan? Lots!
As work on the new Visitor's Center continues, we have the task of moving plants from the Falls
Area flower bed over to the Train Station flower bed. (This includes the Paw-Paw tree). We're
hoping to save some unique species we currently have there by transplanting them. We can use help
with that task--so please join us! Tools will be provided!
Not into gardening and want something a little more heavy duty and off the beaten path? We're still
clearing trails from Super Storm Sandy and our own recent snows. Join us up on McCune and
Sugarloaf to walk the trails and clear then as well. This will entail carrying small tools,
clipping and moving small branches, along with running chainsaws and moving small logs. We can use
lots of help, so please consider joining us!
Questions--call the park office at 724.329.8591 for more details!
Tomorrow is the day! Winterfest is happening up on Sugarloaf at the sledding area Saturday,
February 2, 2013.
The event will start at 11am and run until 4 pm, and guests are welcome to stay after the event is
over to continue sled riding.
With fresh snow on the ground and more in the forecast to fall, things are looking awesome for the
event! Try out snow shoes or cross country skis. Take a sleigh ride (fee) or a guided hike with the
park naturalists. Survival programs, a bon fire, a snow snake and other events are scheduled to
take place.
Bring your own gear if you'd like (skis, etc.)-- and sleds are NOT provided. There are new
restrooms up there for use, and FOO will be selling food and drinks, so please come out and support
FOO and enjoy this (finally!) seasonal winter weather!
Everyone here at Friends of Ohiopyle would like to wish you, your family and friends a wonderful New Year!
We're going to kick off the new year right with our first trail day on Saturday, January 5th. Meet at the park office at 9 am. We will be working up on Sugarloaf to clear trails and the area for Winterfest! Come prepared--dress in layers, and remember, it does tend to be windy up there! Bring a lunch and water--tools will be provided! If the weather cooperates, maybe we'll do a little sledding after we work! Hope you can make it out to help! We'd love to see you! Happy New Year!Join us this Saturday, December 8th at 9 am for the last trail day of 2012!
We will meet at the park office and then head out for some trail work. After lunch, discussion about Winterfest will take place, and if you're really ambitious, you can head back out on the trails! We hope you can come and spend some time with FOO this weekend!
Reminder to everyone heading out to work or play--we're still in hunting season, so make sure you're wearing your orange gear! Be safe out there!
2013 FOO CALENDARS ARE HERE!!!
The calendars feature the scenic beauty of Ohiopyle State Park and visitors enjoying the recreational activities offered in the park.
Calendars are $5.00
(+ $1.50 per calendar shipping & handling)
They make great gifts and are a way to show your support for FOO!!
2011 Friends of Ohiopyle Photo Contest Winners
- Recreation:
- Nature:
- Youth:
John Georgevich - Blue Ribbon
W. Michael Gladkowski - People's Choice
Mark Shotter - Blue Ribbon
Mark Shotter - People's Choice
Sara Mitchell - Blue Ribbon
Rebecca Williams - People's Choice
'Tis the season--the clouds are parting and the mercury is rising, and that typically brings people out in droves to Ohiopyle. While we love having visitors come and enjoy the park, all too often, people end up injured due to a lack of information about their surroundings.
This is the time of year when people start to come out of their homes. The same goes for the wildlife of PA. Though most PA wildlife is able to co-exist peacefully with humans, every year, we hear stories about people who end up injured due to run-ins with wildlife. Specifically, snakes.
Ohiopyle is home to many species of snakes. Though there are few poisonous snakes in PA, we do have a couple that reside in Ohiopyle and Western PA. This is the time of year where the snakes also come out of their homes after a long, cold winter; and they want to enjoy the park too. After all, it is their home!
Copperheads and Timber Rattlesnakes reside here, and are both poisonous. You don't see them too often; and you will see Copperheads more than the Rattlers.
It is not uncommon to see snakes sunning themselves along the bike trails and roads of the park. Please be aware of this, and if you see a snake, try to avoid it. While the majority of the time, snakes are more scared of us than we are of them, snakes can become aggressive. This is especially true if you are near its den, its offspring, or have agitated it. (By 'agitated it' we refer to people accidentally stepping on it, poking it with a stick, etc.)
While any creature may become agitated if you are infringing on its personal space, Copperheads and Rattlesnakes pack venom that can really ruin your trip, or in severe cases, kill you. Please be mindful of this while visiting the park. If you see a snake, leave it be.
Where do snakes like to live?
- Snakes typically like places that are cool, moist and have lots of little nooks to slither around in and on. Woodpiles, logs and rock are all prime locations for snake dens. In Ohiopyle all along the river's edge, in areas where there are rocks especially, Copperheads like to live. In the Falls Area, where people like to swim, and along Ferncliff, snakes make their homes in the rocks that line the rivers. BE CAREFUL!
What should you do if you get bitten by a Copperhead at Ohiopyle?
- If you are in the campground, go to either the campground host or the contact station, and they can contact a ranger for you.
- In the main area of the park (Falls Area, Train Station, Ferncliff, etc.) go to the Train Station and ask for a ranger to be called, and they will call 911 for you.
- You can also call 911, and let dispatch know you are in Ohiopyle State Park, and they will contact the rangers and send medical help.
- If you're at home and get bitten, call 911 immediately or get yourself to the nearest hospital for medical treatment.
Below is a link with really good information about Copperheads.
http://www.copperhead-snake.comThe Friends of Ohiopyle App for Android phones is now available for free download in the Android Market.
Features include:
- Information about FOO and Ohiopyle State Park
- A guide to invasive plant species
- Current weather conditions for Ohiopyle, including water level & flow rate
- Google Map view of Ohiopyle
To download search for Friends of Ohiopyle in the Android Market or Scan the following barcode image with your Android phone:
Requires Android version 1.5 or newer.
Please send any questions or feedback to foodroid118@gmail.com
We've spent a decent bit of time trying to fight off this invasive plant. Characterized by its garlic smell and small clusters of white flowers, this plant is one of the first signs of spring in our area. Garlic mustard grows pretty much anywhere it can, and is a major issue at Ohiopyle. Last Saturday's Trail Date was spent with volunteers pulling and bagging Garlic Mustard along the Great Gorge Trail and along the road leading from Cucumber Falls to Thorpe Knob.
Below is a link for an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about this invasive species. Project Weedwhack works on the removal of this species. If you have the time, please consider joining us for one of our weed whack events. Please click on the 'Projects' link on the left side of this page and then on "Invasive Species Removal" for more info. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10133/1057 605-57.stm Did you know.....? Each garlic mustard plant produces hundreds of seeds each year. One garlic mustard plant continues to grow year after year. Each year, the plant regrows, becoming stronger and larger, and produces more seeds. Seeds deposited in the soil by a garlic mustard plant can stay active for up to seven years. This seed bank is part of why this plant spreads as rapidly as it does. Once garlic mustard has been pulled, it must be removed from the area. Garlic mustard has enough stored energy to continue to grow and produce its seeds even after it has been pulled.