Moraine State Park

First conceived in the 1950s, Moraine State Park was a dream of the late Dr. Frank Preston of Butler County, Meridian, PA. A noted amateur geologist, Dr. Preston studied and mapped the formerly glacial landscape of Lawrence and Butler counties. Through his research, he recognized that Muddy Creek once supplied a vast lake filled with the melt waters of the last glaciation. His dream was to reconstruct, on a smaller scale, that glacial lake and provide the region with a major new recreational area.

Preston enlisted the support of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where he served on the Board of Directors, and WPC began to acquire land for the project. Once several thousand acres had been secured, the Conservancy transferred its holdings to the Pa. Bureau of State Parks, and Moraine State Park was created. In 1969, the dam was completed and the lake began to fill. Many facilities have since been added, offering a wide variety of recreational opportunities. Moraine State Park now hosts over one million visitors each year, making it the second most heavily used park in Pennsylvania. The combination of landscapes can allow for a quiet visit to an isolated wildflower-filled ravine, birding along wetland edges, sailing or sailboarding, or a lazy afternoon fishing with the family.

See a slideshow of how Moraine State park came to be.