Ohiopyle State Park, Over the Falls Festival

This Saturday and Sunday, August 27 and 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., boaters will take on the Ohiopyle Falls during the seventh annual Over the Falls Festival. The Festival will bring in whitewater paddlers from all over the country to run and race over the spectacular eighteen-foot waterfall of Ohiopyle. Spectators can watch paddlers sprint and (freestyle) cartwheel, end-over-end, off the eighteen-foot waterfall. Experienced amateur paddlers provide edge-of-your-seat entertainment all weekend with recreational runs. Please note: in case the event is cancelled due to high water, the rain dates will be September 17 & 18, 2005.

Located in Fayette County, Ohiopyle State Park encompasses about 19,052 acres of rugged natural beauty and serves as the gateway to the Laurel Mountains. Between 1961 and 1968, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy acquired, through gifts and purchases, 10,000 acres of land in the Youghiogheny River gorge. This land was conveyed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1968 for creation of the park which is centered around 40-foot Ohiopyle Falls. As a result of these efforts, the recreational, natural, and scientific values of the region have been preserved for generations to come.

For more information on Ohiopyle State Park, contact Ohiopyle State Park Manager John Hallas at (724) 329-8591. Today's photo is from the WPC Resource Conservation archives.

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