Allegheny Almanac

Rimrock Beach Trail Open

You can now get here ...

  

Rimrock Overlook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...from here:

Kinzua Beach

According to a spokesperson for Pennsylvania Kinzua Pathways, the first phase of the Rimrock Beach Trail is completed and the rudimentary pathway is open for adventurous hikers. Young children and out-of-shape oldsters like myself might not enjoy it as much as others at this stage of its construction. My son and I did it easily in about 45 minutes with several stops to rest. There are numerous rock formations that make comfortable seats along the way.

What the trail looks like from above:

 
The two mile or so Rimrock Beach Trail has two major switchbacks to minimize the uphill grade. As the slope increases you are getting closer to the base of Rimrock:

This is what some people call "Cornplanter's Stairway." Take this up to the top of the Overlook, through a neat tunnel staircase, complete with handrails:

  There is plenty, plenty of parking at Kinzua Beach, which might be a good place to start.

 Follow the paved roadway on the upper parking lot as far as it goes to find the trailhead where there is a gate that reads "closed to motorized vehicles" and a gravel road.

 You may see one or two "Rimrock Trail" signs posted there. Once you make it to the top of Rimrock you will be treated to a great vista made possible by a recent "tree trimming" by the Forest Service. From there you can see Dewdrop Campground on the other side of Kizua Lake. Done looking?

Cool off at the base of Cornplanter's Stairs. Turn left at the bottom and follow the base for about 200 feet where you can treat yourself to a natural geo-thermal air conditioner that blows out of the rocks. It's better than a Fridigaire!

 Now the hike back to the beach is all downhill! By the time you finish you will probably be ready for a much-deserved dip in the lake at the beach.

As mentioned before this is just the first phase of the trail construction. A lot of amenities are scheduled to be added later this year or next, including handicap access. For more information, visit the Kinzua Pathways web site at this link. Local high school students put a lot of sophisticated work into designing it and they deserve a lot of credit for a beautiful trail.

--Chris Lareau

ALSO, See Related Article: Kinzua Beach Coming Back to Life

Photo of trail plan by U.S. Forest Service, Allegheny National Forest. All other photos Copyright Chris Lareau and may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Check with the editor, first.
 
 
 
 
 

Kinzua Beach Coming Back To Life

photo Copyright

 
With a forecast for hot and sunny this Saturday and Sunday the initial refurbishments at Kinzua Beach, including water fountains and men's and women's bathrooms, will be a welcome relief for visitors and residents. Admission to the beach and picnic areas is free. It is located on Route 59 (also known as Kinzua Road) across the street from Kinzua Marina, about 12 miles east of Warren, Pennsylvania.

Now you can take your kids to Kinzua Beach. A visit there on Wednesday showed that both the indoor men's and women's bathrooms are open and the drinking fountains are working once again. The recent improvements are part of a local movement to restore the area's signature attractions and even add improvements to make Kinzua Lake even more fun than ever to visit.

Although you still can't buy fast food at the beach like in previous years (you'll have to cross the road and visit Docksider's Waterfront Cafe for that), the U.S. Forest Service is actively looking for a business to acquire the concession for the once busy food stand located inside the main beach building. And once trail amenities from the beach to Rimrock Overlook is completed, the concession stand is sure to follow.

The U.S. Forest Service of Allegheny National Forest recently completed grading the trail to the beach from Rimrock Overlook and it is now open. More construction will include several structures including an information kiosk and a handicap-accessible viewing deck. For more info on the Rimrock Beach Trail, visit this link.

Many more improvements are planned for the beach. For more information, visit the web site for Kinzua Pennsylvania Pathways at this link. Additional recent improvements at the beach include a new paint job for the bath house and the restaurant facility and a volleyball court and a nice-sized picnic pavilion.

Please note that dogs are not allowed inside the beach and picnic area.

Humidity getting to you? Too hot to stay home? Looking for wide open spaces?

Hit the beach! It's free.

photo Copyright by crolla