Aug. 17-19 Ohiopyle, PA

"Hiking is not escapism; It's realism. The people who choose to spend time outdoors are not running away from anything: We are returning to where we belong." –Anonymous 

We're having fun exploring our new state. We've had Ohioplye on our list of places to visit for a while. It's a small mountain town that serves as the gateway to Ohiopyle State Park, one of Pennsylvania's most beautiful natural areas filled with waterfalls, hiking trails, scenic vistas and outdoor recreation spots. The town sits on the Youghiogheny River, in southeastern Pennsylvania. It's a great place to tackle some of the best whitewater rafting on the east coast or view the Ohiopyle Falls. We didn't do any rafting this time but we did chase waterfalls, took in some wonderful views and did a little hiking.

The name Ohiopyle comes from the Native American phrase ahi opihəle, which means "it turns very white". This translation describes the frothy, rushing white water of the Youghiogheny River as it cascades over the rocky Ohiopyle Falls.  

 

This was a last minute trip...planned around the weather. So our choice of somewhere to stay was limited. We found a little cabin just outside of town. Nothing fancy but it served the purpose.

Our little outside kitchen.

We spent our time in the park hiking and seeking out waterfalls. We enjoy hiking but our favorite places to hike include water…especially waterfalls. We found some great falls on this trip. We began our day by hiking the Jonathan Run Trail to Jonathan Run Falls and then took a short spur over to Sugar Run Falls. A total of four miles out and back. To get to the best views of the falls we had to scramble down to the bottom. Well worth the effort. For those who might not know, a run is a term used in Pennsylvania to refer to a small creek or stream. On our way back to town we stop by Cucumber Falls. It's a very impressive waterfall that is easily accessible from the parking lot. After a busy morning we had lunch at the Twisted Spoke and relaxed before our afternoon adventures. 

The trail to Jonathan Run Falls was a bit muddy from all the rain we had last night.

Jonathan Run is a multi-tiered waterfall that tumbles over a series of rocky ledges, creating several smaller drops surrounded by dense forest and massive sandstone boulders. (This was a bright sunny morning.)

This area is so damp and dark...full of all kinds of beautiful fungus.

Sugar Run Falls

Sugar Run

Cucumber Falls is 36' waterfall tumbles over a wide sandstone ledge on Cucumber Run.

Looking down Cucumber Run from the waterfall.

Ohiopyle is a very small but cute little town.

This bridge is part of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP). It's an multiuse trail that runs from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C.

Ohiopyle Falls is a 20-foot-tall waterfall that thunders across the Youghiogheny River just steps from downtown Ohiopyle.

Meadow Run Natural Waterslides is one of Ohiopyle State Park’s most unusual attractions. Over thousands of years, Meadow Run carved smooth channels and chutes into the sandstone, creating a natural rock waterslide. The water level was too high this week for anyone to get into the water.  

Baughman Rock Overlook is one of the most spectacular views in Ohiopyle State Park. This massive rocky outcrop overlooks the Youghiogheny River Gorge.

Aug. 17 - Fallingwater

"The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie." -Mark Twain

On our way to a little getaway in Ohiopyle, PA we stopped to visit one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most widely acclaimed works. Fallingwater represents his philosophy of organic architecture: the harmonious union of art and nature. The house is located in the mountains of Southwestern Pennsylvania, also known as the Laurel Highlands.

Fallingwater was designed in 1935 by Wright for the Kaufmann family, owners of Pittsburgh’s largest department store. He designed the home to rise above a waterfall on Bear Run. Local craftsmen quarried native sandstone and other materials from the property. The main house was completed in nine months and the house is celebrating 90 years in 2026. The guest house, and service wing were completed in 1939.

The Kaufmann family used the home as a vacation house during their lifetimes. In 1963, Edgar Kaufmann Jr. donated and entrusted the site and the surrounding 469 acres to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Fallingwater is the only major Wright work to come into the public domain with its setting, artwork and original Wright-designed furnishings intact.

Today, the home is open to the public as a museum and surrounded by 5,100 acres of natural land known as the Bear Run Nature Reserve. In 2019 it became an UNESCO World Heritage Site and it's also designated as a National Historic Landmark and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasure.

The house includes multiple outdoor terraces, which are cantilevered, extending outward from a chimney without support at the opposite end. The house is made of locally–quarried stone, reinforced concrete, steel, and plate glass. The first story contains the main entrance, the living room, two outdoor terraces and the kitchen. There are four bedrooms and additional terraces on the upper stories. Wright designed most of the house's built-in furniture.  Above the main house is a guest wing with a carport, pool and servants' quarters.

Our first view of the house.

Looking at the house from the bridge that leads to the house. To the lower right is a plunge pool the family enjoyed each morning. The stairs come down from the living room and lead to the top of the falls.

The front door along with hallways are small and narrow. Wright did this to make you feel like you were part of nature.

Here is a look at the living room going clockwise around the room from the front door.

Stairs leading down to the creek.

Wright designed the ceilings low to force your eyes to focus on the view.

The stairs on the right lead up to the second floor.

The kitchen wasn't large but very modern for its time. The kitchen had the same beautiful view as the rest of the house.

Looking toward the windows in the kitchen and upstairs bedrooms.

Looking down past the falls from the west terrace.

The Sung Dynasty (960–1279 AD) Buddha head rests on the west terrace outside the living room.

My favorite part of the house was in Mrs. Kaufmann's bedroom. This Tiffany lamp is beautiful and I love the way the windows go around the corner. I could definitely live in this room.

Mr. Kaufmann's room.

Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. 's suite on the third floor.

A view of the west terrace from Mr. Kaufmann's terrace.

The guest house is up the hill from the main house. The view is pretty but nothing like the view from the main house.

The carport and service quarters are also above the main house next to the guest house and pool.

This is the iconic view everyone knows of this famous house.

A map of the Fallingwater buildings.

Aug. 9-11 Graham’s Visit (Rock Run Falls)

“I love my grandson not only for who he is, but for who I am with him.” -Anonymous

Graham’s visit to the boat was a bit short this year. Summer flew by and we could hardly find time for him to come to the lake. We decided to bring him to the boat after our Keuka Lake family vacation. We had planned to keep him most of the week but he had a dentist appointment on Tuesday so our plan was cut short. 

We took advantage of the time we had. We tried taking him knee boarding but the lake was too rough, so we hung out on the boat. Then went to the Boatyard Grill for a nice dinner. After dinner we buzzed around the lake on a sunset cruise. 

 

Monday was also too windy for knee boarding so we packed up and headed back to Pennsylvania to do a little hiking and waterfall chasing. We spent a few hours exploring Rock Run Falls just north of Graham’s summer camp. It’s a beautiful area with lots of great swimming holes. 

Our meals were extra good this evening.

Graham couldn't knee board, but he enjoys driving the boat just as much.

Rock Run has a series of three waterfalls that form wonderful pools to swim in. Several places even have deep holes where kids like to jump off the cliffs. The water is clear and very cold even on an August afternoon.

Looking up the creek from the middle falls.

Looking down past the middle falls to the swimming hole.

Looking up from the swimming hole at middle falls.

This is where people jump in at the middle falls.

It was a great place to have a picnic.

The water was cold, but Graham jumped in three times.

The water was so clear and pretty. Very inviting.

Rock Run Upper Falls. The cliff here is higher and the kids from Graham's camp come here to play.

We stopped in Williamsport for a little treat on the way home.