March | 2024 | Hikes and Hops

Imperial, PA

Head out to Settler’s Cabin park, one of the nine Allegheny County Parks, for a Springtime hike! See the modest waterfall, hike through freshly emerging wildflowers, and enjoy meandering through hemlock and pine groves. This park is beautiful all year round but is particularly lovely in the early spring. Afterward, check out Altered Genius’ new Trailside taproom right along the Montour Trail in Imperial!

THE HIKE: Settler’s Cabin South Loop

Length: 4 miles
Elevation Gain: 400 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 1.5 hours
Trail use: Biking, hiking, leashed pets
Parking: Park at Tomahawk Shelter

Settler’s Cabin Park is one of the many parks managed and maintained by Allegheny County. The large park boasts not only miles of wooded trail, but also large pavilions, a wave pool, playgrounds, tennis courts, and a hockey rink. There really is something for everyone! I grew up going to this park for birthday and graduation parties, but never knew that there were so many trails here too!

The park gets its name from a historic log cabin located onsite which archaeologists helped to date to 1780. The various pavilions are also named for the Native peoples that once lived in this area including the Algonquian, Seneca, Cayuga, and Chippewa. Prior to the land being purchased by the County in 1971, this area was an active coal mine. Thankfully, efforts are continually being made to reclaim and reforest the area, as well as to mitigate some of the residual mine drainage in some of the creeks. Because of its history, the land can support a unique variety of native flora in its more acidic soil. Settler’s Cabin is particularly known for its beautiful displays of wildflowers in the Spring and Fall.

There’s over 10 miles of trails at this park but we chose to stick with a smaller loop that included the waterfall (my favorite spot) and a new section of the red trail that we hadn’t tackled before. This time of year, there were tiny flowers poking through the ground on a sunny March afternoon.

Settler’s Cabin is a fairly large park, so I’d recommend having a route picked out from AllTrails or use the County Park’s app to follow the trails as you can easily end up making it further away than expected. On this trek, I wanted to see where the planned connector to the Panhandle rail trail will be at the southwestern corner of the park. Eventually this connector trail will allow access from the park to South Park and all the way to the Great Allegheny Passage!

Where to park: This hike starts at the Tomahawk shelter where there is a large parking lot and portapotty. If there’s an event here, you can also park at the nearby playground or the dog park.

The Route: From the Tomahawk shelter, the trail starts at the tree line where there is a kiosk with a map and trail alerts. Head into the woods on the blue trail. The trail goes downhill through hemlock trees, then turn left where the blue trail splits from the red. Stay on the blue trail for about a half mile. Then follow the trail signs for the Green/Waterfall Trail. This trail is a wide, well maintained path that switchbacks down the hillside. The trail lets out at a small creek and there is a spur trail to the right to see the waterfall. This waterfall is only 4-ft and is by no means the most impressive falls in western PA but it’s still worth a visit and is a great place to sit and enjoy nature. From here, follow along the Green trail as it meanders along the creek bed. This is a prime section for spotting wildflowers! Just over a mile, the Green Trail turns right and heads up a steep section of hillside. This is the steepest hill that you’ll climb on the Trek. At the top of the hill, turn left onto the Red trail to continue along the quieter southern portion of the park. At about 2.3 miles, there is a trail intersection where heading to the left continues along the Red Trail and crosses over the paved Panhandle connector. Instead, turn right and get on the Yellow Trail. Follow the yellow trail for about a half mile, then turn right on the wide gravel path. Alltrails labels this as the purple trail but we didn’t see any blazes. Continue slightly uphill on this path until it intersections with another portion of the red trail. Turn left and continue along the Red Trail until it meets back up with the Blue Trail and the Tomahawk Shelter parking lot.

THE BEER: Altered Genius Trailside

Address: 258 Main St, Imperial, PA 15126
Distance from Trail Head: 14 mins, 6.3 miles
Website: www.alteredgeniusbrewing.com
Food?: BYOF, Food Trucks
Details: Outdoor seating, Potentially dog friendly outside

Altered Genius has been crafting unique beers and delicious foods in Ambridge since 2020. The owners may have opened their business during a difficult time but managed to quickly find a loyal following in the Ambridge community. Owners and brewers Donnie and Mike began homebrewing roughly 10 years while they were both working in alternative education. When they shifted to opening a brewery full time, it was a no-brainer that the brewery’s name had to give a nod to their past careers: hence Altered Genius.

The Ambridge brewery has been so successful that the owners knew it was time to bring their beer across the river. Their second location, called Altered Genius Trailside, opened in March 2024 along Main Street in Imperial. The best part? It’s right on the Montour Trail! This spacious taproom offers all the usual AG favorites, as well as cider from A Few Bad Apples. There’s no kitchen here, but expect a regular round of food trucks. I can’t wait to come back sit on the back patio, it looked like the perfect Sunday afternoon spot.

Our Beer:

Prim – German Pilsner – 5.1%
Umbrella in a Brainstorm – Saison – 4.7%
Lady Red Hair – Red IPA – 6.8%
Stephens Island – Irish Stout – 5%

Looking for more Hikes & Hops west of the city? Check out: Raccoon Creek State Park & Fermata Brewing, Robin Hill & Cobblehaus, and Montour Woods & Abjuration

Collegeville, PA

Evansburg State Park is a small state park along the Skippack Creek in Southeastern PA. The full Skippack Creek Loop Trail takes you around the whole park, along the creek’s edge and up along a ridge. Although it was pretty muddy when we visited, this seems like it would be a great place to visit in the drier summer months!

THE HIKE: Skippack Creek Trail

Length: 5 miles
Elevation Gain: 262 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2 hours
Trail use: Hiking, Mountain biking, Horseback riding,
Parking: Small lot at trailhead

Find the Parking Lot: Park at Pavilion A off Mayhill Road. Use 40.1980458, -75.4042884 to find the trailhead

Evansburg State Park encompasses 3,300 acres of green space in Montgomery County, PA. Its main feature is the Skippack Creek, making it a popular spot for fishing. There are 26 miles of trails for hikers, some of which are also open for mountain biking and horseback riding. In the winter, you can still get out on the trails for cross-country skiing.

History

This area was once the land of the Delaware or Lenni Lenape people. Their society spanned most of modern day New Jersey into the PA Lehigh Valley and up to the New York Catskills. Sadly, their matrilineal clans were greatly impacted by European diseases by the time William Penn made his 1684 “purchase” of the American province that would become Pennsylvania. Although WIlliam Penn, a Quaker who founding PA for religious freedom, approached the Lenni Lenape people with peace treaties and payment for their land, his descendents were not so peaceful. In the early 1700s many Lenni Lenape were forcibly removed from their lands in eastern Pennsylvania.

As the population of Philadelphia exploded in the 1700s, the surrounding area also began to grow to support trade and industry. The Skippack Creek valley was connected to the main city by the construction of the Skippack Pike and the 8-arch bridge over the creek. Built in 1792, this bridge still exists today and is one of the oldest continuously used bridges in the state.

The land surrounding the modern state park was once home to German Mennonite families seeking religious freedom in Penn’s new colony. They used the waters of the Skippack to power their mills and remnants of these buildings can still be seen along the creek today.

The Hike

The Skippack Creek Loop is a fairly easy 5 miles loop around the park with only a few difficult uphill sections and two portions on the road. Although you can park at various places through the park to access the point, we parked at Pavilion A where there was sufficient parking and bathroom facilities.

From the parking lot, head down the gravel road until you reach the rounded turn around spot. The trail starts to the left and is marked by yellow blazes with a sign for Skippack Creek Loop. We choose to go clockwise (turning to the left to begin) and this is probably the way I would suggest to begin.

Immediately you’ll head downhill on a single track direct path towards the creekside. Along this route, you’ll cross over several small bridges and the way may be muddy. Continuing along, notice interpretive signs about the geology and wildlife of the area. You’ll stay on the Skippack Loop the whole time so ignore the signs for the Farmstead.

After the trail reaches the river, it gets slightly confusing with horseriders and hiking having created a meandering crisscross of trails. They all lead generally the main directions and following alongside the creek will send you on the right path. About a mile in the hike, there is a stream crossing that could be easy in the summer but in the spring was pretty wide and slightly difficult to cross. We managed to make a couple wide leaps to stones without getting feet wet but this one might be hard for little legs.

Eventually the trail emerges onto Kratz road and you will turn right to cross the bridge along the shoulder. Be very careful as this is an active road. On the other side of the bridge is another parking area for the trail. The route begins around at the back right corner of the parking lot and heads into a field before descending back into the woods. This side of the creek is much hillier as the trail travels along a ridge overlooking the creek. You’ll also pass by some ruins along the creek which may have been an old gristmill.

Finally the trail lets out onto Water Street Road which you’ll follow for about 0.5 miles. Although this is a quiet street, this was my least favorite part of the hike because there is no sidewalk and only a narrow median before the guardrail. Finally you’ll reach a pedestrian bridge to the right and use it to cross over the creek. Turn to the right to get back on the Skippack Creek Trail and finish the loop.

PA Park Passport: Sticker at kiosk outside the Park Main Office

THE BEER: Trouble’s End Brewing

Address: 50 W Third Ave STE 310, Collegeville, PA 19426
Distance from Trail Head: 3.6 miles, 11 mins
Website: www.troublesendbrewing.com/
Food?: Full Menu
Details: Summer beer garden, no pets, live music

Tucked in the small town of Collegeville, just shy of 4 miles from the state park is Troubles End Brewpub. Located on the top floor of an old industrial building, this pub has some of the coolest vibes I’ve seen. The rustic beams lend to a farmhouse style, but the brightly painted furniture and strings of multicolor lights bring a sense of whimsy. Whimsy is definitely a way to describe their robust beer menu. Full of unique takes on classic styles, you can’t help but notice the interesting tasting notes. While I’m not exactly sure how my porter tasted like “one single piece of salted licorice in a wool coat pocket”, they definitely get an A+ for creativity!

While we didn’t have any food at the pub, they had a delicious sounding menu of gastropub favorites as well as a more upscale entrée list that included wild boar meatloaf and crab cakes. Tucked into the corner of the large space was a stage complete with a flower studded piano. Clearly this brewpub knows how to jam! Check out their events calendar on their website for upcoming shows