Tag Fall

Wildflower Preserve at Raccoon Creek & Fermata Brewing Co.

hikesandhopsblog 3 Comments

Beaver County, PA

After several months of weekend trips, Hikes & Hops was happy to finally do a local hike. Raccoon Creek is one of my favorite state parks near Pittsburgh. Despite having hiked many miles here, I always end up back at the Wildflower Preserve. While this is stunning in the spring, I also highly recommend a fall visit for those beautiful autumn wildflowers and the warm colors along the creek. This was a perfect hike to do after work followed by a beer at Fermata Brewing in Ambridge!

THE HIKE: Wildflower Preserve Loop

Length: 2.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 187 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 1 hour
Trail use: Hiking Only, no biking, no pets
Parking: Large lot at trailhead, bathroom facilities in office
H&H: 5/5

Raccoon Creek State Park is one of the biggest state parks in Pennsylvania! At over 7,000 acres, it boasts 44 miles of trail, a 100-acre lake open for fishing, boating, and swimming, and multiple campgrounds and picnic areas. No wonder it’s so popular! While in summertime, Raccoon Creek State Park is quite busy at the lake, my favorite time to visit is during the spring and fall. Raccoon is famous for its Wildflower Reserve which has some of the greatest biodiversity of wildflowers in the whole state. In fact, along just 4.5 miles of trail, there are over 700 species of plants. Wildflower blooms peak in late April through early May and then again in August through early September. 

The wildflower preserve gets a lot of attention in the Spring, but I think there’s a lot of beauty to be seen in the Fall as well! During this time of the year, keep a look out for goldenrod, asters, and more. In early October, the lowlands along Raccoon Creek were also stunning with bright yellows and oranges emerging in the trees. This is also a great area to look for mushroom and amphibian friends! 

From the parking lot, there are several trails that can be taken. My preferred path is to start on the Jennings Trail which starts uphill towards the Hungerford Cabin. After passing the cabin, the trail heads into the forest and circles downhill toward the creek. Eventually, turn to the right to get on the Meadow Trail to reach the creek. There’s an easy spot to go out onto the creek bed and skip some stones or just take in the enormous trees. Eventually the Meadow trail rejoins the Jennings trail for a short while. Finally turn left on the Max Henrici Trail to ascend back up the hill and complete your loop. This is a great easy trail to see a lot in a short trek. If this wasn’t quite enough for you, head further into the park and check out the Mineral Springs waterfall or the Lake loop. 

There aren’t very many breweries near Raccoon, so I’d suggest hopping over to Ambridge to put your feet up at Fermata Brewing Company!

THE BEER: Fermata Brewing Co

Address: 918 Merchant Street, Ambridge, PA 15003
Distance from Trail Head: 21 mins, 13 miles
Website: fermatabrewing.beer
Food?: Food trucks or BYOF
Details: indoor seating only, frequent live music

Somehow it has been over a year since we visited Fermata! Fermata Brewing is the newest addition to the Ambridge Brew scene having opened back in March 2022. The place is still jamming (literally) and pouring some fantastic beers!

The name Fermata is actually a musical term, which is fitting since all of the partners are music lovers! In written music a fermata is a “pause of unspecified length over a note or rest”. This is a fitting name for the brewery because it invites everyone to pause and stay for a while. Fermata wants to be a place of community in Ambridge where everyone is welcome to come and enjoy great beer and great community. Sign me up! Fermata also pays homage to the history of Ambridge and the American Bridge company from which the town gets its name. The brewery incorporates both the fermata symbol and a bridge in their logo as a shout out to their origins. 

One thing I really loved about this place was the immediate sense of chill when we walked in. There were so many places to sit and relax and we felt welcomed by the staff. The decor is so cool, with photos and maps harkening back to the old days of Ambridge side by side with classic music records and memorabilia. I also love that the brewing area is right out in the open! If you’re a music lover, this is the place to be! On the Saturday night we visited, the place was packed and a live band had everyone jamming. Keep an eye on their social media to stay up to date with upcoming shows! 

Our Beer:

  • Jambridge – Marzen – 5.8%
  • Autumn Leaves – Brown Ale – 5.4%
  • Groovitational Pull – Brut IPA – 6%
  • It Was All A Dream – Hazy IPA – 5% (Collab with 412 Beer)

Looking for other hikes & Hops North of Pittsburgh? Check out Wolf Creek Narrows & Big Rail Brewing, North Country Trail: PA Border & Ill Will (in OH), Hell’s Hollow & Shubrew, or Sewickley Height Park & Big Sewickley Creek Brewing.

North Park & Cinderlands Taproom

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Wexford, PA

A head cold can’t stop me from going leaf peeping around Pittsburgh! Hoping for an easy, woodsy hike, we headed up to North Park after work. I am definitely going to miss the evening sunlight! We’ve been hiking in North Park before, but this time we combined sections of the Rachel Carson trail, white, and blue blazes to make a nice loop. This was a quiet loop on a Friday evening and would be a great hike to bring the kids on! After our walk, we went to Cinderlands’ new Wexford location which had a fantastic outdoor space with a firepit. Enjoy these last few days of autumn colors around Western PA!

THE HIKE: North Park Loop

https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/pennsylvania/rachel-carson-trail–5

Length: 2.6 miles
Elevation Gain: 331 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 1-1.5 hours
Trail use: Hiking, mountain biking, leashed pets
Parking: Large lots around the park
H&H: 4/5

North Park is such a huge park that it can be hard to figure out where to hike! For some reason, we always end up in the same area near the pool but we never end up on the same path! There’s so much to choose from around here that it’s good to have a map or an AllTrails route picked out. This particular path was a nice easy wander through the woods which was exactly what I needed with a head cold! It’s always shocking how exhausted I feel when I’m sick. We had great intentions of a bigger loop but it just wasn’t in the cards that day! This 2.6 mile loop includes sections of the Rachel Carson trail, the white trail, and the blue trail and there’s plenty of opportunity to add more to your route! If you want to learn more about the Rachel Carson trail, I talk about it more in this post: https://hikesandhops.org/2022/05/29/rachel-carson-trail-acrospire-brewing-co/

North Park is the biggest of the county parks here in Allegheny County and it has pretty much any outdoor activity you could possibly want. There’s a pool, miles of trails, a golf course, a large lake for kayaking and fishing, an ice rink, several ball courts, and much more! North Park was envisioned by lumber baron E.V. Babock when he was named County Commissioner. He dreamed of creating “people’s country clubs” around the county that would offer a preserved green space for people to enjoy the beauty of nature. Coming at the high of the Industrial Revolution here in Pittsburgh, this idea for preserving greenspace was widely mocked. However, Babcock forged ahead, creating both North and South Park in 1927. We know who’s laughing now almost 100 years later! 

As you can imagine, North Park is pretty popular so be prepared to share the trail with other hikers, mountain bikers, and families as you explore nature. We only encountered a few other folks but I imagine the trails would be busy on a nice weekend. Especially at this time of year keep your eyes peeled for fungi too! We saw these huge white mushrooms on a dead snag, let me know if you have an ID! I love hiking in the fall and seeing all of the colors of the woods slowly change and fade. This was the first year I really saw the golden color of the undergrowth ferns before they die back in the winter. Overall this is a lovely hike to take any time of the year, but it was especially beautiful in the fall!

THE BEER: Cinderlands Taproom

Address: 171 Wexford Bayne Rd Ste 101, Wexford, PA 15090
Distance from Trail Head: 6 miles, 12 mins
Website: http://www.cinderlands.com/
Food?: Bar Snacks
Details: Outdoor seating, dog friendly outside

After our stroll, we wanted to check out the Wexford branch of Cinderlands. I’ve only ever been to their location in the Strip District which is very nice but so big! The Wexford location is their newest expansion, opening in 2021. The team describes this location as a stripped down version of Cinderlands, focusing in on the beer experience. Unlike the other locations, there’s not a full kitchen  although some bar snacks are available. At this taproom, there’s a wide selection of cans and merch available to-go. We saw lots of people come in to stock up for their weekend! This Cinderlands experience feels much more intimate than the larger Strip District location. The inside space is cozy with the tables thoughtfully placed so you can have a large group or just sit with a partner. We especially liked the outdoor space with tables and a firepit. The set up really encouraged friendly camaraderie with the other folks enjoying a beer. And the firepit was really a nice touch as these evenings really get cooler! 

I’ve had several Cinderlands beers before but I was most looking forward to trying their fall offering. This year, Cinderlands took a different approach to the pumpkin beer craze. They created a pumpkin beer in their Star Crumb sour line! It’s described as “Pumpkin pie in a glass”. I shamelessly love pumpkin beer so I had to try it. Sadly, this was not the one for me. I wasn’t a fan of the acidity of a sour beer and the sweetness of pumpkin. It was popular with the folks around us though so it must just be me! 

OUR BEER: 

  • Full Squish – NEIPA – 6.5%
  • Star Crumb: Pumpkin Pie – Sour – 8.2%
  • Archive Series: Amber Ale – Red Ale – 5.5%

SUM UP: North Park is the largest of the County Parks here in Allegheny County and it offers over 200 miles of multi-use trails! We stuck to a loop around the pool that stays completely in the woods and almost makes you forget how close to civilization you are! The trail is mostly easy with one steeper incline at the very end and a few rocky spots. Although I’ve rated it as moderate, I still think a novice hiker could do this one! After enjoying a stroll in nature, head over to Wexford to relax at Cinderland’s Taproom. Try to snag a spot at the firepit for the perfect fall evening!