Tag PA State Parks

Jennings Environmental Center & Missing Links Brewery

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Butler County, PA

A family Hikes & Hops outing is quickly being a favorite tradition! Over the summer, we visited Jennings Environmental Center in Butler County with my parents. Sharing a border with Moraine State Park, this quaint center is often overlooked by its more showy neighbors. But this nature center is worth a visit in its own right! The park boasts miles of trails through both wooded and prairie ecosystems and is entirely dedicated to nature education. The park also protects the endangered massasuaga rattlesnake One mile of the North County Trail also passes through the park. This is a fantastic park for all hiking abilities!

THE HIKE: Jennings Environmental Center

Length: 5 miles (connect to NCT for more)
Elevation Gain: 300 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 2 hours
Trail use: Hiking, Leashed pets
Parking: Ample parking at Center

This park is one of four environmental education centers managed by the Pennsylvania State Parks system. It’s slightly different from other state parks because its primary purpose is to educate the community about the local environment. The park also offers 5 miles of hiking trails and connects to the North Country Scenic Trail, as well as cross country skiing in the winter. Be aware that certain areas are open to hunting during the season.

Access and Parking: Jennings Environmental Center is free to visit! Park near the office and classrooms, use coordinates 41.00869377322245, -80.00326119251952

The Route: This route follows several of the main trails at Jennings to make a nice 5 miles figure 8 of the park. It starts at the park office where there are bathroom and educational displays. Begin the trek on the Whispering Woods Trail and head towards the wetland area. After a quick jaunt through the woods, you’ll encounter a large gazebo with interpretive signs about wetlands and the mining past of the region. from here, weave through some of the unmarked trails through the waterways where you may spot turtles hiding in the water and butterflies fluttering to the flowers. After exploring, return to the gazebo and take the North Country Trail (blue and yellow blazes) into the woods. Follow the trail until it reaches a trail junction. Now, you can take the Black Cherry Trail as it leaves the NCT and heads up the hill. This is the steepest part of your journey! This trail passes through peaceful woods and large glacial boulders. About a mile into your journey, pass another trail junction where you will get on the Ridge Trail. Be aware that this trail passes into hunting lands, which are clearly noted with signs along the way. The Ridge Trail then meets back up with the North Country Trail as it heads back towards the Park Office. You’ll cross a small bridge which crosses over a peaceful waterway. Now on the Old Elm Trail you’ll loop back to the park office. You’ve just finished your first loop!

Now, if you’re still looking for more, you’ll carefully cross over PA 528 to the other half of the park. There’s additional parking and bathrooms on this side. There are many intersecting trails that can make small or large loops, depending on how much you want to tackle. We took the Maassuaga Trail and connected that to the larger Oakwoods Trail. This route passes through some lowlands where the ground can get quite muddy. Some of the trails were closed due to beaver activity leading to washed out trails. After a nice meander through the park, we ended our journey by walking through the park’s most unique feature: a prairie ecosystem. The Prairie Loop skirts around a wide open meadow with tall native grasses and flowers. The trails are wide, mown paths, and it is vital to the health of the ecosystem that you remain only on these paths. This area is also home to the reclusive, yet venomous massuaga rattlesnake so it’s best to keep an eye out for this slithering friend. If hiking in the late summer, you will be treated to sights of the amazing Blazing Star praire flower with its distinctive purple spire. After taking the Prairie Loop, follow the Blazing Star Trail back towards the road and cross over to the parking lot to complete your journey.

THE BEER: Missing Links Brewery

Address: 891 Evans City Rd #9209, Renfrew, PA 16053
Distance from Trail Head: 13 miles, 20 mins 
Website: http://www.missinglinksbrewery.com
Food?: Full Menu
Details: Outdoor seating, dog friendly outside

Missing Links Brewery is located in Evans City right next to the Butler Farm Market. They offer a full line-up of house made beer as well as a complete kitchen menu of tasty grub. There’s a large outdoor porch for pup-friendly dining and the entire space is family-friendly. With a comical logo of the owners as caveman, Missing Links like to riff on this with their beer names, like Bedrock IPA, Dinoweizen Wheat Beer, and Bigfoot ESB. With a kitchen menu of pub classic like pizza and sandwiches, this place is sure to be your missing link between a hike and a delicious brew!

Our Beer:

  • Oatmeal Stout – stout – 5.8%
  • Razzmatazz IPA – Raspberry hazy IPA – 5.1%
  • Tropical Mist IPA – NEIPA – 6.4%
  • Paradise Ale – Wheat Beer – 4.9%
  • Strawberry Rhubarb Sour – Sour – 4.7%
  • Blood Orange – Fruit Beer – 5.1%

Looking for more Hikes & Hops in Butler County? Check out Moraine SP & Union Brothers Brewing, McConnells Mill & ShuBrew, or Wolf Creek Narrows & Big Rail Brewing.

Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail 31-29 & Forbes Trail Brewing

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Laurel Highlands, PA

We had a snowy first day hike on the Laurel Highlands Hiking trail! Despite how many times I’ve been hiking in the LH region, this is actually my first time on the 70 miles LHHT. While this short section didn’t have any major views or points of interest, it was incredibly peaceful walking through woods blanketed in fresh snow. After our group hike, we moseyed out to Forbes Trail Brewing in Stoystown for some delicious brews in a cozy taproom.

THE HIKE: Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (31-29)

Length: 4 miles
Elevation Gain: 600 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2 hours (due to snow)
Trail use: Foot traffic only
Parking: Space for about 30 cars at the Route 31 parking area. No facilities

Find the Parking lot: 40.06082620624829, -79.27375174542976. Turn right off Route 31 onto Fire Tower route, there will be a sign for Forbes State Forest and Laurel Ridge State Park. The parking lot will be on the left just under a mile down the road. Be aware that this road is unpaved and likely won’t be maintained in the winter.

Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail

The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT) is a 70.3 mile backpacking trail in western pa that stretches from Ohiopyle to Seward. This trail is known for its incredible beauty but also its challenging and rugged terrain. If you’re considering a thru hike, be sure to check out Tory’s awesome guide at Mytrailsaremany.com. However, this is also a fantastic trail for section day hikes too! There are many trailheads and access points along the 70 miles to pop on for a few miles. 

The LHHT is maintained by the PA DCNR and the majority of the trail runs through Laurel Ridge State Park. If you’re looking for a full map of the trail, check out the PA DCNR website. 

The Hike

For this group first day, we met at the Route 31 parking lot for the LHHT. Interestingly, this was also near mile 31 of the trail! There were at least 50 people on this delightful hike led by Kim, an educator at Laurel Ridge SP. 

Especially in the winter, it can be easy to lose your way on trails. Be sure to look for the yellow blazes on the trees. This trail also has a stone mile marker every mile so you’ll always know how far you’ve gone! Many sections of the LHHT, including this one, cross over roads from large ones to wooded access roads. Always look for a band of yellow on the trees that indicates a road crossing! 

Remember, the LHHT is point to point trail so make sure you have a game plan of when to turn around and head back to your car! 

THE BEER: Forbes Trail Brewing

Address: 6108 Lincoln Hwy, Stoystown, PA 15563
Distance from Trail Head: 36 mins, 25 miles
Website: http://www.forbestrailbrewing.com/
Food?: Food truck & BYOF
Details: Outdoor seating, pets outside

Forbes Trail Brewing opened on Lincoln Highway less than a mile from the Flight 93 memorial in 2022. One of the owners had been homebrewing for nearly a decade then working professionally as a brewer, before his dream of opening a taproom became a reality! Along with his wife and former homebrew supporters turned business partners, Forbes Trail Brewing has quickly become a staple in the Laurel Highlands region. Although it was cold and snowy when we visited, I was impressed with the huge outdoor space complete with firepits that complemented the cozy indoor taproom. We popped at a seat at the bar and instantly felt like part of a family as the owners and other drinkers looped us right into their conversation. Although it’s a bit of a drive from the Burgh I cannot recommend this brewery enough and I know we will definitely be back! 

A fun history fact: the brewery’s name refers to the early road that linked forts Duquesne, Ligonier, and Bedford during the French and Indian War. This road was pioneered by British General John Forbes and eventually became the Lincoln Highway (Route 30). 

Our Beer:

  • Taste the Rainbow – Sour – 5%
  • Haze Lawdy Mama – NEIPA – 6.5%
  • Edmunds Swamp: Peppermint – Oatmeal Stout – 5%
  • Trail Rider Pale Ale – Pale Ale – 6%

Loving the Laurel Highlands craft beverages? Be sure to get a Pour Tour Passport from the GO Laurel Highlands! 

Looking for more hikes & hops in the Laurel Highlands? Check out Wolf Rocks & Helltown, Ohiopyle & Yough River , Duff Park & Devout, Powdermill Nature Reserve & Four Seasons, and Linn Run & Unity Brewing .

Moraine State Park & Union Brothers Brewing

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Portersville, PA

Most people associate Moraine State Park with boating and fishing, but did you know that there’s also nearly 30 miles of hiking and biking trails? Glacier Ridge Trail is popular for backpacking but can also be done as an out and back section, choosing how far you want to go. This particular section starts at the parking lot on Mount Union Road and turns around at the 528 Bridge for just over 7.2 miles. After working up a sweat on this trail, back into Harmony for a refreshing brew at Union Brothers either in their full-kitchen taproom or in their cozy outdoor patio.

THE HIKE: Glacier Ridge Trail (Moraine State Park)

Length: 7.25 miles
Elevation Gain: 1350 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 3.5 hours
Trail use: Hiking, leashed pets
Parking: Gravel pull off for a few cars on Mt. Union Rd
Parking coordinates: 40.96781939719753, -80.07996200282916
H&H: 5/5

Moraine State Park is located in Portersville, PA only a few miles away from McConnells Mill State, another of my recent treks. Although these two have been affected by a similar geological history, they are rather unique from each other! Moraine is mainly characterized by the 3,000 acre Lake Arthur, which is why it is (justifiably) known for its draw to outdoor water sports and fishing. However, there’s lots of unique history behind that lake and its nearby trails.

History

Moraine State Park gets its name because of the four separate glaciers that reached their northernmost extent just shy of Moraine State Park. Glaciers are huge ice sheets that covered much of the Earth during the Ice Age. Because of the way glaciers move, they trap and move rock and other debris. When they melt and recede, this debris is left behind, often creating ridges known by geologists as moraines. While hiking through this park, you can see evidence of these glacial deposits in the huge boulders and stone that seem to emerge out of nowhere. As I’ve mentioned before, this glacial freeze and thaw cycle is also what created the incredible Slippery Rock Gorge at McConnells Mill! At one point in time, ice dams caused the creation of glacial lakes throughout the region. Although the current Lake Arthur is manmade, it is a replica of the glacial Lake Watt that once dominated the area. 

Because of the unique glacial deposits, settlers to the region found it rich with mineral deposits. The mining industry grew throughout the 1800s until much of the area was depleted of resources and left polluted. For many decades, the area was left completely abandoned. But thanks to the efforts of researcher and naturalist Frank W. Preston (founder of the Western PA Conservancy), who recognized the uniqueness of the land, efforts were made to seal abandoned mains and restore the natural landscape. 

One of my favorite things about this blog is being able to learn the history behind the trails I hike. I’ve lived in Pittsburgh most of my life, and never knew that Moraine wasn’t a person’s name but rather a geological term. Learning more about the geological history of the area, really gives greater depth to enjoying the areas we hike. It’s one thing to hike a trail called Glacier Ridge and another to understand why it’s called that! 

The Trail

Okay, enough waxing poetic about geology (can you tell that I used to study archaeology?). Let’s get into this trail. Glacier Ridge is a 14.8 mile point to point trail that runs through the woods along the northside of Lake Arthur. It’s part of a small section of the 4,800 mile North Country Scenic Trail that runs from North Dakota to Vermont.  Glacier Ridge is popular with backpackers and there are shelters that can be booked through the PA DNR website. Please note that you must have a permit to backpack! For more info about backpacking in Moraine, check out My Trails Are Many for a great overview of her experience. For those just looking to day hike, there are several access points to the Glacier Ridge trail in Moraine: PA 528, Mount Union Road, the bike rental, and McDanels Launch Area. For our trek, we parked at the small gravel pull-off on Mount Union Road which is small, but on a sunny Sunday, we were the only ones there! Be aware that there is also a larger parking lot for the bike trails on Mount Union before you hit this lot but that’s not where I recommend parking! 

Immediately after starting the trail, it dips down to a peaceful pond that would be the perfect secluded fishing spot. Honestly, I could have spend the rest of the day lazing around this pond! From there the trail meanders through the woods, sometimes  crossing over small bridges and heading up rocky inclines. For most of the trail, you’ll be staying on the blue blazes for the NCT/Glacier Ridge Trail. Do not follow any of the signs for the bike trails or the marina! After about 3.5 miles, the North Country trail splits off and continues north but you’ll want to stay on the Glacier Ridge Trail, which is now white blazed. Now, the trail hugs directly next to the lake, so there’s plenty of gorgeous photo opportunities. Finally, the trail hits the PA 528 bridge which is where we decided to turn around. Feel free to continue on if you’ve got the time and stamina! As always, make sure to leave enough daylight to make the return trek. 

Other Things to Do

A trip to Moraine is a great day trip from the city! Aside from hiking, you can also get out on the water. There are 9 public boat docks and engines up to 20 horsepower are allowed. You can also rent pontoons, motorboats, kayaks, canoes, and rowboats. Swimming and fishing are also popular activities at Moraine. If staying on land is more your speed, check out the paved bike trails and also the more intense mountain bike routes. Looking for more to do in Moraine? Check out the PA Department of Natural Resources and the Butler County Tourism site. 

THE BEER: Union Brothers Brewing

Address: 365 Mercer Rd, Harmony, PA 16037
Distance from Trail Head: 18 miles, 22 mins 
Website: http://unionbrothersbrewing.com/
Food?: Full Menu
Details: Outdoor seating; Dog Friendly Outside

Union Brothers Brewing is a fairly recent addition to the thriving Zelienople beer scene. Friends Zachary Waltz and Jeremiah Cain began homebrewing together and perfected their craft for many years before opening a taproom. But once they did, it quickly outgrew the demand for their lineup of sours and hazy IPAs. The team has already expanded once to a larger taproom and greatly expanded their brewing capacity. From the stunning wall art by local graffiti artist Max Gonzales to its physical location across the street from the Steamfitters Union, Union Brothers is a celebration of the region’s industrial past and present. Both brewers are proud members of their local union and felt the name fit! You’ll find yourself right at home at Union Brothers whether it’s in the hip taproom or sitting around picnic tables and fire pits outside. A full food menu caps Union Brothers off as the perfect place to unwind. 

We’ve been to Union Brothers twice now and have had an awesome experience both times. It feels like the perfect neighborhood joint, whether you’re from the area or just passing through. Having an excellent taplist doesn’t hurt either! I’ve heard rumors that Union Brothers is set to expand again soon, having purchased the old nearby Moose Lodge. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys just keep getting bigger and better!

Our Beer:

  • Short Break – Hazy Pale Ale – 4.7%
  • Black Forest Hills – Dark Lager – 6%

Looking for more Hikes & Hops north of Pittsburgh? Check out Wolf Creek Narrows & Big Rail Brewing, McConnells Mill & Shubrew, and North Park & Cinderlands

Hell’s Hollow – McConnells Mill SP & ShuBrew

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Portersville, PA

McConnell’s Mill State Park is a perfect day trip from Pittsburgh! It’s only about an hour north of the city and is a great nature retreat. You can visit the popular old gristmill and covered bridge or follow the more secluded North Country Trail along the creek. On this visit, we started out with the easy Hell’s Hollow hike to see the beautiful waterfall and then did a nice out and back section of the Slippery Rock Gorge Trail. Afterward, we headed back toward town and stopped in the lovely town of Zelienople for dinner and a brew at Shubrew. We’ve been spoiled with such a mild winter and that means getting outside as much as we can!

Looking for more adventures in Pennsylvania and beyond? Check out my new book: Beer Hiking Pennsylvania and New Jersey

THE HIKE: Hell’s Hollow & Slippery Rock Gorge Trail (NCT)

Length: 6.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 720 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2.5 hours
Trail use: Hiking, trail running, leashed pets
Parking: Large lot with port-a-potty
H&H: 4/5

McConnells Mill State Park is located in Portersville, PA in Lawrence County and encompasses over 2,500 acres of land. It included the Slippery Rock Creek Gorge, a National Natural Landmark. The unique landscape around the gorge was formed by glacial runoff thousands of years ago, leaving behind boulders and beautiful waterfalls. This is one of those places that’s hard to believe is in Western Pennsylvania!

Hell’s Hollow is a particularly beautiful section of the state park. Despite its name, it’s an easy 0.5 mile, flat trail to view the waterfall. The area’s name actually comes from the nearby old lime kilns that locals thought looked like portals to hell in the nighttime. I highly recommend starting out by checking out Hell’s Hollow and then venturing onto the Slippery Rock Gorge Trail. There’s a lot of parking at the trailhead, although I imagine that this fills up quickly on a nice summer day! To get to Hell’s Hollow, bear to the right and follow the well-marked trail. It’s a simple in and out that follows along a babbling creek. You do have to come most of the way back before you get on the Slippery Rock Gorge trail. 

The bulk of our hike was along the Slippery Rock Gorge trail which is also part of the North Country Scenic trail. If you have two cars, I think it would be awesome to leave one car at the main McConnell’s Mill parking lot so that you could do the whole 7.5 mile trek from Hell’s Hollow to the Gristmill. Unfortunately, we just weren’t up for a 15 miles round trip! This hike is definitely a moderate hike with a lot of ups and down and some rocky spots. We found it to be particularly challenging to walk in some of the muddy spots. The joys of winter hiking is that the sunny side of the hill is mushy and the shaded side is still icy! This is a hike that I would recommend crampons in during wintery weather and hiking poles if you’d like some extra balance.

If you have time, be sure to visit the main section of McConnell’s Mill as well! The Kildoo Trail is a particular favorite of mine and is just around 2 miles. Be sure to see the historic gristmill and the covered bridge, both of which were recently featured in the Netflix movie The Pale Blue Eye

THE BEER: ShuBrew

Address: 205 S Main St, Zelienople, PA 16063
Distance from Trail Head: 14.6 miles, 26 mins 
Website: http://shubrew.com/
Food?: Full Menu
Details: Rooftop Seating, dog friendly outside

Shubrew has been a staple of Zelienople since it first opened in 2013. It offers a nice (delicious!) menu as well as a large list of house-made brews. And if beer isn’t your thing, they also offer a wide selection of cocktails and wine! Subrew has grown quite a bit since their early days 10 years ago. Now, they operate a brewing facility in nearby Harmony, which allows them to brew a lot more and save space in their taproom for more seating! The owners of ShuBrew also operate General Shu’s (located just across the street) which features fast-casual Chinese food as well as a selection of ShuBrew beers! The taproom also features a full menu with some nods to Chinese influenced food, as well as more traditional pub fare. We don’t usually eat out at breweries, but we made an exception for the pulled pork nachos and they were heavenly! 

ShuBrew is definitely one of those places we will make a trip to visit and I know we’ll be back again soon! We’d like to visit again in warmer months to sit on the rooftop deck! 

Other great spots in the area: The Harmony In (North Country Brewing), Union Brothers Brewing, Burgh’ers Brewery

Our Beer:

  • Chew on That – Pilsner – 5.6%
  • Nut Brown Ale – Brown Ale – 5.4%

 

Wolf Rocks (Laurel Summit SP) & Helltown Brewing (Mt. Pleasant Taproom)

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Rector, PA

Each Fall, J and I try to make time for a weekend leaf peeping trip in mid-October. We always try to plan it juuuuust right to see peak foliage. This year, life got a little crazy so we ended up sticking to a day trip. But there are plenty of incredible spots to see fall foliage in the area surrounding Pittsburgh! For this hike we drove out to Westmoreland County to do the very popular Wolf Rocks Trail. This trailhead is in Laurel Summit State Park and is very close to several other beautiful state parks, so you should definitely make a day of it!

THE HIKE: Wolf Rocks Trail & Bog Trail

Length: 5.25 miles
Elevation Gain: 270 ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 2-2.5 hours
Trail use: hiking, leashed pets
Parking: Large lot with bathrooms and picnic tables
H&H: 5/5

I have a new goal of going to as many Pennsylvania State Parks as I can thanks to my trusty new PA Parks Passport from the Friends of PA Parks & Forests. It’s a nifty little book that has all the state parks and forests and you can get stamps when you visit them! Well a great place to start from Pittsburgh is the Laurel Mountain region. There’s a cluster of so many beautiful parks! For this hike, we started out in Laurel Summit State park, hiked into Forbes State Forest, then drove through Laurel Mountain and Linn Run State Parks. Four in one day?! But we’ll definitely be back to actually do some hiking in the latter two. Linn Run was absolutely gorgeous to drive through and I definitely want to come back and camp or stay in a cabin.

Okay, back to this hike. The trailhead for the Wolf Rocks trail is in Laurel Summit State Park, one of the smaller parks in the state. This area is best known for having access to this trail and the Spruce Flats Bog. Laurel Summit State Park encompasses 6-acres and offers a picnic area, a pavilion, and restrooms. We started our hike out in the morning, hoping to beat some of the crowds as this is a fairly popular hike. Be aware that Google Maps is only so good in this area so have an idea of where you are going first. Our app took us on a logging road to get to the trailhead for some reason, but there is a main road we should have taken. 

One of the great things about this park is that it is already over 2,000 ft above sea level and the parking ridge is up on the ridge. So unlike a lot of overlook hikes, you don’t actually have to do a lot of uphill climbing! The trail is a little rocky at times, but we encountered plenty of kids and elderly folks on the trail so it’s a good one for all ages! We loved hiking this during peak fall colors but it would also be beautiful in late spring because the beginning of the trail is surrounded by mountain laurels and rhododendrons. It would be magical to walk through them when they are in full bloom! 

As I mentioned, this is a pretty popular hike which was evident when we got to the overlook. It was pretty full of families and hiking groups, although there was still plenty of room for everyone. If you like to have the scenic point to yourself, try to get up early or go on a weekday! It was totally understandable why so many people were visiting the overlook; the colors were simply stunning. It was an incredible day to be out hiking, so warm for late October! We had a lovely time sitting on the rocks and chatting with strangers. It’s beautiful to see how nature brings people together! 

This loop clocked in just under 5 miles, which is the perfect length for us weekend hikers. When we got back to the considerably fuller parking lot, we headed over to the Spruce Flats Bog boardwalk. This quick 0.25 mile path takes you out to one of the most unique features of the Laurel Highlands area. A bog is a type of wetland that gets all of its moisture from snow and rain, rather than runoff or groundwater. The Spruce Flats Bog is so unique because it is 2,700ft above sea level on a mountain depression! Bogs end up being highly acidic so only specific types of plant life can survive there. Look closely when you visit this bog to see if you can spot carnivorous plants like pitcher plants and sundew! 

We highly recommend this trail and next time, we’d probably stay the weekend and check out the other trails and parks in the area. Add it to our very long list of places we need to go! 

THE BEER: Helltown Brewing (Mt. Pleasant Taproom)

Address: 13 Henry C Frick St, Mt Pleasant, PA 15666
Distance from Trail Head: 26 miles, 40 mins 
Website: http://helltownbrewing.com/
Food?: Food Trucks/ BYOF
Details: Outdoor seating, dog friendly

Helltown has been kicking it around the Burgh since 2011. The Mt. Pleasant taproom is actually the original location and the namesake of the brewery. I love this little tidbit: the area that is now Mt. Pleasant was a hotbed of violence and protest during the Whiskey rebellion in the 1790s that became known as Helltown. When Mt. Pleasant was incorporated as a borough, it was given the zip 15666 as a nod to its historical roots. Since the name Helltown Brewing and the devil imagery. 

These days Helltown is quite a staple in the region. They have 4 taprooms, including the original taproom in Mt. Pleasant, one in Houston, The Strip District, and Export. They’ve grown so much that they now also export throughout PA and selection counties in WV and MD. Helltown makes some “devilishly good” beer and their taprooms are definitely worth a visit! I’ve been to all but the Export location and each place has a great atmosphere with outdoor seating. 

When J and I visited Mt. Pleasant, there was a cornhole tournament going on which made for some fun entertainment! Also I shouldn’t have been surprised, but Helltown goes ALL OUT with Halloween decorations! After a day of gorgeous fall colors, settling in with some spooky beers was the perfect way to spend a late October weekend!

Our Beer:

  • HFK – Kolsch – 5.1%
  • Eve’s Fall – Marzen – 6%
  • Sin – IPA – 6.8%
  • Headless Wylie – Pumpkin Beer – 8.1%

SUM UP: Wolf Rocks is a popular trail with gorgeous views of the Laurel Highlands. The trail starts in the small Laurel Summit State Park and travels through Forbes State Forest. The trail doesn’t have a lot of incline, but it is rocky in sections so bring your ankle support boots! The rocky overlook is a great spot to rest and take in the views. I also highly recommend adding the short boardwalk trail out to Spruce Flat Bog when you finish the Wolf Rocks Loop, to see a unique high elevation bog! We really loved hiking and driving thru this area, so try to make a day of it! Then, as you’re making your way back towards Pittsburgh, stop for a brew at Helltown in Mt. Pleasant. They got great beer, plenty of cozy outdoor seating, and usually have a food truck!

Looking for more Hikes & Hops East of Pittsburgh? Check out Powdermill Nature Reserve & Four Seasons Brewing, Duff Park & Devout Brewing, or Ohiopyle & Bloom Brew