2023 Northcentral PA

October 18 – 22, 2023

It’s a lovely time of year for a fall road trip! Our lodging destination was the Cobblestone Inn located in St. Mary’s, PA.  The drive through Central Pennsylvania was bright with Autumn glory!  We stopped at St. Mary’s Covered Bridge (not in St. Mary’s, PA, but in Orbisonia, PA). The is a church in the background and the trees framed the church and the beautiful covered bridge.

It’s always delightful when an unexpected highlight occurs while you are traveling. As we were driving north of St. Mary’s Covered Bridge, we noticed some smoke up ahead. It turned out to be a steam engine demonstration with a 1940’s theme. We stopped and watched with lots of other photographers. There were three actors taking part and the vehicles and background just added to it.

Kinzua Bridge State Park

The Kinzua Bridge State Park opened in 1970. The Knox and Kane Railroad offered steam driven trains from Marienville to and across the bridge from 1987 until 2002. The bridge partially collapsed when a tornado came through the area in 2003.  We had visited here sometime before 2003 and walked across the bridge. I recall being a little nervous about the safety of the structure but I guess it took a tornado to take it down!

The day we visited in 0ctober 2023, the weather was windy, but the foliage was evident everywhere. Of course, we walked out to the end of the Kinzua Sky Walk for more views.  The Kinzua Bridge State Park features scenic picnic areas, overlooks and hiking trails.  The Visitors Center is a very worthwhile stop also. The displays are family friendly and the staff is well informed and helpful.

Elk County

Elk County is a wonderful outdoor area of Pennsylvania known for the wild elk herds that roam on the hillsides in their natural habitat.  It is the largest free roaming elk herd east of the Rockies. We started out at the Visitors center on Winslow Hill in Benezette, PA.  There was heavy fog that morning!

There is a country store, a hotel/restaurant and cabin rentals available in the area.  Benezette is located on the Elk Scenic Drive, a 127 mile outing through some of Pennsylvania’s most rugged and beautiful country. We only saw one elk at a distance on this visit.

One of the vistas that I found in my research was the Cross on the Hill. It is on the back roads, but we managed to find it.  Again, it was very foggy at the cross, but the photos were interesting. We returned in the afternoon to get the full effect of the vista view! Glorious!

Just down the road from the cross is the Chapel in the Woods, another picturesque opportunity.

The scenic drives around Benezette are wonderful anytime, but especially in the Fall. We drove to St. Severins for a picture of the 170-year-old log church.  Along the way, there were other photo opportunities.

We enjoyed this Autumn journey and will return!

“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. As age comes on, one source of enjoyment after another is closed, but nature’s sources never fail.”

 -John Muir, 1901

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