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Well if you want to go outdoors, you'll have a hard time beating the opportunities here. The most accessible outdoor facilities are in our back yard at Oil Creek State Park - 7,096 acres in Crawford and Venango Counties and adjacent to Titusville, with a beautiful mix of 13.5 miles of Oil Creek Gorge, steep hills, wetlands, deep hollows, a great mix of open land and forest.
There's also Two Mile Run Park (814-676-6116 ) nearby, with a 150-acre lake stocked with many fish species, hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, swimming, hunting, camping, cabins, etc. And there's the 1/2 million acre Allegheny National Forest (814-723-5150) 1/2 hour away, with 170 miles of trails, hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, camping cabins, etc.
So, if you're interested in:
- PHYSICAL FITNESS, NAUTILUS, WEIGHT TRAINING, PERSONAL EXERCISE - Our YMCA and YWCA probably have just the facilities you want.
- GOLF - Enjoy 18 holes at the destination course at Cross Creek Resort, Titusville (814-827-9611), Riverside Golf Club,
Cambridge Springs, (814)398-4537 or destination Oakland Beach Golf Course, Conneaut Lake (814-382-5665). There's also Green Acres Golf Course, Rt. 408,
Titusville (814-827-3589), or see the listing of regional public courses at the GolfErie site. Review area public golf course rates and services.
There are also a number of private clubs in the region. E-mail us for a list.
- BICYCLING - Our favorite area is the 9.5 mile paved bicycle trail through scenic Oil Creek Gorge in Oil Creek State Park. You can rent
bicycles at the old Egbert Oil Office at Petroleum Centre. Picnic tables, benches, rain shelters and a restroom are located at key points along the trail. Historical markers detail special events of the 1860s
oil boom era. We're also just finishing our portion of the bicycle trail running along the Eastern US
- PICNICKING AND HIKING - Oil Creek State Park has more than 52 miles of hiking and interpretive trails Trail maps and information are available at the park office. The Gerard Hiking Trail is over 36 miles long and encompasses the entire park. The main trail is marked with yellow paint blazes. For shorter day hikes, use the five connecting loops blazed in white. Scenic vistas, waterfalls and historic sites are prevalent along the trail. Two overnight hike-in shelter areas (Cow Run and Wolfkill Run) are located along the trail.
The Park also has two picnic areas with picnic tables, charcoal grills, drinking fountains, restrooms and play fields, and picnic pavilions for rental.
- FISHING - We certainly have some of the best lake and stream fishing in the country, drawing folks from many states away. You can get the complete rules and regulations from the PA Fish and Boat Commission, and regional fishing information from FishErie. But you don't even have to go more than a
mile, just down to Oil Creek State Park. Oil Creek is known for its bass and trout, while Boughton Run, Toy Run and Jones Run provide brook
trout fishing. Fly fishing equipment is even available for sale at the bicycle concession.
- HUNTING - How about free access to 6,250 acres of Oil Creek State Park for hunting, trapping and training of dogs (limited in location and dates) during established Pennsylvania Game Commission seasons?
Get complete regulations from the PA Game Commission Web Site
- CANOEING - Once more, you're right there. Oil Creek is classed as a beginner's creek under normal conditions. with a normal canoeing season from March to June. Distance between Drake Well and Rynd Farm is
13.5 miles, allowing a scenic float.
- CAMPING - You have a number of local choices:
- Oil Creek Camp Resort, RD 3 Box 217, Titusville, PA 16354 (814) 827-1023, open May 1 thru October 15, a family campground with 100 tent and RV sites, cabin rentals, swimming pool, hiking trails, 18-hole Frisbee golf.
- Oil Creek State Park, Primitive camping only with permission.
- Two Mile Run County Park, a family campground with 53 campsites including showers, restrooms, and a dump station.
- Valley View Turkey Farm and Campgrounds, RD 3, Titusville, PA 16354 (814) 827-7893, Open May 15 thru September 15, a family campground with 60 tent and RV sites, dump station, showers, restrooms,
general store, swimming pool, hiking trails, fishing pond, rec room, playground, farm animals.
- CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING - Cross country skiing can be right out your back door, or through the 10 miles of beautiful beginner and intermediate trails within Oil Creek State Park's 7,000 acres. The area includes a large parking area, warming hut and restrooms. Track is set on all trails. In addition,
the 9.5- mile bicycle trail is open its entire length to skiers.
- DOWNHILL SKIING & SNOW BOARDING - If you enjoy alpine skiing and snow boarding, you can find comprehensive listings of resorts in Pennsylvania or New York. Some of our favorites are Peek 'N Peak in Clymer, NY (30 miles away, 400' vertical, a great place to learn and socialize), Holiday Valley,
Ellicottsville, NY (70 miles away, 750' vertical) and HoliMont, a private resort just down the road from Holiday Valley. In PA, we particularly like Seven Springs (100 miles, ), Blue Knob north of Bedford, (120
miles, 1,072' vertical) and Whitetail, Mercersburg, (160 miles, 935' vertical)
- BOATING AND WATER SKIING - Complete boating regulations are available from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
You get to choose from the great lakes to small lakes and rivers. The state maintains a dozens of boating access area properties near Titusville. Erie borders Presque Isle State Park, which encloses the largest bay in the great lakes (7 miles long). Pymatuning Lake in Allegheny National Forest,
- SCUBA DIVING - Check out Diver's World in Erie for lessons, rentals, trips.
- OIL HISTORY
- You knew we had to talk about this - we live in the world Mecca of oil, since it all started here. Actually, people do come all the time from places like Texas, Alberta and Saudi Arabia to see the Drake Well Museum's exhibits (814-827-2797), or to visit Pithole (814-827-2797), America's largest oil boom town, which went from 15,000 people to 0. Of course, our oil heritage may be much older than we think. According to the University of Kansas, Samuel T. Pees of Meadville is studying the archaeology of early oil exploration, and is trying to interest archaeologists and geologists in the prehistoric mining of oils since there are 2,000 to 3,000 oil pits near Titusville
- TRAINS - Ridden one lately? The Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad (814-676-1733) terminates in our downtown, with its open air gondola car and the only working Railway Post Office in the country. Of course, General Electric's Transportation Systems is headquartered in up the road in Erie.
- ANTIQUES, ARCHITECTURE, LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY, AMISH FURNITURE, ... - We're in the middle of the antique capital of the country, with
hundreds of specialized dealers. In fact, we're told that Titusville Franklin and Oil City have the largest number of Louis Comfort Tiffany windows per capita in the world.
- MUSIC AND THE ARTS: If your interests lie in symphony, opera, theater, popular music, or world-renowned speakers. you're in the right region. Chautauqua Institute attracts summer residents from throughout the world, offering daily activities for all ages. Tune Town, 814-437-6500, 1-88-TUNETOWN, between Titusville and Franklin, offers national country, rock and other acts. And there are festivals and fairs with national
entertainment throughout the area every week of the spring, summer and fall.
Adjacent small cities with resources and events that will interest you include Meadville, Franklin, and Oil City.
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