Falls City was the name for Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania prior to its
incorporation as a borough in 1881. It just isn’t right that there
has not yet been a geocache in the beautiful park which surrounds
Falls City. Ohiopyle
State Park is well known for its whitewater rafting, the bike
trail, and numerous other opportunities for outdoor recreation. It
is appropriate that this first cache in Ohiopyle State Park should
be placed in the area which was the genesis of the park. The cache
was in the Ferncliff Reserve, a registered National Natural
Landmark, which is about 100 acres in a sort of peninsula enclosed
by “the loop” of the Youghiogheny River. The area was saved from
development in 1951 when Edgar J. Kaufmann purchased it for the
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The 19,000 acre park of today
grew out of this seed.
The reserve has not always been 100% natural. There was a rather
large resort on the peninsula at the turn of the century. The
Ferncliff Hotel was the premier accommodation in the days when
excursion trains ran from Pittsburgh and Cumberland to Ohiopyle for
one dollar. The Ferncliff had 800 electric lights, an indoor
bowling alley, and a dining room large enough to serve 150 guests.
There were arched walkways, fountains, a bandstand, tennis courts,
a baseball field, and a therapeutic hot springs on the hotel
grounds. The remainder of the area was proposed as a subdivision of
Falls City. It is interesting to consider that there might never
have been a park if this development had taken place.
Bonus Virtual Caches (Points of Interest) on the Ferncliff
Peninsula.
39° 52.296, -79° 29.797 Site of Ferncliff Hotel
39° 52.041, -79° 29.767 View of Falls (Ferncliff Trail)
39° 51.916, -79° 29.748 View of River (Ferncliff Trail)
39° 51.918, -79° 30.056 View of Cucumber Rapid
39° 52.540, -79° 29.640 View of Gorge from Bike Trail Bridge
This cache is in Ohiopyle State Park. Permit expires:
07/04/07
