Ohiopyle, PA

The falls at Ohiopyle are over 15 feet high.

Today's big event will be Fallingwater, but our tickets were for a bit later in the day.  We decided to spend the morning in Ohiopyle walking the streets, bridges and paths as we strolled through the tiny town.  The rapids of the Youghiogheny River here are the demarcation point between the Middle Yough, Confluence, PA to Ohiopyle, and the Lower Yough, downstream of Ohiopyle.  The Upper Yough is the stretch of the Youghiogheny River above Youghiogheny Lake formed by the dam at Confluence. 

When George Washington was here during the 
French and Indian War, he declared the
Youghiogheny River would never be navigable.

The roof at the State Park Visitors Center
is covered in native plants, a "Green Roof."

Ohiopyle Falls viewed from the 
Visitors Center Platform.

Ohiopyle Falls

Rapids above Ohiopyle Falls

This mural is on a wall below
the "GAP," the "Great Allegheny Passage" Trail,
that runs through Ohiopyle on its way
from Pittsburgh to the C&O Trail which
carries cyclists and others to Washington, D.C.

This is the GAP Trail bridge that crosses the
Youghiogheny River in downtown Ohiopyle.
You'll notice that the bridge Curves as it crosses the river.

After crossing the curving bridge in the pic above, the GAP crosses 
a peninsula formed by a bend in the river.  The GAP
continues across this second bridge which is at the same
elevation above sea level as the curving bridge but
is much higher above the river as the river level 
dropped significantly as it rounds the bend.

The view looking downstream from the high
level bridge.

This upstream view from the high-level
bridge includes several rafts running the rapids. 

There are several ice cream shops in
town, so we did enjoy a cup before
leaving for Fallingwater.

The high-level bridge is north of the peninsula.
The curving bridge connects to downtown.