Daycation: Things quiet down in winter in Ohiopyle

Feb. 5—The streets of Ohiopyle bustle with visitors during the warm months, as people flock to the Fayette County community for its recreational opportunities, scenic views and dining options.

In the winter, it's a different story.

Many days, there's hardly a soul to be seen along Main Street in the tiny borough along the Youghiogheny River, population 38, according to the 2020 census.

"People come for the paddling, biking and hiking up until the snow starts flying," resident Dee Reddick said. "It's kind of nice when things quiet down. It gives you a completely opposite feel."

Many of the tourist-­focused businesses close, giving way to what Reddick labeled "more town-oriented activities," such as a recent spaghetti dinner that raised funds for a local man's medical expenses.

The quiet is nice, but it does pose challenges, said Reddick, who is originally from the Pittsburgh area. She and her husband retired to a house in town that started out as a weekend getaway for their family "who are all paddlers and bikers."

"A lot of the businesses have reduced hours or close for a month or two in January and February," said Reddick, who works part time at Wilderness Voyageurs, a local outfitter. "You have to respect the ones that try to stay open."

Still, there are some things to do in the Ohiopyle area during the winter — and other things going on behind the scenes, as preparations are made for the next tourist season.

Ohiopyle State Park

The park encompasses more than 20,000 acres along the Youghiogheny River and on the surrounding ridges as it passes through Ohiopyle.

The Sugarloaf Snowmobile and Mountain Bike Area has a hill that is maintained for sledding, and the park's trails are popular in wintertime with snowshoers and cross-country skiers, according to Barbara Wallace, the park's environmental education specialist.

The visitor center is open year-round, and restrooms are available.

"You don't have to come here for snow," Wallace said. "This is a very popular park for hiking, and winter is a great time to get out because there's hardly anyone using the trails. There's more solitude."

Summertime crowds can be a hindrance to enjoying some of the park's features, Wallace said.

"Winter is a great time of year to look at the waterfalls," she said. "In the summer, the Cucumber Falls area, the (natural water) slides area get overpopulated. The parking areas are overflowing; there are people parking in the middle of the road. It is certainly an issue, and some of our trails are getting impacted by overuse."

Most Pennsylvania state park employees are seasonal, with about 75% laid off in the winter, Wallace said.

"It's a bare-bones staff in winter," she said. "First of all, they're doing snow removal and working on sidewalks to make it safe for our visitors. Bathrooms still need to be cleaned. They do try to get to some backlogged maintenance.

"We do a lot of resource planning at this time of year, the behind-the-scenes stuff that people don't think about."

School groups also come for field trips.

"We talk about climate, and we study the science of winter," Wallace said. "You have to find teachers who aren't scared to be outside, and they are definitely out there. There are teachers who are all about getting their kids out in the wintertime."

Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece is "kind of put to bed for the winter," said Clinton Piper, senior administrator of special projects.

Inside the stream-spanning, cantilevered historical landmark, the furniture is covered, while rugs and other textiles are removed and cleaned.

"Depending on the year, there could be some particular conservation projects that take place inside the house," Piper said.

Still, winter is "an opportunity for visitors to experience the Fallingwater landscape in a very different season," he said. "Depending on the weather, there could be any number of things for them to see."

Until the house reopens March 11, visitors can take advantage of Winter Walks on the grounds from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily except Wednesdays.

Walkers have access to the grounds, including trails and several of the house's exterior terraces, offering views such as the scenic overlook and the quarry site, source of the stone used to build the house. There is a fee, and advance reservations should be made at fallingwater.org.

"If it's been cold enough for a long enough period of time, the waterfall does freeze," Piper said. "Of course, that hasn't happened this year, but that's a very different experience, because you don't have the background sound of Bear Run."

The abundant native rhododendron on the site, about 4 miles north of Ohiopyle, also act as a kind of temperature gauge, Piper added, as the leaves curl when the mercury falls below freezing.

Though it's outwardly quiet, there's plenty going on behind the scenes.

"It's not a full staff, but you could find as many as 40 people on-site, including all the senior department staff," Piper said. "This time of year, there's a lot of planning for the upcoming year going on. It's still a busy site, but it feels more peaceful."

Piper noted that nearby Bear Run Nature Reserve, which, like Fallingwater, is owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, is open year-round for hiking and camping. Trail heads are accessible from the reserve's parking lot.

"People can go to the upper reaches of the reserve from there, and a couple of those trails come around to the Fallingwater side," Piper said.

Kentuck Knob

Another Frank Lloyd Wright design, Kentuck Knob, is perched on a hilltop about 2 miles west of Ohiopyle.

The privately owned property, which includes a sculpture garden, is open for tours from early March until Dec. 30. It averages about 27,000 visitors per year, manager Timothy Fischer said.

During the winter, six people are on-site: two in the office, two in housekeeping and two in maintenance.

The maintenance crew keeps roads clear of snow and does exterior repair projects. The housekeepers give the house and its contents a deep cleaning.

"Right now, some of the window screens are being redone. They're old, and some of them are starting to sag," Fischer said. "One or two have a dent where a bug or a bird has tried to fly through them. The maintenance staff is pulling them off of the entire dining room wall and re-screening the window frames."

Special precautions are taken with some of the more delicate pieces in the sculpture garden.

"We have movable shelters that are installed over top of some of them. That protects them from weather, ice and any falling limbs, the type of thing that can be more prevalent in the winter," Fischer said.

Staff members prepare the visitor center and gift shop for reopening, and plan for upcoming special events, such as Friends and Neighbors Day, scheduled for April 2.

Launched in 2022, the program offers free tours to select residents of the surrounding area.

"We pick a few ZIP codes at a time," Fischer said. "There are local folks who probably know what's up here but have never actually been here. Sometimes there are things in your backyard that you never take advantage of."

Outfitter and eatery

The retail shop at Wilderness Voyageurs and Falls City Restaurant & Pub are open year-round, though traffic drops significantly from summer to winter.

"No doubt, there are times we debate being open in the store or the restaurant, but we made a commitment to the local community and to help move it along as a year-round destination," said Eric Martin, CEO of the company that operates both businesses.

Established in 1964 by Martin's parents, Wilderness Voyageurs offers warm-weather river rafting and bike tours, fly-fishing trips, kayak instruction and other adventure services, not just in Ohiopyle but across the country.

The shop carries technical gear for the serious adventurer, along with items such as shoes and socks for more casual shoppers.

As for maintaining winter business hours, Martin said, "What the area offers doesn't turn off in the wintertime. Kayakers do continue to kayak all winter long — not many of them, but there is a subset that paddles all year."

The businesses also see hunters, park users and "some cross-traffic" with skiers from the Hidden Valley and Seven Springs resorts — and there's another important reason for staying open in winter.

"It helps us maintain staff," Martin said. "If you close down for three or four months, then reopen, it's a headache."

Martin said winter recreation is an "underutilized resource" in Western Pennsylvania.

"There's no bad days; there's just bad gear, right?" he said. "The trails are open and they're awesome. There's lots of space to roam, for sure."

Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .