By Kate Bartlett
Nearby but a World Away!
If you have not yet traveled into the Allegheny National Forest Region in northwestern Pennsylvania, this is the year to do so. The Kinzua Bridge State Park and the Kinzua Sky Walk are both free attractions, as are many of the museums, making this a very family-friendly destination. The Allegheny National Forest and Allegheny Reservoir are natural wonders just waiting for you to explore, right here in our own backyard.
The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau was incorporated in 1968 under the name of Seneca Highlands Tourism Association to attract visitors to McKean County, Pennsylvania. In 1998, the name changed to the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, highlighting the region’s main attraction. One of the guiding principles for the bureau is National Geographic’s Geotourism. Geotourism is defined as “tourism that sustains or enhances the distinctive geographical character of a place-its environment, heritage, aesthetics, culture, and the well-being of its residents.”
Working with the Pennsylvania Department of Tourism, and Pennsylvania’s Destination Marketing Organizations, the Allegheny National Forest works to market the area as a premier outdoor recreation destination. They offer visitors four-seasons of multi-use trails, including hike/bike, mountain bike, cross-country skiing, equestrian, ATV, and snowmobiling. They also feature seasonal shopping trails, history trails, scenic drives, and food & wine trails.”
Linda Devlin is the Executive Director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau. “As Trail Central™, our vision is to have all the major recreation areas, the ANF, the Allegany State Park and the Kinzua Bridge State Park connected to our communities by trails. We work to attract more visitors, increase their length of stay, and tourism spending at our local businesses, attractions, and museums thereby increasing the economic vitality of the region.”
The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau is a non-profit, destination marketing organization located in Pennsylvania. “Our agency is supported by the local room tax. We offer local businesses marketing and public relations assistance in attracting tourism visitation to their location. Marketing assistance includes distribution of their brochure into our 13 kiosk locations, a member listing in 60,000 copies of our Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau Adventure Guide & Map, print, TV and social media advertising and social media promotion. Currently our Facebook site has over 101,000 daily followers.”
“Some of our most popular attractions include: The Allegheny National Forest, which covers over 513,000 acres, offers 12 campgrounds with cabins and 1,200 campsites. The Allegheny Reservoir offers great fishing, kayaking, canoeing, and boating. The area also features a variety of world-class museums and interpretive centers including the Zippo/Case Museum, the Marilyn Horne Museum, the Penn Brad Oil Museum, the Eldred WW II Museum, Old Town Smethport, the McCleery Wolf Center, the McKean County Historic Society at the Old Jail Museum, and the interpretive center at the Kinzua Bridge State Park.”
The Kinzua Sky Walk is one of the area’s most popular summer destinations. I have been ranked as “one of the top 10 most scenic skywalks in the world.” According to the Culture Trip, UK, it is the single most visited site with nearly 300,000 visitors per year. “All of the trails within the area are extremely popular in the summer. They offer everything from a short 1-mile loop trail at the scenic Marilla Bridges Trail, to a 3-day, 2-night backpacking excursion on the North Country Trail. The new Knox & Kane Rail Trail, now open for hiking and biking, is also exceedingly popular. The first 8-mile section connects the Kinzua Bridge State Park to Lantz Corners, the second 8-mile section runs from beside the Kane Country Club, through Kane, to Lamont. Rainy days are perfect for visiting one of our many museums. Foodies will enjoy our area’s ever-growing number of wineries, breweries, and distilleries.”
Linda loves her job and finds it satisfying to assist local businesses and grow tourism visitation to the region. “It’s great to help local businesses market to attract additional visitors, collaborating with them to market what makes their business unique. I also enjoy the creative aspect of designing advertising and creating social media marketing campaigns.”
For more information visit online www.visitanf.com call (800) 473-9370 email info@visitANF.com follow on Facebook and Instagram @ ANFVIsitorsBureau watch videos on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/alleghenynationalforestvisitorsbureau
Continuation Caption: The Kinzua Bridge State Park and the Kinzua Sky Walk are both free attractions, as are many of the museums, making this a very family-friendly destination.