National and State Parks - Recreational Areas
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McConnells Mill State Park
Nearby Parks
State Park Information
State Park Overview
Camping
Trails
Picnicking
Swimming
Fishing and Hunting
Fishing
Fishing is permitted anywhere along Slippery Rock Creek with the exception of the dam structures. The best fishing is for trout and bass. Trout are stocked several times throughout the season. There is a special regulation area by Armstrong Bridge. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission laws apply.
Hunting and Firearms
Many acres are open to hunting, trapping and the training of dogs during established seasons. Common game species are grouse, deer, turkey, rabbit and squirrel.
Hunting woodchucks -lso known as groundhogs, is prohibited. Dog training is only permitted from the day following Labor Day through March 31 in designated hunting areas. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Game Commission rules and regulations apply. Contact the park office for accessible hunting information.
Use extreme caution with firearms at all times. The park is used by other visitors during hunting seasons. Firearms and archery equipment may be uncased and ready for use only in authorized hunting areas during hunting seasons. In areas not open to hunting or during non-hunting seasons, firearms and archery equipment must be kept in the owners car, trailer or camp.
History of the Area
Glacial History
If you stood at the Cleland Rock Vista (see the map for location and below for a photograph) 200,000 years ago, you would be standing on a ridge at a drainage divide. Water to the north flowed north and water to the south flowed south. If you stood at the same location about 140,000 years ago, you would be standing at the edge of a small lake dammed by several hundred feet of ice. The ice was the edge of a continental glacier that covered most of North America north of Cleland Rock. The glacier dam created small Lake Prouty by Cleland Rock. To the north was larger Lake Watts (modern Lake Arthur is a small recreation of Lake Watts) and further north was giant Lake Edmund.
Eventually Lake Prouty spilled over the ridge - Cleland Rock and began carving Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. As the glacier retreated, Lake Watts drained into the channel, enlarging and deepening the gorge, then Lake Edmund swiftly poured into the channel, scouring the gorge to over 400 feet deep. When the glacier finally retreated back to the north, Slippery Rock Creek Gorge was so deep that streams that normally flowed north, now flowed south -s the streams do today. The swift erosion of the gorge created its swift water and the many boulders that offer great challenges to modern whitewater boaters.
Which Rock is Slippery Rock?
Slippery Rock Creek is 49 miles long and full of slippery rocks, yet is named for one exceptionally slick rock below the Armstrong Bridge. It is believed that an Indian trail forded the creek at a shelf of sandstone - a natural oil seep, which made the rock exceptionally slippery and
gave its name to the creek - town - university - rock formation and many local businesses. In the late 1800s, oil wells briefly flourished in the valley, but the oil was swiftly invaded by groundwater and the wells were abandoned. The oil wells drained the oil seep and the Slippery Rock is no longer covered in oil.
Slippery Rock Gorge Natural Area
The 930-acre Slippery Rock Gorge was designated a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1974 and became a State Park Natural Area in 1998. The steep-sided gorge contains numerous rocky outcrops, boulders, old growth forest, waterfalls and rare plants. Cleland Rock Vista is a great place to view the gorge.
Also part of the natural area, Hells Hollow has a wide array of wildflowers, waterfalls and habitats in addition to what can be found in the Slippery Rock Creek Gorge. A one-half-mile hiking trail leads to a cascading waterfall and an old limekiln.