We’re headed off to a wedding about ninety minutes south of here, so I doubt I’ll be able to get a ride in this weekend.  But, since I’m a week behind in posting (last week’s post was about the previous week…  got it?), I’ll post about last weekend’s ride.

Oil Creek State Park is just a stone’s throw away from the south end of Titusville, PA and is a really gem of a spot.  Of course it has a very solid bike trail, a good twenty mile ride (10 and 10).  I always see the park as a trail of last resort, though.  I don’t know why.  It’s a scenic trail that follows the creek all the way down to Petroleum Center.  There are some slight inclines and descents, enough to make it what I consider the perfect two hour gentle workout.  There’s a lot of oil history surrounding the trail, which I grew up around and have a strong fascination about.  What is my problem?

Well, I think it’s because I go there TOO often.  And the reason for that is that it’s our go-to spot for family trips.  Threaded throughout the park is the Gerard Hiking Trail, which my wife has fallen in love with.  I’d tell you more about it, but that would make this blog about hiking trails, which I am really a rookie on, so you’ll have to do your own research on the trail.  I’m told that it’s really superb though.  In addition, Oil Creek is a great gentle stretch of kayaking and fishing.  So with the triple threat of wheels, water, and walking – we’ve made the park our outdoor home.  It’s less exotic as a result.  (Does that make the trails into Ashtabula Ohio or Stavich over at New Castle exotic?  Yeep.)

Well, anyway, being part of a state park, the trail is really well maintained.  There are restrooms, picnic areas, ample parking.  The entire trail is paved and never so crowded that you’d get annoyed.  I like to start in the middle at Miller’s Bridge, which is tricky to get to.  Wife ends up ending her hike there most times, which makes it the best place for me to park.

If you’re not from the area, two attractions that are well worth stopping at are Drake’s Well and Pithole.  Drake’s Well is the mainstream attraction, with the requisite state park intro film, museum with various artifacts, and of course, the well itself.  Pithole is where to go if you’ve been on the trail and read the markers, then gone to the museum and found yourself even more intrigued by the local history.  It was the boomtown that disappeared – all that’s left are foundations and mowed paths through the grass where the streets were – and a neat little museum with a model of what the town used to look like.  It’s one of my favorite historical attractions, really because it’s not an attraction at all, but an empty field in which you can think about that history.