It’s the Frick…House (Part 2, Art Museum, Car & Carriage Museum)

If Clayton alone isn’t enough for you, or if you prefer a more economical day out, then may I suggest the Frick Art Museum and Car & Carriage Museum? Everyone I know would enjoy at least one, if not both, of these options and better yet, both are FREE admission (there is a box for donations at the entrances).

My focus for this trip was to see the Art Museum and the new exhibition Icons of American Photography. This is a collection of images from the Cleveland Museum of Art representing photography and technology from 1850-1960. The first pieces I saw walking in the door were a collection of daguerreotypes. I’ve seen daguerreotypes before, mostly faded and weathered, but these were crisp, sharp, and almost eerie. It was a very striking set with typically odd Victorian subjects.

As I moved around the room, I was struck by some of the turn-of-the-century western landscapes from Yosemite and other western parks. Since I just watched the National Parks series on PBS, I recognized several of the locations and it was fun to see in person images I had just watched on TV.

Portraits were scattered among these landscapes, including one of Georgia O’Keefe by Alfred Stieglitz and a striking photo of Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor. Turning the corner, I came face-to-face with an incredible photograph by Ansel Adams, whose work I’ve only ever seen in books. Seeing the real thing, in person, was a great experience.

In my opinion, this exhibit is well worth visiting and small enough that it can be enjoyed in a reasonable period of time.

I also walked through the permanent collection and I was struck by the same feeling I had at Clayton. It was almost like Helen Clay Frick was welcoming me into her home, albeit the public and ritzy part of her home. The pieces displayed here are from her personal collection and include 14th century religious panel paintings, 18th century French paintings, furniture, and more. I particularly enjoyed the fact that I could get up close and really see these paintings. There are only a few rooms, so I felt that I could spend the time seeing each one and not worry about what was around the next corner. It was an intimate, relaxing experience to tour the Art Museum and for this price, you’d be crazy not to stop by.

If art is not your thing and you've been dragged to the Frick, perhaps you'll enjoy the Car & Carriage Museum which I thought was nice and which Your Active Husband could have stayed in for hours on end. This museum contains an array of fine cars and carriages, including several used by the Fricks, which Helen Frick brought back to Pittsburgh. Also in the museum are automobiles donated by G. Whitney Snyder. The cars range in age from an 1881 Brougham to a 1940 American Bantam Convertible Coupe. There is even a car built in Pittsburgh; I didn’t know we had a company.

I must confess that, as with all things cars, I probably could not fully appreciate the fine collection of vehicles in front of me. Nevertheless, they were very pretty and had nice upholstery. (I’m learning to appreciate these cars more after seeing the Vintage Grand Prix this year at Schenley Park. I highly recommend you see the race next summer, particularly early on when they’re racing the really old cars. It’s very unpredictable and fun.) Disregarding my untrained eye, Your Active Husband assures me that the cars was very cool and several were famous models that he had only ever seen in books or on TV. Even if cars are not your thing, I suggest at least taking a look in the museum.

The Frick Art and History Center is open Tue-Sat 10 am to 5 pm and includes free parking in the lot on their grounds. For directions and more information visit their website.

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It's the Frick....House (Part 1, Clayton)

If an ornate Gilded Age mansion can be called “cozy”, Clayton is that. I might also call it “cute” and “comfortable”. Clayton is a sparkling example of a fully decked-out, designer’s dream mansion that at the same time feels like a real home.

If you like material culture, design, or just seeing lots of cool old stuff, then Clayton should be on your must-see list (and shame on you for not getting there yet!). Tours of Clayton are only $12 and… get this …the Frick Art Gallery, Car and Carriage Museum, and grounds are all FREE!

More about this in Part 2, but really, if you live in the Squirrel Hill/Point Breeze/Regent Square area get yourself over there for an hour or two. It’s a great resource right on the edge of Frick Park and a perfect part of a day out on the East End. You can include lunch at the Café at Frick, or follow it up with a nice hike through Homewood Cemetery and a meal at Pointe Brugge (belgian beer and mussels, yum!).

But back to Clayton, this was the home of Henry Clay Frick, his wife Adelaide and four children, of whom only two survived. The Frick family lived at Clayton from 1882-1905 before moving to a much larger mansion in New York City. The home stayed in the family through Helen Clay Frick who obviously loved the house and thoughtfully preserved it and planned to have it opened to the public upon her death in 1984. After renovations, Clayton was opened for tours in 1990.

The great thing about touring Clayton is that with just a single owner over the last 100 years, and an owner who was dedicated to preserving it, 90% of the house is still as it was when the Frick’s bought and remodeled it in the 1890s. The wallpapers, the fixtures, the ceilings, the furniture – it’s like stepping back into that time and that family.

They do recommend you call in advance to sign up for a daily tour of Clayton. When you visit, the tours meet in the Visitor Center/Playhouse where you’ll check in and have an introduction by your docent prior to walking over to Clayton.

The downstairs, public rooms in Clayton are magnificently furnished and beautiful to walk through. My favorite rooms, however, were definitely the private rooms on the second floor. Mrs. Frick’s red boudoir is something to behold, as is Mr. Frick’s elaborate bathroom, but my favorite room was the “family room”. This was really their sitting room and study located just off from the family bedrooms. I could absolutely spend an entire afternoon in that space. You are just cocooned in wall paneling and can lounge on comfortably upholstered chaises, reading books or playing games while mom or dad works at their desk nearby.

I completely understand why Helen loved this house just as it was and wanted to continue to return there and preserve it. It is a like a memory of your house growing up, before you’ve moved out and they’ve turned your room into a “exercise den” and thrown away half your stuff (“oh, I didn’t think you still wanted that, dear…”).

As compared to visiting similar Gilded-Age mansions in Newport, RI, you get a much smaller house here and a different setting; but at Clayton you really see how the house lived. At other mansions the materials have mostly not been kept with the house, and what is displayed is really the public house, not the private/family house. Clayton is a treasure and a must-see.

Tours are $12 for adults, but Tuesdays are 2-for-1 days. The rest of the grounds, the greenhouse, the Car and Carriage Museum, and the Frick Art Gallery are all FREE. Parking at the Frick is fairly ample and also free.

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Allegrippis - "...and lo, they said there would be mountain biking for all, and it was good."

So Your Active Husband (YAH) and I (Me) heard this rumor about 8 months ago that IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) was building, and we mean building, some mountain bike trails in central PA. This made us very happy since we would be returning to the motherland soon and could finally ride trails that weren’t made up of sand, large angular rocks, and more sand.

The Allegrippis Trails at Raystown Lake opened in May 2009 and comprise 32 miles of looped trail. You can find a trail map here. Last week, we finally made it to Raystown and the trails are like nothing I’ve ever been on, truly.

These are the first trails machine-built by IMBA and partners in Pennsylvania, and some of the first on the entire East Coast. In my mind the Allegrippis project represents a huge step forward in biking tourism in the state and I’m excited about what can happen in the future. (To learn more about how these trails came to be check out the article in Dirt Rag #143).

Just to ground you for this review, I’ll let you know that it will be written from two perspectives:

• Me - intermediate mountain biker, likes no stress rides, on a front-suspension hardtail Cannondale F1000 from 1998. I’ve named it the “Nimble Goat” or “Goat” for its fabulous climbing ability (YAH doesn’t believe in naming bikes, just taking lots and lots of pictures of them);
  
• Your Active Husband – advanced mountain biker, likes a challenge but will also slow down and ride with his low stress wife, biking on a no suspension, new-to-him, Kona Unit 29er (which just means oversize wheels, can someone say compensating? He assures me that the big wheels help him go over stuff, I believe him) single-speed (which means no gears and thus makes no sense) that does not have a name because that is not what men do.

Being machine-made, the Allegrippis trails are rated the way skiing trails are - green trails are easiest, blue trails are intermediate, and black trails are advanced. They are well signed and easy to follow.

So how are the trails? We’ve heard them described, as “fast”, “smooth”, “rollercoaster”, and these are all accurate but don’t quite describe the experience of riding the Allegrippis fully. Neither of us had ever been on machine-made trails before nor had a lot of the people we passed, so we all had this look on our faces kind of like disbelief – they actually built trails? Just for us? Here’s a rundown of pros and cons:

Pros:

• Accessible to all. This to me is key, because of the rankings and signage and the way the trails loop, anyone can ride here. I can ride with Your Active Husband and actually take some trails on my own, because I know I won’t get lost. For others who are directionally deficient out there, this is BIG!
  
• Less stressful day out. With the rankings you know exactly what you’re getting into, so no getting angry because you’ve been led to yet another steep climb, and forced to walk the bike through yet another rock garden, and… you get the picture.
  
• Fast trails. There were entire sections that looked flat but I didn’t need to touch a pedal, I just kept going.

Cons:

• Spontaneity. Since the trails are mapped out you do lose some of the sense of discovery and surprise. But for me, the surprise wears off about 30 minutes into yet another lost trail.
  
• Challenge. For advanced riders or those wanting a challenge, none of the trails are “technical” per se, but they offer a place and features to refine your skills that most trails don’t offer.

TRAIL REVIEW:
North Trails (suspension nice to have but not required)Fawn/Doe/Buck Trails (green).
(Me) If you can ride a bike you can basically ride these trails. True beginners still might find a few places they have to walk, but these trails are basically rock- and root-free and can be ridden at a slower pace. Good to build confidence and no surprises.

(Your Active Husband) If you’re advanced and riding these I found it a good place to warm up and work on dialing in my tire pressure and my pump technique.

Sleek Dog, Eagle, Osprey (blue).
(Me) The blue trails are not technical, but do require some more speed than the green, so you have to be comfortable riding with speed and taking some slightly bigger rollers and ups and downs. I LOVED these sections and thought they flowed beautifully. Osprey is entirely uphill going toward the parking lot, so keep that in mind.

(Your Active Husband) I’m gonna use a two words to describe Sleek Dog and Eagle – “flow country” - I didn’t ride much of Osprey so take the lady’s word on it.

Berry Patch, Loco – Motive, Red Legs (blue); Hydro Loop, Sidewinder, Ray’s Revenge (black).
(Me) Didn’t ride this time. But from his description, I believe I would be fine with Hydro Loop and Sidewinder is just painful, but doable.

(Your Active Husband) Hydro was super nice and not necessarily more technical than the blue trails, it just seemed that the interval between the rollers was closer together. I would not recommend riding Sidewinder or Ray’s Revenge from Osprey. They were steep with a few switchbacks that were loose, much better going down than up, plus there’s a small “dip” - think table top jump - on Ray’s Revenge. Berry Patch, Loco - Motive, Red Legs and Allie were great trails with a good mix of climbing and downhill to keep it interesting

South Trails (suspension highly recommended, unless you really like to be uncomfortable)
Dark Hollow, Shade, Dirt Sufer Barrel Bay (blue).
(Me) These trails are definitely bumpier and rockier (but not in a technical way) than the north trails; suspension was a great asset here. I really like these trails and they felt much more like “typical” PA mountain biking trails, a great view of the lake, and lots of up and down. I don’t know if it was because it was the end of the day or the way these trails are, but there was a lot of standing up on the bike for these and my body really started feeling it over here. I was actually hoping for stretches to pedal rather than coast because my legs and back hurt.

(Your Active Husband) For me these trails paled in comparison to the others. They felt choppy and just didn’t flow, but maybe that’s the point. I definitely wanted my full suspension bike for these as the single speed was starting to wear me down.

So that’s our review.

Whether you like these particular trails or not, I say - “Ride them!”, and get others to ride them, tell everyone you know about them. If Allegrippis is a success, and by that I mean brings in riders and money, then more will be created and more of Pennsylvania can work on developing more pockets of sustainable, outdoor-focused, tourism-based economies.

(Your Active Husband) These types of trails are very popular in England, pick up a copy of Singletrack magazine and see their perspective on the positives and negatives of the machine made trails (Me – I read it for the pretty pictures). All I can say is that we need to ride and support the groups that made them possible and I would urge everyone to buy an Allegrippis pint glass or t-shirt from Raystown Visitors Center (proceeds go back to the friends organization that made these trails possible). I wouldn’t want all of the trails to be like this in the future, but I think we need to establish more trails around the state like this just so new people can be introduced to mountain biking in a somewhat controlled environment.

Trail Etiquette (mountain biking edition). Here’s a helpful little reminder for those planning to visit Allegrippis (which I hope is a lot of people):

1. Uphill rider has the right of way. If you meet someone on the trail, the person traveling downhill should step off the path and let the poor guy/gal struggling upwards get by.
   
2. Don’t ride up on people. If you know you’re slow and hear someone behind you, get off the trail and let them pass. If you’re a fast rider but have only 300 feet left and a little bit of patience (!) don’t ride up on the slow guy on the green trail in front of you. Have some manners and slow down, you’ll be at the end soon enough.
   
3. Yielding. Hikers should yield to bikers, bikers should yield to horses (although if you see a horse on the Allegrippis, let me know).
   
4. Leave no trace. Be sensitive to the trails you’re riding, try not to ride on/chew up the trail if it’s muddy, stay on the existing trail and don’t create new ones.

How to get there from here:
To find the trails, follow all mapping/signs for the Seven Points Recreation Area at Raystown Lake which is run by the US Army Corps. There is mostly RV camping here, with one area for tents only, and is mostly overrun by motorboats and RVing families in the summer. There are one or two other campgrounds just off the Seven Points area where you may find a spot too. The Corps campground closes at the end of October.

The trails are 2 hours from Monroeville if you take Route 22 (130 miles), and 45 miles from State College, 100 miles from Harrisburg, 130 miles from Baltimore, and 145 miles from D.C. So it is actually really well placed for much of the Mid-Atlantic.

Once you arrive there are two parking options, parking lot #1 is along Bakers Hollow Road and to get there you’ll want to turn left just before entering the Army Corps area. This parking lot holds approx 20 cars and leads to green, blue, and black trails and is my recommended starting point. Parking lot #2 is located just after the registration office at the Seven Point Rec Area and holds 6 cars. This lot leads to a few blue and black trails, no green. (NOTE – the registration office has two bathrooms at the back of the building, this is probably the only bathroom you’re gonna find in the area so take note.) A blue trail does link the two parking lots and allows those camping at Seven Points to bike up to the other section of the Allegrippis.

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Up Close and Personal with the Penguins….at the National Aviary

I’ve found the absolute best way to get up close and personal with a penguin, go to the National Aviary. I know the Pittsburgh Zoo also has a great penguin exhibit, but the Aviary’s use of pop-up plastic portholes brings you just inches from the little creatures, and they’re pretty darn cute.

The National Aviary is just minutes from the Children’s Museum on the North Side and has it’s own parking area. There are over 600 different species of birds at the Aviary and multiple exhibits. They do a great job of providing activities at regular times throughout the day that really allow you learn and interact with the birds, and enhances the overall experience. I would definitely recommend the Aviary for animal and bird lovers of all ages, and kids as well.

Penguin Point I found to be lots of fun for all ages, and it was unusual to see the birds so close up. There are two daily talks at the exhibit where you learn about the penguins and how the Aviary takes care of them. Any time of the day, however, you can stop in and see them up close, walking around or swimming.

The Tropical Forest is one of two “free-flight” areas at the Aviary, this means you can enjoy seeing the birds fly around the large conservatory and occasionally dive bombing visitors, in an entirely safe wayJ. There are two daily feeding times in the forest where you have a chance to watch the trainers feed the birds and maybe even interact with them yourself. I was lucky enough to be able to feed one of the birds from my hand. To have that little guy fly down and land on me just made my day. The Rainforest is home to a huge variety of tropical birds and you’ll be looking at every nook and cranny trying to see them all.

The Aviary also presents FliteZone shows throughout the summer and early fall, weather permitting. This is a free-flight show including kites and eagles. NOTE: For Halloween there will be some special owl performers as part of theme shows October 24, 25, and 31.

When you wander through the Aviary, you have the chance to walk past some of the largest birds I’ve ever seen in my life, the Steller’s sea-eagles, and next to them a pair of bald eagles. Outside the Aviary don’t miss the enclosures of the, also enormous, Andean condors.

The Penguin Point exhibit is clearly the newest and most well funded portion of the zoo; there are uneven aspects to the remainder of the exhibits. In April of 2009, the Aviary broke ground on a $23 million expansion and renovation project and I look forward to what it has in store for the future, if Penguin Point is any indication. The National Aviary is open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm and Sun 12pm-5pm; admission is $10 for adults and $8.50 for children.

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Mural Hunt…your G20-week, non-protesting, free activity

Some of you may recall that Shepard Fairey was in Pittsburgh back in August during the Netroots Nation shindig and put up 10 murals around town. The murals are both a statement to the G20 leaders to support efforts addressing climate change, and a precursor to his exhibit “Supply and Demand” which will be opening at the Andy Warhol Museum on October 18.

Well, I finally had a day-off and some time to ride around and try to find them all. I was, happily, successful and thought that others might like to play a similar game of hide and seek the Shepard Fairey murals. These murals are all located outside the G20 security zone and very bikable. I would say it takes about 1.5 hours by bike to see them all.

Here is a description of the murals and locations that I am also offering on an RSS Feed. If you have a phone that connects to the web, use this feed to guide you on your journey.

You can also follow this link to Pop City’s article on the murals and fabulous Google map showing locations.

Murals #1 and 2 at Warhol Museum, Rosa Villa, 106 E. General Robinson Street, North Side.
The largest murals are located across from the Warhol on the North Side. This mural includes his poster for MoveOn.org’s Power Up America campaign and an image of human rights leader and Nobel Prize recipient Aung San Suu Ki of Myanmar.(GPS 40.448662/-80.002594)

Mural #3 8th St (Tito Way) between Penn Ave and Liberty Ave, Downtown
This set of murals is located in a large alleyway across from culinary institute downtown.(GPS 40.442928/-79.999184)

Mural #4 272 1st Avenue, Downtown
Behind the Art Institute, on building facing the parking lot.(GPS 40.438061/-80.002792)

Mural #5 at Fast>>fwd Gallery, 3700 Penn Avenue at 37th St, Lawrenceville
Mural has been pulled down, see this link for the original picture.(GPS 40.464401/-79.962578)

Mural #6 4035 Butler Street, Lawrenceville
At Crazy Mocha, look up at the side of the building.(GPS 40.469402/-79.961441)

Mural #7 4140 Penn Avenue, Lawrenceville
At Brillobox look up and see the giant.(GPS 40.465706/-79.954788)

Mural #8 5423 Penn Avenue, Garfield/Friendship
On the side of the Sprout Fund Building.(GPS 40.464831/-79.935440)

Mural #9 5515 Penn Avenue, Garfield/Friendship
On the east side of Penn Ave, there is a small parking lot next to building, near the Pgh Glass Center.(GPS 40.463963/-79.931831)

Mural #10 Bigelow Blvd and N. Craig Street, North Oakland
If driving, park on Bigelow, murals are on building at busy intersection just past North Oakland.(GPS 40.456875/-79.954720)

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Carnegie Science Center

I haven’t been inside the Carnegie Science Center since it first opened, so I figured it was about time I got back there. Biking down to the CSC on one of these gorgeous September days was great fun all in itself. On your trip to the CSC, I highly recommended adding some time to walk or bike along the riverfront and enjoy the beautiful setting.

I’m actually going to start my review with my favorite part of the CSC – the submarine, the USS Requin. I have not been down to visit the CSC since the submarine was brought in and I have definitely been missing out!

As a history-lover it was an amazing experience to actually be able to put myself back in that period of time. The Requin is kept in pristine condition and stepping down the ladder into the sub is like stepping back in time. The incredibly small living quarters, the capsule-like doorways, and the displays present you a real picture of what it was like to work on a sub with 100 or so men back around the end of WWII. The guides on the sub are particularly great assets. All are gentlemen who served in the Navy in that period and they can all tell some great stories and really bring to life the ship you’re standing in. In addition, computer displays provide audio segments from other ex-submariners who either served on the Requin or similar boats, and their stories are equally engaging. If you want to learn a little more about this pivotal time in history, walk onto the Requin and step back in time.

Beyond the sub, most of the CSC seems to be geared toward kids and, depending on your child’s interests, there is a lot to see and do. The most traditional, hands-on areas are SciQuest and Exploration Station where you can really get in and get your hands dirty. Also fun are the demonstrations at the Kitchen Theater and Works Theater which occur throughout the day and are announced on those floors prior to show start times.

The first floor of the Carnegie Science Center includes the tickets area, the Omnimax theater, and an exhibit called “SciQuest”. The theater shows movies throughout the day, all are approximately 45-60 min long and you can enter and purchase tickets just for the show. My favorite here was SciQuest which has been open since the beginning. The purpose of the exhibit is to learn about physical forces like wind, light, sound, and earthquakes. The displays were very interactive and I think it holds up very well to the more digital parts of the Center. It is interesting for all ages with a lot to touch and experience.

The second floor includes the new/old Buhl Digital Dome (I’m just going to call it the Buhl Planetarium for old time’s sake), the Miniature Railroad & Village (that used to be in the Buhl Planetarium), and the new exhibit roboworld. The Buhl Dome has showings throughout the day included in your ticket price, movies are approx. 20 min long, and they’re well-worth seeing. It’s a nice way to take a short break and sit.

If you’re familiar with the Miniature Railroad & Village from it’s early days, there are still some of the classic figures included. A few new elements have also been added to provide scope. I’ve always enjoyed watching the little figures working in the quarry or the clothes snapping on the line in an imaginary wind. I wish they had more of the moveable figures included.

The bulk of the second floor is devoted to roboworld. This exhibit includes multiple stations that allow kids to interact with different types of robots - robots throwing basketballs, robots picking things up, robots with facial recognition. For the robot-lovers and techno lovers out there, I’m sure this is a hit. For me, I felt like I was at a carnival game trying to pick up the stuffed giraffe with a crane; clearly this is not my thing.

But onwards and upwards, the top floor contains Exploration Station and the Works Theater. Exploration Station is actually divided into two areas, the main area for all ages and a closed-off section just for 3-6 year olds. Both areas are full of great hands-on activities working with water, or electrical circuits (not together, thankfully), or animals, or even a weather area. As with SciQuest, I was more drawn to these hands-on activities that really let you get in there and play. Also on this floor, the Works Theater has demonstrations throughout the day that teach kids about forces such as electricity and voltage.

The café and group meet up areas are located below the first floor. The café offers the typical fare – sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, fries. You also have the opportunity to bring your own food. There are also lockers on this floor.

According to the CSC website, the Highmark SportsWorks exhibition which is being rebuilt is set to open in late 2009. I look forward to that and plan on stopping by as soon as it’s open.

The Carnegie Science Center has a variety of ticket options, general admission is $10 for kids 3-12 and $14 for adults; add $5 for an Omnimax movie. To see the Omnimax only is $6 for kids and $8 for adults, similar prices for laser shows. is open Sunday-Friday 10 am to 5 pm, and Saturday 10 am to 7 pm.

NOTE: The CSC does CLOSE on days of Steelers home games.

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Fort Necessity

If you’re traveling around Uniontown some day or simply enjoy visiting historical sites, take a shot at visiting Fort Necessity. It’s only $5 for adult and FREE for kids 15 and under, and a fun way to spend an hour or two. The fort is located 15 min east of Uniontown along Rt. 40, the National Road.

If you were around last year for the 250th anniversary of Pittsburgh, then you know that Fort Necessity was built (out of necessity, hence the name) by a young George Washington who had managed to really tick off a group of nearby French soldiers, thus inciting the French and Indian War. (Okay, technically, the fort was built by George Washington’s troops to protect them from a French raid in the summer of 1754. Earlier that summer, his troops had killed a French officer nearby and the French were out to attack the British troops in retaliation. Who can blame them?)

Today, Fort Necessity has one of the BEST National Park Service Visitor Centers I’ve seen in a long time. It includes some nice replica artifacts and interesting interpretive exhibits. Opened in 2005, the center interprets both the French and Indian War, and the history of the National Road which was actually based on the trail Washington’s troops cleared on their way through the area. See more pictures here.

The first stop in the center should be the excellent “here’s what happened and why it’s a national park now” movie. This 20-minute movie is well produced and looks great on their HD screen. It is actually interesting to watch, which is saying something because I’ve seen a lot of these introductory movies, and most are boring at best. Maybe they worked with the PBS team who did the, also excellent, French and Indian War documentary. Regardless, it’s short and fun to watch (and also educational).

After the movie, wander through the French and Indian War and National Road exhibits. The War exhibits do a fabulous job of presenting multiple perspectives on the events at the Fort, from the British and French side as well as the Native American sides. Also on hand are some very cool artifact replicas of period weapons, clothes, and even replica wampum belts (read through the display to understand what they mean).

A secondary story for this park is the history of the National Road. The exhibits dedicated to that story are also quite engaging. I could picture myself at some dusty tavern circa 1825 talking about tolls and bed bugs.

Walk outside and you’ll find a playground for younger children; all the kids I saw there absolutely loved it. There is an oversized replica Conestoga wagon and a mini Fort Necessity.

Beyond the Visitor Center, you can visit a replica Fort Necessity. The “fort” is really just a small building inside a small surrounding palisade. The highlight here is to participate in one of the park’s interpretive programs. Each day offers at least one program, usually a Soldier’s Life or Fur Trading. Some days offer special programs. The weekend I visited there was a Native American camp interpretation which was lots of fun. At the time of Washington’s visit the area was contested not just by the British and French, but also by a variety of Native groups from the Seneca to the Delaware to the Shawnee to the Cherokee and others. This weekend included reenactors from these multiple groups with multiple perspectives.

NOTE: Keep in mind the wonderful hiking trails in the area when you visit. Take some time to hike the nearby trails on the grounds and get an idea of what it was like for Washington to travel through these early forests.

Fort Necessity is $5 for adults and FREE for children 15 and under. The Visitor Center is open 9 am-5 pm April through October and the grounds, including hiking trails, are open year-round from sunrise to sunset. They also offer FREE FEE weekends, look at their website for program schedules and other information.

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