Our first trip together was to Ohiopyle State Park, which is about an hour and a half away from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ohiopyle is known for the the natural scenery and the Youghiogheny River Gorge. Ohiopyle has many things to do for being so close to the city and something for the whole family to do. Ohiopyle has hiking, white water rafting, rock climbing, ziplining, fishing and one of the best places to see waterfalls near Pittsburgh. We both have been there before but wanted to venture the 20,500 acres together.
The car ride is extremely easy due to interstate and we left about 10am to skip the morning traffic. There is a few toll roads but according to Google Maps it saved us about 25 minutes and going through some stops. We paid about $10 in tolls on the way there and $12 on the way back. It was only about 70 miles, so did not use much gas if you are trying to save some money on a one day adventure.
When driving into the park you don’t realize how truly big it is. Our first stop was at the a waterfall named Cucumber Falls, which is one of the largest at Ohiopyle. In our experience, this is one of the easiest waterfalls to get to due to the parking being so close by. If you stop and get a map, there are actually 7 waterfalls now that you can explore now. The Cucumber Falls was one of our favorite stops. We got the best photos and video here. There are designated trails but if you go over the fence on the right of the falls (which is allowed) you can actually go under the falls. It had not rained for a while and we were actually able to walk out to the falls to look over the ledges. Cucumber Falls was actually not busy and we were one of the only couples there.
There were many unique angles that you could take some photography and video. We stayed for about a couple hours and hardly saw anyone there which was extremely peaceful. We also walked on the Great Gorge Trails for about 30 minutes where we found rocks to sit on for awhile for rest. We did see some people in kayaks and people fishing this area. The nature was beautiful as well with many types of birds, insects, and we could see fish in the water. This area was extremely quiet as well which was nice as a new couple to sit, relax and talk.
After exploring the area for a bit, we took a short drive to the small town in Ohiopyle to find something to eat. We walked around the town until we found a place called Falls Market. It is on Main Street on the corner. The little restaurant really has something for everyone on their menu, outdoor seating and many dessert options inside. The food portion is very big and we could have split the wraps we had ordered.
Lastly we decided to go see the main area of the Ohiopyle Falls. We did walk across the bridge called The Great Allegheny Passage to the other side for different views of the falls. If you do make the short hike, it is well worth it due to hardly anyone being on the other side for photography and exploring. We found a small pond full of toads which sounded beautiful. We also could get our feet in the water in some calm areas to cool down. We spent quite some time in this area talking, relaxing and enjoying the sound of the water.
Overall Ohiopyle was a great, cheap, and exciting trip. We wish we would have had more time at more falls. We do recommend having a full day until dusk. We got some great images in the places we got to explore and Bob created a video of the falls, the scenery, and the experience. We will definitely be going back in the future to get more shots in the fall and winter.
Not knowing how we both would react on our first adventure was exciting. We both were eager to get to spend time together and to really learn about one another between the long car ride and the long day journey we had planned. On the car ride down, we spoke about all the things we wanted to capture, memories of our times before at Ohiopyle, and just getting to know more about one another. We both knew we loved this area but couldn’t wait to love it together. We spoke about our past a lot on this car ride, which we felt was good because we really got to spend time reflecting on what we both have gone through to get to where we were in life, what we wanted in life, and what we wanted out of this relationship that was growing.
Within five minutes of us being at the first stop in Ohiopyle, Bob had his camera out ready to shoot. I know I was super nervous since it was still extremely early in our relationship and I knew he was used to shooting films prior to knowing me. Little did I know, he was filming me doing what I love most, which is exploring the outdoors. It wasn’t until many days after where he sent me the video he made for me. No one has ever made me something like this and little did he know, it meant the world to me. I knew from that moment on I wanted him in my life and he was becoming the adventure.
Taking this adventure together showed each other that we both were compatible, ready for this relationship, and ready to conquer the world together.
Ohiopyle Photo Gallery
