VISITOR CENTER

The main parking lot at Ohiopyle State Park is by the river and you immediately get to see Ohiopyle Falls.

Trails at Ohiopyle State Park are pet-friendly, so we’d brought Truffles along with us. Dogs aren’t allowed inside buildings though, so Shae went inside the visitor center to get information about the park and a trail map while I waited outside with Truffles.

There are a number of information boards with small brass (or brass-like) models that share information about the area and its history.

A nice feature on the side of the visitor center is a water bottle refilling station.

CUCUMBER FALLS

We started off our afternoon at Ohiopyle State Park by hiking to Cucumber Falls.

You can park closer to Cucumber Falls and walk down to the falls via a bunch of steps, but we decided to take the relatively short hike there. If leaving your car at the visitor center, you walk up the road a little, following the white and yellow footsteps on the ground.

After a while the yellow footsteps branch off to the right, leading down a path to the river where you’ll see a trail marker directing you to go left to get to Cucumber Falls or right to go to Meadow Run Slides.

Much of the Cucumber Falls trail runs alongside the Youghiogheny River, so it’s a stunning, peaceful hike. Well, it was when we visited at the end of October; the vibe might be different in the summer when the area is packed with visitors.

Speaking of visiting at the end of October, it seemed like peak fall colors probably would’ve been a few weeks earlier. Still, it was a lovely place to stop and have some lunch before continuing on.

The trail continues over the rocks for a little way, with yellow trail blazes painted on rocks marking the route.

The trail isn’t very strenuous, but it’s worth having good footwear as it gets rocky when going back through the forest.

The fall leaves on the ground provided a nice backdrop for some photos of Truffles looking cute.

It wasn’t too much longer before we could see Cucumber Falls.

If you visit Ohiopyle State Park and hike to Cucumber Falls, be careful with your footing. Despite having sturdy hiking boots with good grip, I slipped several times due to the wet rock and fall leaves on the ground. Thankfully I only ended up with one wet foot in the water when making my way closer to the falls!

MEADOW RUN SLIDES

After spending a little time at Cucumber Falls, we hiked back along the Cucumber Falls Trail. Rather than heading back to the visitor center immediately, we continued along the trail to Meadow Run Slides.

Meadow Run Slides lead into the Youghiogheny River and are notable because they’re natural rock water slides, similar to Slide Rock State Park in Sedona, AZ.

The water current seemed to be strong enough to make for a fun ride down the slides, but the frigid water meant neither of us were willing to give it a try. Here’s a quick video of what Meadow Run Slides is like – I’d love to return in the summer to experience Meadow Run Slides when it’s warmer:

BRIDGES

After checking out Meadow Run Slides, we headed back towards the parking lot but continued along the road as we wanted to explore more of the park.

One of the photos I’d seen online before our visit was taken of the Ohiopyle High Bridge in the fall. To get there, we first had to walk over the Great Allegheny Passage Bridge. This is a pedestrian-only bridge, although you can ride your bike across. Some of the trees had ridiculously vibrant colors.

The Great Allegheny Passage Bridge crosses over the Youghiogheny River which provides lovely views in both directions.

Shortly after crossing that bridge, we crossed over the Ohiopyle High Bridge which led on to some different trails on the other side.

It would’ve been nice to see even more of Ohiopyle State Park, but it was after 5pm by that stage and we had to pack up our stuff to move on to our next city the following morning. After crossing the Ohiopyle High Bridge, we therefore decided to head back to our car to drive back to our Airbnb.