Butler, Pennsylvania has been named as one of the Top Ten Best Small Towns in America by the Smithsonian Magazine. This town of around 14,000 residents has been the industrial hub of the area and the town’s downtown shopping and restaurant district is thriving. Butler, PA also has a wide selection of wonderful parks in and around the town.
1. Alameda Park
Alameda Park is a wonderful place to spend the day! With playgrounds, picnic areas, a mountain bike trail, a community waterpark, and several shelter facilities, the park has a lot to offer. Alameda Waterpark has two enclosed tube slides, two toddler entries, and the Pirate’s Cove Splash Pad while the diving well has an Aqua Rock wall, two diving boards, and a drop slide.
Alameda Park was originally opened in 1901 by the Butler Traction Company and received 7,000 visitors on opening day. The park was purchased by Butler County in 1967 with the help of federal grants.
2. Moraine State Park
Moraine State Park in Portersville, Pennsylvania receives over one million boaters, hikers, knickers, and swimmers each year. The park is full of hills, forests, and beautiful bodies of water that help make it a great place for several outdoor activities.
Pontoon boats, kayaks, and canoes are available to rent and explore the 3,225-acre lake and a paved, seven-mile bike trail runs from the bicycle rental store to the Davis Hollow Marina. The park also has a fun 18-hole disc golf course and houses several species of birds like ducks, loons, osprey, bald eagles, and great blue herons. The Glacier Ridge Trail is an excellent hike with gorgeous scenic overlooks and the Sunken Garden Trail can be traversed on cross-country skis in the winter.
3. Wolf Creek Narrows Natural Area
The Wolf Creek Narrows Natural Area is 243 acres large with several hiking, hunting, fishing, and wildlife watching opportunities. Belted kingfishers, ospreys, bald eagles, wood thrush, Louisiana waterthrush, salamanders, and snakes can all be seen here. The park is also known for its beautiful spring wildflowers, mature northern hardwood forest, and scenic cliffs.
Wolf Creek Narrows, a steep and narrow gorge, is thought to have originally formed when an ice-age cave’s ceiling eroded and collapsed leaving behind 50-foot tall cliffs and a stream that runs between them.
4. Succop Nature Park
Succop Nature Park has two ponds, many dog-friendly walking trails, and natural spaces for both outdoor activities and education. It’s one of the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania’s reserves and can host business meetings, retreats, classes, weddings, art exhibits, and receptions in addition to facilitating connections between people and nature.
The main farmhouse was built in 1830 and owned by the Maharg family while the bank barn was built in 1886 before the home and the property were sold to T. W. Philips, Jr. in 1921. Margaret Phillips Succop and A. Craig Succop bought the land and updated the house and, once they passed away, their eldest son moved back.
In 2001, Tom and Jo Ann donated the estate to the Butler County Community College Education Foundation, and, in 2011, the Audubon gained control of the area. Audubon started renovations and upgrades that year which have added dedicated spaces for natural programming and other events as well as a vertical wind turbine.
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