The first day of our inspection in 2002 for the State Parks Dept. Part of the trip was diesel, the other by steam locomotive. The question I’ve posed to several weather experts over the years of whether Kinzua Viaduct might represent the “Most Massive’ Man-made Structure EVER Toppled by a Tornado” on earth. JOIN . I was sad to see it blown down, but we were excited they decided to preserve its memory in this way leaving the wreckage for all to see. All about the Kinzua Dam Pronounced "kin-zoo," by local residents, and " kin-zew-uh" in the Seneca language, the Kinzua Dam is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River. Small side trails take visitors up to the wreckage (though the area between the wreckage is now closed), and a small, rickety bridge crosses the small Kinzua Creek.If you opt to get close to the wreckage of the bridge, make sure to exercise extreme caution.
I took my wife on a road trip last year up to Bradford & vicinity, so we did see & walk the Skywalk. DONATE. Please move to another parking space once your vehicle has been charged.Directions to the nearest hospital are posted on bulletin boards and at the park office.Keystone State. These offerings are also available for homeschool groups.Contact the park for the program offering brochure, to request a specific topic, or to inquire about availability. The Kinzua Bridge State Park Visitor Center is a state-of-the-art building facility that will orient visitors to the Kinzua Bridge, as well as the surrounding area. As the largest and tallest bridge in the world at the time of completion, it’s not hard to understand why. We took our family on a Route 6 vacation and stopped there just after the Tornado. We just took our grandsons there last year because we wanted to see what it looked like now. They correlate to Pennsylvania Academic Standards, vary in length, and most are STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) related. The 339-acre Kinzua Bridge State Park, located in McKean County, is the home of the reinvented Kinzua Viaduct. Scattering the valley floor below the end of the bridge is the twisted metal remains. At the end of 2014 I was back in PA visiting family, my sister and I drove up and went to see how it is now, it was so, so sad to see but did bring back those incredible memories. Get your 3-Day weather forecast for Kinzua Beach, PA. Hi/Low, RealFeel, precip, radar, & everything you need to be ready for the day, commute, and weekend! My dad worked on the railroad on construction with Mike RichWhen my dad was a teenager, he used to ride his motorcycle across the bridge while trains were using it (not at the same time) when there were no sides in the bridge, just track. Best nearby. There is a lot of sharp, rusty metal, and it would be very easy to get seriously injured.While it’s easy to spend all your time exploring the bridge, make sure to save time to visit the visitor center at Kinzua Bridge State Park.Opened to the public in 2016, this visitor center features a fantastic museum that tells the story of the area, the bridge, and its destruction. However, visiting the new skywalk, I was awestruck at its beauty, spanning 600 feet out into the valley and roughly 225 feet above the Kinzua Creek below.Walking to the now abrupt end of the bridge is a breathtaking site, both for the natural beauty of the valley, but also for the evidence of the storm’s strength below.When redesigning the bridge, it was decided that the toppled remains of the bridge should remain where they fell in 2003. It really was a beautiful bridge, so breath taking to see a giant in the middle of the woods.The bridge was/is beautifully amazing. It is so nice to see how they have preserved this historical site. After the bridge was destroyed, they left the rubble below and made the remaining bridge an observation deck.I know we talked on Instagram about this, but my family lives in Warren County and has been visiting the park every year since I was a kid (both pre-storm and post-storm). Along the way, there are three vantage points, the first of which is handicap accessible. The sky got really angry and loud on July 21, 2003 and, suddenly, the majority of those tracks no longer crossed the sky… The engineering analysis of the December, 2003 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources report on the Kinzua Event noted: “The orientation and location of the debris field of the structure identified the specific wind directions and order of collapse. It is big, but not as big as I expected. No. Work on the original Kinzua Viaduct was completed in 1882, and it was once the highest and longest railroad viaduct in the world. Oct 28, 2017 - Explore Travis Houston's board "Kinzua Bridge" on Pinterest.
An entire town was flooded to make the lake above the dam, and control the river level below the dam. Kinzua Valley Trail Club’s goal is to reach the Kinzua Bridge State Park - see you there! It’s quite a sight!I will never forget July 21, 2003. Please choose a different date.Sorry, there are no tours or activities available to book online for the date(s) you selected. The Kinzua Valley Trail Club, a non-profit organization formed in 1999, maintains the trail with the goal of providing accessible outdoor experiences through all four seasons. Wish I could have done that before it fell.I had the pleasure of enjoying the train ride over the bridge. An engineering masterpiece, it earned the distinction of a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1977. Helpful. The way it’s shown in the top photo is what it looks like today. 1205 Kinzua Rd Allegheny National Forest, Warren, PA 16365-5501. I’m glad they preserved its memory as they have, but sorry that it was necessary vs. having an intact, strengthened bridge on which to still ride excursion trains…My family had a vacation home in Lantz Corners just a short drive from the Bridge.
If you are in the Warren, PA area, I would recommend you make time for the Kinzua Dam. (Now nearly thirty, he says he still hasn’t forgiven me!)
It would take years to explore it all. Kinzua Bridge State Park. He has also traveled to more than 30 different countries around the world.we went to that when it was open with the excursion train running quite a few times…We wanted everyone we knew to see it..and we have a cabin in Potter County…It was fun you rode the train across and then ate your box lunch and rode back…It was a very very sad day when it all came down like a dominoes.