When my fiancé and I ventured to Oil Creek State Park we never imagined how tired we would be after an eight hour long day. Oil Creek State Park is a massive hiking lover’s paradise. There was a lot at the park that was historically interesting and beautifully relaxing. This park is a great family park I believe because there are so many activities they can do there. Even the wildlife there is wonderful to see.

Oil Creek State Park has a lot of history to it. It is along Oil Creek, which is not far south of Titusville. Colonel Edwin Drake struck oil in August 1859. This changed the world forever and marked the birth of the oil industry. The discovery caused thousands of people to pour into the valley in search of liquid gold. Oil and mud mixed together throughout the valley. Roads were impassable. When J.H.A. Bone got off the train at Petroleum Center he wrote: “…pull up your legs when they disappear from sight, remembering that if you descend deep enough, you may strike oil.” Others wrote: “The creek was covered with oil, the air was full of oil…we could see, hear, smell, nothing but oil.” “Mud divided our attention with oil, wagons, men and animals were submerged in mud.”

By 1871, production was booming. Drillers, speculators, and others went to other areas in their endless search for oil as and the valley was allowed to return slowly to the state it is today. Scattered ruins dot the landscape of Oil Creek valley. Remnants of old refineries can still be seen, old wells abound, and crumbling stone walls that once protected wells still stick up in the middle of Oil Creek. A few wells are still active in the park, pulling the last bits of oil and natural gas from the earth.

This historical information is from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation website.

If you missed it, make sure to check out my behind the scenes from Oil Creek State Park!

Behind the Scenes