McKean County is located in the Pennsylvania Wilds bordering New York state and nestled along side of the Allegheny National Forest.  I’ve been enjoying exploring the Pennsylvania Wilds which has many wonderful locations for road trips and random wanderings.  McKean County itself has ten historical locations that you can visit and collect pins to complete the McKean County Historic Trail.

I wasn’t aware of this tour when I started visiting the region myself, so I’ve already been to a few of these sites and failed to gather the collectibles.  While visiting the Pennsylvania Wild’s region during my Clearfield County Geotour weekends and also while visiting Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon, I kept collecting information pamphlets and guides for the regions.  During the “Pandemic Year” of 2020 when my wandering ways were severely curtailed, I spent my down time reading and studying various guides to plan future trips when the pandemic crisis passes.

This was how I discovered that a region I was already visiting has an Historic Trail.  This includes a few places I already visited, including the Kinzua Bridge State Park and Zippo Museum.   It seems I might have to return to this region and check off a few more locations on my ever-growing list.  😉

Depending on your idea of what constitutes a “long drive,’ McKean county isn’t that far from a few lovely locations I like to visit repeatedly: Elk Viewing at Benezette and Elk Country Visitor Center, Clearfield County and her five Geocaching Geotours, and Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon, Pine Creek Gorge.

Collectible Pins

There are ten (10) county pins you can collect on your exploration of McKean County, home of the Kinzua Bridge State Park, Zippo Museum, and more.  Sadly, I wasn’t aware of this pin collection while I was visiting some of the sites.  And some of the shops were closed during Covid. But it is fun to know this is an option for those of you who enjoy check-lists and tours.  I think I might try to finish visiting these sites and completing the tour.

These are the ten locations with the collectibles.

1. Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau. Bradford, PA
2. Zippo/Case Museum. Bradford, PA – Visited!
3. Marilyn Horne Museum. Bradford, PA
4. Penn Brad Oil Museum. Bradford, PA
5. Eldred WWII Museum.  Eldred, PA
6. McKean County Historical Society. Smethport, PA
7. Kinzua Bridge State Park. Jewett, PA – Visited!
8. McCleery Discovery Center. Kane, PA
9. Lynn Hall. Port Allegheny, PA
10. Serenity Glass Park. Port Allegheny, PA

Although I’ve visited a few of these locations, I didn’t gather the collectible pins.   Hm. Maybe a future trip is necessary!  I’m adding the rest of these locations for some future weekending adventures. I’ll post as I visit and share the experiences.