Ohiopyle Falls opened to kayakers, canoeists
Associated Press
OHIOPYLE, Pa.
Beginning today, kayakers and canoeists on a western Pennsylvania river will be have free rein to tumble 18 feet down a waterfall, a thrill allowed only once a year until now.
The state Bureau of Parks earlier this month lifted a ban on access to the Ohiopyle Falls along the Youghiogheny River. On a trial basis daily through Sept. 12, the falls will be open to qualified kayakers and canoeists willing to take the chance. If all goes well, the program will continue next year from mid-May through mid-September.
Access to the falls was closed when the park was developed in the late 1960s, Faust said. For a little more than a decade, park officials working with the nonprofit group American Whitewater have designated one day a year for an “Over the Falls” Festival, and some 14,000 runs have been made over the years during that one day without a drowning.
Now, boaters will be able to go over the falls at will from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. — provided that they have their own kayak or canoe.
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