BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. –
See & Be Seen interns Christian Heilman and Autumn Lonon make a one-tank trip to Butler County. Heilman is a Penn State University student, and Lonon studies at West Virginia University.
On June 19, we filled up our gas tank and hit the road for a one-tank trip. Our first stop was to Moraine State Park in Portersville where we checked out all the things to do on and around Lake Arthur.
After our afternoon at Moraine, we made our second stop in Saxonburg, Pa to check out the Brooklyn Bridge replica and the Saxonburg Museum.
PHOTOS: 
See & Be Seen Interns Visit Butler County
From the station, Moraine State Park was about a 40 minute drive.
LINK: 
Moraine State Park
VIDEO: 
Dan Bickel Talks About Park Activities
VIDEO: Christian Checks Out Beach At Park
When we arrived at the park’s office, we were greeted by the park’s manager, Dan Bickel. After a quick interview with Bickel, we learned that Moraine State Park occupies about 17,000 acres of land! With all that land, there’s something for everyone in the family to enjoy.
Since it was a warm and sunny Father’s Day, many families were out enjoying all the activities the park has to offer. Depending on where we were, we saw families boating, kayaking, fishing, hiking, biking, or simply laying out in the sun on one of the park’s two beaches.
Lonon was excited to hear about wind-surfing and horseback riding at the park, but Christian took more interest in the six mile bike trail and the more than 28 miles of hiking trails available. After a couple hours at the park, we realized that no matter who’s going on the trip, there’s something for everybody to do.
Not only is Moraine State Park a great place to visit during the summer, but it also has plenty to do during the winter months. Ice skating, snowmobiling, and sledding are just a few of the wintertime activities for visitors at the park.
Avid boaters can bring their own boats to the park as long as they have a permit from the park office.
Even if you don’t have a boat, you can rent one from the park to spend an afternoon kayaking, canoeing, or out on a pontoon boat. The day we visited, we met a man who rented a pontoon boat with a grill for his father. Bickel said the rental costs are affordable, especially if you go out on the lake with a small group.
If you decide to spend more than one day at the park, there are plenty of places to stay nearby. Bickel mentioned a Days Inn and Fairfield Inn located just minutes away from the park near Butler.
We couldn’t stay the whole day to see the rest of the 17,000 acres of land, so we packed up our things and entered Saxonburg into the navigation system to get to nearby Roebling Park. The park is dedicated to John A. Roebling who created many wire rope suspension bridges. The park includes a replica of the Brooklyn Bridge, Roebling’s most famous design.
The bridge was adjacent to the house once owned by Roebling in the 1800′s and right next door to the Saxonburg museum.
If you’re into historical Pennsylvania or history in general, this is an interesting spot to visit. It didn’t take too long for Lonon, a New Jersey native and frequent New York City visitor, to realize that the replica was a smaller version.
We figured that the museum next door would have a lot more information on the area, so we walked in and took a step back in time.There were so many different artifacts donated by people from the surrounding community, from vintage cars and different equipment used by old radio stations to replicas of classrooms and kitchens from the 19th and 20th centuries. There was even a list of Saxonburg natives so you could see if you were related to anyone from the historical town.
LINK: Cooper Hall: Saxonburg Museum
Before we left town, we drove down Main Street to look at all of the old-fashioned shops, eateries and storefronts. For a small town, Saxonburg has a lot to offer. If you wanted to stay overnight to get the full effect, there are a couple bed and breakfasts, along with hotels located near Butler.
After a fun-filled day we headed back to Pittsburgh. We traveled about 65 miles all together and used about a half-tank of gas.
