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Butler County Answer Book: Details on the local state parks

Participants in The Moraine Sailing Club's annual youth sailing camp take sail at Watts Bay on the North Shore of Moraine State Park on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
McConnells Mill State Park

Address: 1761 McConnells Mill Road, Portersville, PA 16051

or when using GPS: Kildoo Parking Lot at McConnells Mill State Park

Telephone: 724-368-8811

Manager: Dustin Drew

Hours: Dawn to dusk, year-round

Emma Sprowls, an Environmental Education Specialist at Moraine/McConnells Mill State Park, leads a First Day of Spring Hike at Hells Hollow in McConnells Mill Park on Thursday, March 20, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Website: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/McConnellsMillStatePark/Pages/default.aspx

Founded: 1957

McConnells Mill State Park has 2,546 acres in Perry and Slippery Rock townships in Lawrence County.

Services, activities and attractions: Picnic areas, fishing, hunting, climbing and repelling, hiking and whitewater boating. The gristmill is normally open Memorial Day through late September. Limited hours are available; see the park’s Facebook page.

A Storybook Walk set up along Wood Wishper Trail was readied for attendees to experience the story of “ Habitat Sweet Habitat: Zappo the Jennings Jumping Mouse Looks for a House” at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, March 8, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
Jennings Environmental Education Center

Address: 2951 Prospect Road, Slippery Rock, PA 16057-5023

Telephone: 724-794-6011

Office hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and summer weekends

Park hours: Picnicking and trails open sunrise to sunset, year-round

Manager: Wil Taylor

Website: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/JenningsEnvironmentalEducationCenter/Pages/default.aspx

Email: jenningssp@pa.gov

Founded: 1980

Jennings Environmental Education Center is a 300-acre park in Brady Township.

Cara McGrady, a volunteer for Jennings Environmental Education Center, right, leads a history walk during the Cherry Pie Hike at Jennings Environmental Education Center on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle

Services, activities and attractions: Picnic areas, restrooms, hiking trails, interpretive exhibits and Foltz School, which was built in 1880 and closed in 1963, one of the last one-room schools to close in the state

Winter activities: Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing

The prairie, about 20 acres, is a rare ecosystem that is home to the endangered massasauga rattlesnake. The park also has about 250 acres of mixed hardwood forest, a flood plain meadow and an abandoned coal mine area, used for a water treatment program. The 5 miles of hiking trails includes the 0.22-mile Blazing Star Trail, named for the wildflower that turns the prairie purple in late July and early August.

The entrance to the Native Plant Butterfly Trail at Moraine State Park is seen on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Morgan Phillips/Butler Eagle
Moraine State Park

Address: 225 Pleasant Valley Road, Portersville, PA 16051

Telephone: 724-368-8811

Office hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, year-round, and weekends during the summer

Park hours: Daily from sunrise to sunset, year-round

Manager: Dustin Drew

Website: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/MoraineStatePark/Pages/default.aspx

Email: morainesp@pa.gov

Boaters talk as they wait for the rest of the attendees to launch into the lake during a Full Moon Paddle event at Moraine State Park in Portersville on Monday, June 9, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle

Founded: 1970

Moraine State Park has 16,725 acres in Brady, Clay, Franklin, Muddy Creek and Worth townships.

Services, activities and attractions: Picnic areas, snack concessions, restrooms, swimming, fishing, boating with up to 20 hp motors permitted, hunting, hiking and biking trails, horseback riding trails, 18-hole disc golf course, and cabins

Winter activities: Cross-country skiing, sledding, snowmobiling, ice fishing, ice skating and ice boating

Lake Arthur is a 3,225-acre warm-water fishery.

ADA accessible flush toilet restrooms are in the Pleasant Valley Picnic Area, Pleasant Valley Beach, Pleasant View Picnic Area, Bear Run Boat Launch, McDanels Boat Launch, Park Road Boat Launch, 528 Boat Launch, Lakeview Beach Area, and the Davis Hollow and Watts Bay marinas.

Boaters head into the sunset during a Full Moon Paddle event at Moraine State Park in Portersville on Monday, June 9, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle

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