Lake Arthur, North Shore
submitted by Richard Nugent
Directions: From Pittsburgh drive north on I-79 to exit 96.At the end of the exit ramp turn left (west) on Route 488 and drive about 0.6 miles to Route 19. Turn right (north) on Route 19 and drive about 0.5 miles to West Park Road. Bear right on West Park Road and drive about 2.8 miles. Turn right and go 0.1 miles and then turn right again. Drive a short distance and turn left. Proceed 0.1 mile to the Mc Danels boat launch.
The Mc Danels boat launch area gives a good view of an arm of Lake Arthur and one of the Osprey nesting platforms is easily visible. This is also a good place to see Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. They have a colony of Purple Martins nesting in plastic gourds. Close by is the Butterfly Trail.
The bike trail is a 7.2 mile long path paved with smooth asphalt, which follows the north shore of Lake Arthur. It provides many places to view the lake in summer and many more when there are no leaves in the way. Many people like to park at the bike rental facility, but I prefer the parking lot at the swimming beach which is about half way on the trail. There are also several other places to park along the trail.
Directions: From Pittsburgh drive north on I-79 to exit 96. At the end of the exit ramp turn left (west) on Route 488 and drive about 0.6 miles to Route 19. Turn right (north) on Route 19 and drive about 0.5 miles to West Park Road. Bear right on West Park Road and drive about 2.8 miles. Turn right and drive 0.6 miles to the bike rental facility. To reach the Swimming Beach parking lot drive about 2.5 miles farther and turn right on the road leading to Lakeview Beach. Drive 0.3 miles on this road and make a left to enter the parking lot. This is a large parking lot and has bathrooms.