Fun in Wexford, PA

I. Love. To. Travel! 

And close by places are just as cool as the far away ones. So check this out:

We (Hammer, Tiny, Meanie, and me) rode our bikes to Wexford, Pennsylvania on Sunday, September 8th. I called it the Gravity Hill Ride because we went to yet another Gravity Hill. But...we also went to a place called the Fountain of Youth. Neither of these things were easy to find.

We met at Starbucks in Hermitage, and started on PA-18 south, following that to PA-208 through Volant. We followed the signs for route US-19 as we needed to go south on there. Now you can catch US-19 however you like, out of Mercer for example. But don't take it too far or you'll end up in Maggie Valley, NC as it goes all the way through there and beyond!

It was a really nice ride on 19; we hadn't traveled that section before. It goes through Cranberry, PA first. You go past I-79, and continue to Wexford. It becomes rich suburban shopping and eating, really nice of course. To start the fun, you need to turn left on Brown Road off of US-19. It comes to a T in the road - turn right, this is McKinney Road. Here's where shit gets crazy because of a lack of road name signs. You'll go past a golf course or something and at the top of a hill is an abrupt stop sign. 

A) If you go downhill from there, you'll see a Y in the road - left downhill more takes you to an indoor ice skating rink parking lot; right uphill takes you around to the other side of the rink. Thing is, you won't realize that you accelerated up GRAVITY HILL if you go right. It begins right there at the split in the road! 

B) If you turn right at the stop sign, that is Kummer Road and it takes you to the FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. I did not know that at the time (no road name), so I took us left downhill, and kept on going left to, yes, the skating rink parking lot. We regrouped with the Google map and decided to visit the Fountain. 

The path to the Fountain of Youth. 

The Fountain of Youth is a really interesting place tucked away in a hillside hidden by the plants along the road. We missed it going downhill and turned around at the bottom, went back up and pulled off into the gravel parking. NOTE: It is a deep drop off with at least two layers of pavement exposed; pull almost to the end and it is better.  You can barely see it. Once you find and walk down the treacherous path it stops at a crick that you must cross if you want to get closer. It's worth it! You'll see there are rocks to walk on to cross and then you have to go up hill a short way. The space in front of the entrance is wide open. 

It became an instant photorama! What a neat place. Molded into the head stone is the name of the place, and it's well built. Here at the entrance it looks so dark inside. Click on the linked text above to see more info about it. When you go inside there is a framed rectangular hole in the back wall, and in there is a long, moist tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, or at least as far as you can see, are layers of what looks like shale damp and dripping with water. This is NOT a drinking fountain so don't go into this thirsty. Also, you will not de-age or lose wrinkles, nor heal arthritis and gout.

On top of the structure is a cement dome that protects the inside stone structure. There is also a half-moon short wall built into the hill above. 

 Here are some more pictures. Some are of the inside which was green with a thin mossiness. It's really cool in there both by temperature and construction. It's a dome inside and there is a fire pit in the middle of the ground area.

I climbed the hill above the fountain and discovered that it leveled off with a walking/bicycling path going both left and right. I also discovered a baby holly tree!

We left there and went back to the hilltop I mentioned on McKinney and turned right. Down we went then uphill on the Gravity Hill going instead to the North Park Water Tower. It's located on the big hill across from the ice skating rink. I figured it was something we could climb for a view, but instead it was a neat structure that was closed off. It was neat to see anyway, and the graffiti was inspiring (at least to me). 

You feel like a hero when you battle any of the Gravity Hill hills. I didn't get pictures of this except in this video of Meanie. Here he is coming down that hill I explained that splits as a Y. He rides past me with his motorcycle on, stops at the bottom, turns off his motorcycle, then gives it a few steps until the hill pulls him up and forward on it's own! If you have never been to a gravity hill, do yourself a favor, go to one. It's amazing and funny and thrilling. If you go on motorcycles, watch out for the speed it takes you. Also, you don't have to turn your motorcycle or car off, just put it in neutral. Take anything that will roll, even water, and watch it go uphill.

Then, go find food!!! We planned on eating at Stack'd right there in Wexford. It's in a plaza at the intersection of Wallace Road and US-19. Ze burgers are delicious! It was a take it easy ride on nice roads at about 135 miles round trip. Get riding, get stack'd, and get FREE!!!

~ Holly