Local Info: Travel & Tourism

While visiting Clarion, you don’t have to go very far to enjoy what this beautiful city has to offer. There are 10.03 square miles of state game lands. Clarion is an amazing county for boating, camping, fishing, hunting, mountain biking, and swimming.

Clarion’s main function in tourism is to provide a base for the recreation available in the region. Clarion borders on the Piney Dam Reservoir, a wide six mile body of water suitable for everything from fishing to water skiing.

Up stream, as the Clarion River narrows back into a shallow, canoe able stream, it runs through Cook Forest State Park, a site for over 800,000 visitors each year, in all seasons.

Cook Forest State Park Attractions

• Cook Forest Canoe Rentals (814) 744-8094
• Cook Forest Fun Park (814) 744-9404
• Cook Forest Sawmill Center for the Arts (814) 927-6655
• Clarion River Lodge 1-800-648-6743
• Gateway Lodge 1-800-843-6862

Cook Forest offers much, much more! Call the Cook Forest Vacation Bureau at (814) 849-9377 or visit them on the web at www.cookforest.org . You can also visit Cook Forest Online for information on Cook Forest.

In Clarion

• Clarion Mall
• Destinta Theaters
• 3 Golf Courses
• Unique clothing and gift shops
• Clarion University Sports: Clarion University is known for its sports teams. A sports schedule can be obtained via the internet at www.clarion.edu/athletics/
• Exquisite dining areas
• Exciting night life

Special Attraction

A special treat we can offer you in Clarion County is that we house the oldest Golf Course in continuous use in America: The Foxburg Golf Club. This course is also the home of the American Golf Hall of Fame. If you like golfing, this course and its hall of fame will not disappoint.

The Autumn Leaf Festival

The Autumn Leaf Festival is the small town answer to Mardi Gras. You will not see a small community come together for any other celebration like this one. The celebration is usually early in October so the fall semester of school is in full swing at the University. The festival brings the students, the residents of the borough and a ton of out-of-towners together for this small town celebration.

The Autumn Leaf Festival is a nine day celebration that draws 750,000 people to the community, and 200,000 come to Clarion on the day of the parade alone. Some of the events include:

• Antique Car Show
• Craft Shows
• Carnival and food booths
• Scholarship pageant

These are just a few of the many things which makes the Autumn Leaf Festival the LARGEST SMALL TOWN FESTIVAL ON THE EAST COAST AND THE SECOND LARGEST IN THE WORLD!!!