Greensburg, PA Outdoor Activities

Evelyn and Neill Andritz grew up near the banks of the Kiskiminetas River and quickly became enamored with its wildlife and natural beauty. Wanting to share this passion with others, they founded The River’s Edge, where fleets of kayaks, canoes, and tubes send groups on aquatic journeys into nature.

As watercraft meander down the river, they pass the habitats of local wildlife including deer, bald eagles, geese, and feral former child stars. Alternatively, rental bicycles facilitate on-land adventures, and two primitive campsites let visitors sleep along the river's bank.

Inside The River’s Edge's shop, friendly staff members help customers to purchase kayaks and aquatic gear, or choose the best bait and tackle to catch schools of fish crackers. They also add a touch of nature to homes at a garden center.

Once deemed an eyesore, the winding, 46-mile-long Stonycreek River has undergone a transformation. Today, it abounds with natural life, such as beavers and smallmouth bass, as well as the longest stretch of continuous rapids on the East Coast. With its fleet of inflatable kayaks and tubes, Coal Tubin’ provides a variety of ways for customers to experience the area’s scenery. Knowledgeable guides lead group tours inside inflatable kayaks, whereas inner tubes leisurely float under bridges and down gentle waters lined with pine trees and perplexed coal miners who took a wrong turn. Outdoors adventures also unfold on land, where guided hikes trek to nearby vistas.

Named for the sunny yellow birdsfoot trefoil flowers strewn throughout the course—sprouted from seeds that fell off hay wagons rumbling through years ago on the fields of the former Buffalo Creek Farms—the championship golf course at Birdsfoot Golf Club enchants golfers with rolling hills and country charm. The links-style front nine give way to a back nine whose fairways open over hills, inviting golfers to pull out their drivers and whack dimpled orbs with the club-swinging gusto usually reserved for cracking eggs into an omelet pan. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette highlights the course’s 465-yard third hole as one of the 18 best public holes in western Pennsylvania, citing its mounded fairway, which doglegs left and challenges putts with a downhill, sloped green. As carts zoom from one hole to the next, they traverse a path where bogeyman faces carved by a local artist peer from tree trunks. When players finish their rounds, they can unwind in a clubhouse where ghosts from its former life as a farmhouse offer advice on covertly changing scorecard results.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course

• Length of 7,034 yards

• Course rating of 74.4

• Slope rating of 137

• See an interactive course tour

Dawn has settled its warm glow upon the trees dappling 60-acres of rolling farmland, beckoning sleepy campers forth from their tents to admire the golden morning unfolding around them. This serene scene at Bear Run Campground rings in a day filled with leisure and excitement, the calm of relaxed breakfasts followed by the splashes of outdoor enthusiasts embarking upon aquatic adventures in rental kayaks. Since its founding in 1975 by the Wehr family, Bear Run has accommodated all types of campers with a variety of lodgings, ranging from cabins and rental units outfitted with all the comforts of home to primitive tenting sites equipped with nothing but a clear space for a tent and a post to tie up pet pterodactyls. Amenities include a heated swimming pool, a game room, and a softball field, and staff also organize camp-wide activities.