Heavy rains briefly raise Youghiogheny River levels, shutting down access at Ohiopyle State Park

OHIOPYLE, Pa. — The sound of rushing water could consume you on Wednesday at Ohiopyle State Park, as the Youghiogheny River rushes quickly downstream.

“It’s breathtaking!” said Theresa Cormack of Washington, Pa.

It was a big difference from what it looked like on Tuesday.

“When you guys were here yesterday, this river didn’t look like this, right?” Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek asked Don and Karen Smith.

“Oh no, no no no. Not at all, you could see the rocks up above and everything!” Don Smith said.

“It was a trickle compared to what it is today,” Karen added.

The Smiths typically visit three times a year. Don Smith said he’d never seen the river like this here, and worried something happened upstream.

“[I thought] the dam broke!” he said.

But it wasn’t a broken dam or anything like that. It’s the result of heavy rains upstream.

“Most of this water’s all coming from the Casselman,” said Patrick Martin, assistant manager of Ohiopyle State Park. “It’s not from the dam, usually we’re getting a release from the dam, but the dam’s probably holding water today, and all this stuff is coming from the Laurel Hill and the Casselman tributaries.”

The Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle State Park gained nearly 10 feet in water level between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday, cresting at more than 14.5 feet.

River access is closed down when it reaches 13 feet, and the river was actually below that level before 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Martin said some crews used the high water to their advantage and did some training today.

“Real world experience, this isn’t experience you get to experience all the time. Usually your trainings are 2-2.5 feet,” he said.

With the water levels dropping, the Youghiogheny River will calm down soon, depending on the weather.

“We’re hoping, we’d like to see it down by the end of the weekend or so, so people can have fun recreating,” Martin said.

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