Cook Forest Inn

09/01/2026

COOK FOREST LANDMARK BINGO ☎️🌲

I’m working on a Cook Forest Landmark Bingo card, and I need your help deciding what makes the cut.

First nomination: the pay phone at MacBeth’s.

One of my favorite memories from our very first trip to Cook Forest was showing our girls how to use an actual pay phone.

Yes, you put money in it.
Yes, people really used these. 😂

It’s funny how the little things you stumble across on vacation sometimes become the things you remember most.

So tell me — does the MacBeth’s pay phone deserve a square?

And what other Cook Forest landmarks HAVE to make the card?

Drop your nominations below 👇

Follow along for the finished Cook Forest Landmark Bingo — and share this with your Cook Forest crew so they can vote too. 🌲

08/30/2026

Owl Crawl!

Experience the fun of the Owl Prowl on Friday, September 4th at 7:30PM at Cook Forest State Park. Bring your flashlights and meet at the Park Office for an evening driving tour to owling hotspots in Cook Forest. Explore the old growth forest and the Wild & Scenic Clarion River at night for Pennsylvania’s secretive owls. Barred, great horned, screech, and saw-whet owls have been known to make an appearance. Photo by Bruce Walkovich.

08/30/2026

🌲 Some trails become part of your story.

A few years ago, just after we bought the Inn, we walked the Longfellow Trail for the first time with friends. I snapped this picture of Todd along the way.

We had no idea then how much Cook Forest would become part of our lives.

The trail winds through the old-growth Forest Cathedral, beneath towering hemlocks and white pines that have stood for hundreds of years.

You walk it once with friends. You return with your kids. Somewhere along the way, the forest becomes part of your story. 🌲

What Cook Forest trail holds a memory for you?

08/29/2026

A large community fire Pit, grill and a hammock. Nothing like chillin at the Inn!

08/29/2026

These are super cool!

Happy Friday! Three spiny softshell turtles hanging out on a Clarion River rock just as it was starting to rain yesterday afternoon. Tubes start at 11 am again today. It looks like the weekend will warm up a bit more! Here are the daily stats:

Current Depth: 3.35’
Flow: 931 cfs
Morning Water Temp: 65
Minimum Age: 2 years old

We open at 9 am and will run these trips all day UNTIL the following times:

12 pm: 10-mile Canoe or Kayak
2 pm: 4-mile 6-person River Raft or Tube
3 pm: 2.5-mile Inner Tube
4 pm: 4-mile Canoe or Kayak

All equipment is first come first serve. We do not make reservations. All equipment must be returned to the dock by 6 pm.

If you are coming with a group, please sign up together so you are in the same van. If you sign up at different times, we cannot guarantee that you will go upriver at the same time.

We do not allow trailers on weekends and holidays. Be sure to check out our website for more transport information.

See our website at PaleWhaleCanoeFleet.com for a full description of our trips, pricing, and more information about the equipment and FAQs. We are open daily for the season if conditions permit, which include holidays. We reserve the right to stop trips due to changes in conditions.

Signed,
Mr. Pale Whale

08/25/2026

Some vacation photos are practically required. 🐻🌲

If you grew up coming to Cook Forest, there’s a good chance you have a picture somewhere with this guy.

The giant Yogi Bear outside Parker’s Indian Trading Post has been part of the Cook Forest roadside landscape for generations — one of those wonderfully kitschy landmarks that instantly takes you back.

Parker’s has been here since 1954, and its larger-than-life Yogi is billed as the world’s largest Yogi Bear.

Which got me thinking…

Where else do you ALWAYS take a picture when you visit Cook Forest?

Is it Yogi?
The Fire Tower?
The Clarion River?
A favorite trail or bridge?
The same spot your family has been taking pictures for 30 years?

Drop yours in the comments — old photos especially welcome. 🌲📸

08/23/2026

Dream a dream in the wonderful in the fields and forest.

08/23/2026

Remember when fishing wasn’t really about catching fish?

It was about getting the line tangled.
Losing the bait.
Asking if it was time for a snack.
And being absolutely certain you felt a bite. 🎣

Some of the best childhood memories are the simplest ones.

Take the kids fishing.
Let them get bored.
Let them get muddy.
Let them remember it. 🌲❤️

08/23/2026

Your view from the Owl House. Yes it’s an Epic kind of lovely wonder. Fall is coming.