Come run the Falls! 
The 14th Annual Ohiopyle Over the Falls Festival will take place on Saturday, August 18, 2012. Mark your calendars!

Update on Falls Festival for 2012

The next Ohiopyle Over the Falls Festival is scheduled for August 18, 2012. Construction of a New Visitors Center project in the Ohiopyle Falls area has been tentatively scheduled to begin September 4, 2012, so it will not affect our event in 2012. According to Park management, it is likely that the construction will last 1 1/2 to 2 years.

Once the construction starts, Park management says that the Falls area will not be in any condition to hold any events. It is likely that 2013 Festival will have to be canceled. Rest assured that the Falls Festival will return when the construction ends. It is important to note that this construction will not affect our current access to the Falls.

Barry Adams
Event Coordinator
Ohiopyle Over the Falls Festival


Previous update: The next Ohiopyle Over the Falls Festival is scheduled for August 18, 2012. However, construction of a New Visitors Center project in the Ohiopyle Falls area may complicate our plans. This project has been fully funded by various State and Federal agencies. A lot of planning has gone into this Visitor Center project. The timing of the construction has not been pinned down as of December 2011 and will impact festival dates; construction could last 1 1/2 to 2 years.

It is likely that once construction starts, Park management says that the Falls area will not be in any condition to hold any events. It is important to note that this construction will not affect our current access to the Falls. Rest assured that the Falls Festival will return when the construction ends.

New! The 2011 Ohiopyle Falls Festival has come and gone, and it was a great success. Read Barry Adams'
Wrap-up article!
New!
2011 Results!

Ohiopyle, PA--American Whitewater, the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds & Rivers, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources announce that the Thirteenth Annual Ohiopyle Over The Falls Festival will be held August 20, 2011.  Whitewater paddlers nationwide will gather there to race over the spectacular eighteen-foot waterfall in the picturesque mountain village of Ohiopyle.  Spectators are invited to watch paddlers sprint and cartwheel, end-over-end, off the waterfall.

 

Other event features include the Falls Under Lights, Town Party, Live Music, Silent Auction and food booths. The area also offers biking, hiking, camping, magnificent scenery, photographic opportunities, history and cultural activities. Please visit www.FallsRace.com for more information and registration details.

 

Here is the event schedule:

 

Saturday, August 20

Registration will begin at 8 AM in Ohiopyle State Park.

9:00 AM - 12 Noon: Waterfall Practice Runs

12 Noon: Two competitions: Falls Race

200-yard whitewater course includes two-foot, four-foot and eighteen-foot drops.

 

After race: Freestyle: Kayakers will surf the rapids above the waterfall’s eighteen-foot drop, and do routines and cartwheels competitively, end-over-end, off the edge for points.  Waterfall practice runs will continue afterwards until 4:00 PM.
 

Silent Auction including a Jackson Kayak
7:30 PM: Ohiopyle Town Party

The party will feature live music, pictures from the event, and food booths. The Halftime String Band will play at the Town Party. In addition, lights will be cast on the eighteen-foot waterfall, making it a spectacular spectacle and party centerpiece.

 

Proceeds benefit American Whitewater, Ohiopyle Stewart Volunteer Fire Co. and Ohiopyle State Park. High-water dates or cancellation dates are August 27 or September 10, 2011. Volunteers are needed for the event.

 

Boater Information

 

We need plenty of help and this year we will require everyone 18 and over who wants to run the Falls to give the event at least one hour of safety! Registration fees have been reduced to $15 and volunteers who give us at least two hours of their time will receive a cool T-shirt. Registration forms and waivers are included on this Website. We ask that you download the forms and bring them with you to the event in order to save time--or, please send them in to the address indicated in advance. You can sign up for the race and/or freestyle competitions or to just do practice runs the day of the event.

 

We have increased the prize money this year for both the race and Freestyle Events. Tell your friends!

 

It is important that everyone realize that running this waterfall should be for experienced boaters only. Running this class IV waterfall has all the potential hazards involved with any other class IV rapid. Our safety at the base of the Falls only involves helping swimmers if and when they wash out from under the Falls. As with any whitewater activity, you are responsible for judging your own capabilities and for your own safety. If you do not have the experience to run the Falls, please do not attempt to do so.

 

This event is dependent on getting enough Safety Boaters. The time commitment for volunteers is minimal. Those interested in assisting with registration or race administration should contact me in advance. We also have a separate registration form for volunteers only for safety and administration.


Access to Ohiopyle Falls:
After more than a decade of running this event and working hard for routine access to running the Falls, AW has received permission for a Pilot Program to be run from May 21 through Sept. 11, 2011. A quick overview of the rules:
1) Paddlers will be allowed to run the Falls between 8:30 AM and 2:30 PM.
2) The water level must be 1.8' or lower.
3) A minimum of three boaters per party is required. (The second and third boaters need not run the Falls.)
4) When a permit is required, paddlers must have a permit. All paddlers must register.
5) Putin on river right (Ferncliff).
6) Takeout at the Loop takeout or Bruner Run. (i.e., no taking out at the Lower Yough putin and hiking back up multiple times for a huckfest.)
Please read the full set of guidelines by clicking here.
Remember: this is a pilot program. PLEASE abide by the guidelines and DON'T mess this up for everyone.

Recent Access History:

 
Check out some recent and not-so-recent videos:
NJMike's buds
NJMike's beatdown
Open Boater from way back
We think you'll find that some of these vids show that Ohiopyle Falls is not at all trivial. Please heed the warnings listed above and shown in these videos.

Ohiopyle Falls Access Committee

Sprint
Freestyle
Upstream Race
Sponsors
Town Party
New! 2011 Results!
2010 Results
2009 Results

2008 Results
2007 Results
2006 Results
2005 Results
New! 2011 Festival Wrap-up by Barry Adams!
2010 Festival Wrap-up by Barry Adams
2008 Festival Wrap-up by Barry Adams
2007 Festival Wrap-up by Barry Adams

Photos from Outdoor Adventure Photography:
2011 Falls Race (New!)
2010 Falls Race
2009 Falls Race
2008 Falls Race
2007 Falls Race
2007 Upstream Race
You can also see Outdoor Adventure's 2010 Lower Yough photos by clicking here.
Ohiopyle Adventure Photography is offering professional photography services for those boaters running the Falls from August 22 - Sept 5!
Please call Nikki at 412-558-0274 to arrange to have a photographer there for your runs. Please notify them 48 hours in advance to make appropriate arrangements.

Click for T-shirt Design 
(Click the above for the large image of this year's t-shirt, designed by Chuck Kelley, of American Eagle Screen Printing)

Articles from the 2010 Festival:
Editorial in the Post-Gazette, 8/25/10
Article in the NY Times, 9/6/10
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Herald-Standard (just a photo)
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 8/14/10.

Articles from Previous Festivals:
2009 Article from the Post-Gazette about our efforts toward getting access to this great Falls
Also, from 2009: please check out this article, this video, and this article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Riview, and this article from the Post-Gazette.
Post-race Article on the 2007 Falls Race in the Tribune-Review including video

Groups offering activities:

  • Mountain Watershed Association
  • Ohiopyle-Stewart Volunteer Fire Dept.

    ACA



    Wilderness Voyagers

    POWR   Jackson Kayak

    Thanks to Clif Bar! 

    Stonyboater Paddle Wax