Greetings from Clinton County!
By Christopher Miller
Santa Claus is readying his reindeer and sleigh for another worldwide journey. Though he visits thousands of locations and millions of children, let’s focus on why Clinton County is his most favorite place to visit while globetrotting!
This week I do not have a normal Around Town scheduled where I interviewed a person, organization, or business. Instead, I wanted to write about what makes our home, Clinton County, unique and special for both the people who live here and the outsiders who visit.
Clinton County is 90% Wild
If you pull out a map of Clinton County you’ll see a lot of green spaces. Many State Forests and State Parks. There is also an abundance of small blue lines zigzagging all around the area. In the grand scheme of things, if you do the math we are an infant county as compared to the others down near Philadelphia. We are also very sparse and rural in comparison. The Lehigh Valley where I originally hail from was estimated to have one million residents by 2020. Throughout our time as a county and green space compared to the developed, we are still very wild.
Go Take A Hike!
This goes fairly hand-in-hand with the above. Even if you are not an avid outdoors person, you can still enjoy something nature-related in our “neck of the woods.” In fact, I can pretty much assume that you are never more than a 30 minute drive from any green space.
People Who Care, People Who Love
I feel as if I have crossed over after living here these past 15 years. Every so often someone will ask me when I graduated from the local high school, or someone swearing that they know my parents. I can guarantee that aside from my wife I do not have relations who live here. But it is very nice when this happens. It makes me feel like I am one with my community, that I have been accepted here and loved.
Small Town Pride
No matter anywhere you go in Clinton County there is a heck of a lot of small town pride. Be it Loganton, Mill Hall, Flemington, Lock Haven, McElhattan, Avis, North Bend, Farwell, Hyner, Woolrich, Renovo, South Renovo, Westport, Tamarack, Cross Fork, Haneyville…each town has its’ own identity and local pride. Rolling into Renovo you notice it immediately: a picturesque town nestled among at the base of the mountains, two murals celebrating its railroading heritage…Woolrich, for the namesake outdoor apparel brand…Loganton/Sugar Valley, for the abundance of farms (and sweet shops, so it seems).
The Seasons Are To Die For
Each season here brings along its own attitude and sense of place. While the longest seasons we see here are Spring and Summer, Autumn and Winter can feel equally as long at times. Our lush, green forests pave the way for some of the most beautiful colors and foliage in the Autumn. Fresh snowfall turns the mountains into a Winter wonderland. Any Google search of “Clinton County, PA” will reveal one of the most famous things we are known for: Hyner View which is equally impressive in any season.
Events Galore
OKAY – for some reason, we have a great deal of events that happen here year-round. Summer concerts on the river, museum tours, local history walks, PA State Flaming Foliage Festival, Hooskow Carver’s, Punkin’ Chunkin’, Farm-City Festival…you know, just to name a few. There is almost always something to do here any weekend of the year! And nobody said you can’t make your own fun: take up a new activity, try kayaking, do the thing you’ve always wanted to do but never had the time to do it.
So whether you’ve lived here your whole life, or you’re thinking of taking a long day trip to adventure somewhere new, Clinton County has a great deal for anybody to take in at any time of year.
Hey – Santa Claus visit here, and I am sure if he could get away from the North Pole for more than once a year, that he would take up residence in our great area of the state.
You never know – Santa could adopt Elk to pull his sleigh if he’s ever hard-pressed for Reindeer…