Wolf Creek Natural Area

In 1979, the Conservancy purchased one of the most beautiful natural areas in western Pennsylvania – Wolf Creek Narrows, two miles north-west of Slippery Rock.  At this 100-acre site in Butler County, Wolf Creek flows through a narrow  gorge bordered by steep hillsides and sheer cliffs towering in places to 50 feet.

The heavily forested hillsides have been undisturbed for over 80 years.  Here are dense stands of yellow birch, hemlock, beech, tulip tree, sugar maple, and red oak.  Some of these species are virgin timber.

Besides the beauty of the stream and the heavily forested hillsides, Wolf Creek Narrows has great botanical significance.  The area is known for its spectacular  display of spring wildflowers:  trailing arbutus, white trillium, red trillium, bloodroot, spring beauties, hepatica, and several species of violets.

It is believed that the steep, narrow gorge of Wolf Creek was created by glacial activities of the last Ice Age. Once a cave whose ceiling was eroded by runoff from a melting glacier, Wolf Creek Narrows gorge consists of a high-quality stream meandering through towering 50-foot cliffs. Numerous springs pour from cracks in the steep walls, creating small waterfalls that flow into Wolf Creek.

In addition to this profuse display, several rare plants have been discovered in the Narrows.  These include showy orchids, spotted coral root, bulbet-fern, fragile fern, and walking fern – a curious species that “walks” over its host boulder by sending out long, narrow fronds that attach to the boulder at their tips, then root and repeat the process.