CANOE CREEK STATE PARK

The area in and surrounding Canoe Creek State Park is rich in limestone. The limestone was quarried and used for many purposes like providing needed raw materials for the iron and steel industries of Pennsylvania. There are several abandoned quarries on the park lands. Two limekilns also operated within the boundaries of the park during the 1900s. The remnants of a kiln once owned by the Blair Limestone Company stand today within the park; limestone was burned to produce "quicklime" in these kilns. The 958-acre Canoe Creek State Park is in scenic Sinking Valley, 12 miles east of Altoona. This park features a 155-acre lake, wetlands, old fields and mature forests, which provide critical habitat for migrating birds and for one of the largest bat colonies in the Commonwealth. The park contains a hibernaculum for more than 30,000 bats of six species.