Around 5:30 on a weekday in early October, you’ll have the Lick Hollow overlook almost entirely to yourself. The families have cleared out, the light is coming in low from the southwest, and the ridge across the valley is doing something with color that doesn’t photograph the way you want it to — which means you’ll actually have to stand there and watch it.
Lick Hollow sits off Route 381 in Stewart Township, about twenty minutes south of Uniontown proper, technically within the Ohiopyle State Park boundary but administered through a separate tract that most people skip on their way to the main falls. That’s the reason to go. The parking area is small, the facilities are basic — pit toilets, a few covered pavilions you can reserve through the DCNR website for around $50 to $100 depending on the weekend and capacity — and there’s no concession stand, no shuttle, no gift shop.
What’s there instead: a short, steep trail that climbs maybe a quarter mile from the main picnic grove up to a rocky overlook with a clear southwest view across the Laurel Ridge. The trail isn’t marked with any particular drama; you can follow it from the upper pavilion area. It’s not technical, but it’s rocky enough that you’ll want actual shoes rather than sandals. Plan on twenty minutes up and fifteen back, less if you’re moving with purpose.
The picnic area at the bottom is genuinely pleasant in a low-key way — old hardwoods, some understory clearings, a small stream running along the lower edge. It draws locals who want a place to grill without driving into Ohiopyle’s main corridor and circling for parking. You’ll see multigenerational family gatherings here in summer, church groups, the occasional retirement party. Bring your own charcoal; the grills are fixed and standard-issue state park style.
Fall is the obvious peak window, roughly mid-October, when the mixed hardwoods in the valley go full. But late April has its own appeal — the understory wildflowers come in before the canopy closes, and the stream runs high and clear. Summer midweek visits are quiet in a way that Ohiopyle’s main area simply isn’t anymore.
There’s no entrance fee for day use at Lick Hollow, which still surprises people who assume Ohiopyle charges everywhere. Parking is free. If you want a pavilion for a group event, reserve early — summer Saturdays book out months ahead, but you can often find a weekday opening on relatively short notice.
The one thing to keep in mind: cell service drops off here. If you’re coming from Uniontown, take Route 119 south to Hopwood, then pick up 381 south through Farmington. The turn for Lick Hollow is easy to miss — watch for the brown state park sign on the right before you reach the main Ohiopyle entrance. If you hit the bridge over the Youghiogheny, you’ve gone too far.
Most people drive past it twice before they actually stop. Once you do, it has a way of becoming the place you bring people when you want to show them what this part of Pennsylvania actually looks like away from the crowds.
