Written by Roberta Biros
For those of you that are not from the area, the Linesville Spillway (“The Place Where the Ducks Walk on the Fishes’ Backs”) is a great family destination. Approximately 300,000 visitors come each year to feed the fish and view the wildlife in this area. Located two miles south of Lineville on the Hartstown Road [click HERE to download a map in PDF format], the Spillway and concession area are generally open weekends mid-April to Memorial Day then seven days per week through Labor Day and weekends again in September. According to Wikipedia, “the Spillway is locally billed as ‘Pennsylvania’s second most popular tourist attraction, after the Liberty Bell’ and the logo of the Linesville Volunteer Fire Department is, in fact, a duck standing on the back of a fish.”
I first visited the Linesville Spillway while on a vacation with my husband in the summer of 1988. He explained that the Spillway was a must see attraction, and he recalled numerous trips during his childhood. I found the fish feeding attraction to be fun and memorable. I took pictures (they are buried somewhere) and I bought a postcard or two as souvenirs. I never imagined that 20 years later I’d live just a short drive away.
When we moved to the area in January of 2006, Pymatuning Lake, the Linesville Spillway, and Conneaut Lake Park were on our list of “hot spots” to revisit with regularly. Conneaut Lake Park has been inactive for the past few years, and we were excited to finally revisit there last week (read the full story HERE). While we were out, we decided to make the full tour and we stopped at the Spillway in Linesville.
For starters, the facility looked great! (see photo below)
The scenery is wonderful, but attraction of the spillway and the excitement of feeding the carp makes the visit entertaining every time. (refer to pictures below)
The Linesville Spillway has been the center of some controversy in the past year or so. In 2008, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) proposed a controversial ban on the feeding of bread in an effort to keep the spillway clean and to discourage overabundance of geese at the spillway. The DCNR sought to require the use of fish pellet food rather than bread, and the suggestion was met with a public outcry from the locals. Representative Michele Brooks (R-Crawford/Mercer/Lawrence), Representative John Evans (R-Erie/Crawford) and Senator Bob Robbins (R-Mercer) called a public meeting in Linesville last September to give the public an opportunity to voice their opinions. More than 350 turned out to oppose the proposed ban.
Last fall, the DCNR put the proposed ban on hold for a year (until January 2010) to re-evaluate its proposal, but in February of 2009 they reversed the ban and noted that the feeding of bread to the fish will be allowed beyond January 2010. [read more on the issue HERE and HERE]
After all of the community and political activity of last year, I was anxious to see if there were any interesting signs of change at the Spillway this spring. First, I notice that they were careful to supply an abundance of special trash receptacles at the spillway to accommodate all of the bread bags. Unfortunately, on our visit (Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 23, 2009), all of the receptacles nearest the spillway were overflowing with bags. It was undoubtedly the busiest day so far in 2009, so I understand that it may take some time for the staff to get into full swing. I also noticed that the fish seemed a bit overfed too. With the season having just kicked in, it appeared that the enormous volume of bread entering the spillway was a shock to the fish (and the geese). The photo below illustrates that there were areas where bread (and debris) just laid on the water with “no interested takers”.
In Summary and in Closing
The Linesville Spillway at Pymatuning Lake is still a “must see attraction” in Crawford County. The facility is beautiful, so be sure to bring a camera. The experience is great for folks with small children, as the memories are something that will last a lifetime (just as they have with my husband). It is an attraction for young and old alike.
And remember . . . on your way home be sure to stop by Hunger Busters in Jamestown for a soft-serve cone . . . I always do!
[BTW, if it seems like I’m looking for a discount in exchange for all of the free advertising, you might just be right! ; ) ]
Mercer County Conservatives 