Summary

This will be an overnight paddling and camping trip from Buckaloons Recreation Area (near Warren, PA) to West Hickory, PA on the upper Allegheny River. This is a fun and relaxing trip floating down the river then camping overnight on one of the islands. If you use your paddle then you are doing something wrong.

Itinerary

1. For convenience, consider camping Friday night at Buckaloons.
2. Saturday morning we'll launch from Buckaloons around 10am. Prior to that we'll need to shuttle some cars to the West Hickory boat launch. We'll try to leave a few cars as possible at Buckaloons since there is a fee to leave your car there. The exact plan will depend on how many cars and people we have.
3. Now the fun part...We'll spend all day Saturday floating down the river to just before Tidioute and find an island to camp on. It's first come first serve but there's a lot to choose from. If you need to bail early (too much fun in the sun???) or just want to make a day trip out of this there is a boat launch so you can takeout at Tidioute
4. Sunday we'll pack up and float down to the take out at West Hickory where our cars will have been strategically re-positioned.

Note: 

Things to note:

1. This is an adult-only trip mainly because we won’t be behaving like adults ourselves.
2. Please REGISTER! This will give us a headcount, provide us with contact info in case anything changes, and help us start planning the shuttles. 
3. There are a few different fees for this trip. Yeah it sucks but it’s literally the price we have to pay to be in an area that is safe and convenient for this trip.
   1. Every boat must pay a launch fee at Buckaloons. I think it's $5. You'd think I'd remember after all these years but whatever. Just bring some cash.
   2. If you are leaving your car at the put-in I think you have to pay a $5 parking fee. An ornery guy comes around on a golfcart to make sure we all paid.
   3. The put-in and take-out launches are state run which require launch permits. You can get more info about these permits here: http://fishandboat.com/. There’s a small fee for the permit and a slightly bigger fine for not having one. We haven’t had anyone check us for permits in the past but that doesn’t mean they won’t this time.
   4. For Friday night I'd recommend camping at Buckaloons. There are usually a lot of spots available and it's actually a pretty nice campground. There are fees for camping so I'd recommend sharing campsites. (https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/allegheny/recreation/recarea?recid=6115&actid=29)
4. You are responsible for bringing everything you need for this trip including your boat, food, drinks, water, stoves, tents, etc. The ECP is NOT supplying anything other than the snazzy name for the trip. (Has anyone ever noticed that I spell floatilla wrong on purpose????).
   1. If you need a boat, try the ECP Listserv as there are many ECPers with canoes and kayaks that would be willing to let you borrow one for the weekend.  You can also try searching for local outfitters up near Warren, Tionesta, and Tidioute or try places like REI or LL Bean in Pittsburgh.

This is always a super fun trip that the ECP has been doing for over 35 years and I hope to see some new faces on the water. Be sure to register if you are planning to come along!  

Custom Google Map of the key locations: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1aPoZEm6WDdpyrKo4d5aVsg2qvkw&usp=sharing