EXPLORE NATURE FROM THE WATER
The Nautical Nature, a 45-footlong enclosed pontoon boat that can carry up to 37 passengers, will begin plying the waters of Lake Arthur at Moraine State Park in Butler County for public cruises May 28.
Regular Saturday and Sunday cruises launch at 2 p.m. through July and then at 1 and 3 p.m. August through October. Starting Sept. 9 through the end of the season, a third trip will be added on those weekend days — at 11 a.m. — for the extra-popular fall foliage cruises, for which people already are making reservations.
The boat makes other weekday trips, including one at 2 p.m. Memorial Day, and other specialty cruises throughout the season. So its operator, the Moraine Preservation Fund, suggests checking in about other days.
The group also offers private charters — including catered box-lunch, dinner, even pizza cruises on Wednesday evenings June through August — plus trips for school students, scouts and other groups.
Trips start and end at McDanel’s Launch, on the North Shore of the park in Butler County, north of Pittsburgh. That’s where the Moraine Preservation Fund operates the Owlet Gift Shop, where riders can pick up tickets ordered online or by phone.
A ride around the 3,225-acre manmade lake lasts about 90 minutes, during which one of the volunteer captains and paid first mate describe the area’s history and geology and destinations and also point out local residents such as blue heron, bald eagles, ospreys and more. “The osprey nest weighs about 400 pounds,” notes second-year first mate Laura Smith, who says the big raptors have been a hit since the park-support group helped reintroduce them there in the early 1990s. The boat cruises started in 1996 as a way to not only share but also support the park. “The boat is our largest revenue generator.”
Tickets are $14 for adults and teenagers, $12 for those 63 and older and $7 for children age 2 to 12. The lunch cruise is $22, dinner is $30, and pizza cruises cost $35 for two or $60 for a family of four (MPF can email you the menus). Charter rates are $250 for the first-hour and $125 per additional half hour June through August and $350 an hour in the fall.
The boat is wheelchair accessible and has a toilet. Windows can be opened or closed, and a sliding front door opens to an open deck that can be shared by five or six people.
For tickets and more information, visit morainepreservationfund.org/ category/nautical_nature/18.html or call 724-368-9185.