Come uncover the fantastic Freedom Falls and the imposing ruins of the forgotten Rockland Furnace, just a short walk into a mossy ravine.
Freedom Falls is a gorgeous waterfall located in a secluded ravine on Shull Run, a tributary to the mighty Allegheny River in Venango County, PA. There’s so much packed in this adventure, including the mossy ruins of the well-preserved Rockland Furnace hiding in the woods, plus a few surprises. So let’s jump in!
Fantastic Freedom Falls
From the pull off parking area on Rockland Station Road, take the well-worn trail down into the ravine as denoted by the large rectangular boulder. The audible falls excites anticipation as we make our way past more behemoth boulders. A walk of only a few minutes, less than 0.1 miles, leads you directly to the top of the giant rock slab spillway of the falls.
You can enjoy perspectives of the beautiful falls form the top, side and bottom.
The water lever was quite low when we visited, but turning lemons into lemonade, we had the opportunity to admire the intricacy of the multi-tiered, micro-stepped rock of the falls.
Here’s a view from the top of Freedom Falls. It was very easy to walk across Shull Run both above and below the falls. The splash pool is a popular swimming area, as evidenced by clothing forgotten on the rocks. If you are thinking what I am thinking, sorry, the splash pool was far too shallow for jumping form the falls.
Here’s a view of the intricately stepped spillway from the top of Freedom Falls from the side opposite the trail. As always, be careful of slippery rocks.
Mysterious Masonry Formation
The bend in Shull Run upstream of Freedom Falls caught our eye. As you can see from the photo below, the stream bed at this point consists of a massive rock slab you can easily cross, at least with the water this low. Upon closer inspection, we noticed strange rock strata across the stream (right side of the photo below).
From a distance, we thought that the upper course of stone was man-made on account of its straightness, uniformity of width, and gap below. But it is in fact natural. Fascinating.
Rockland Furnace
The silhouette of Rockland Furnace is just visible through the summer foliage from Freedom Falls. After a short walk downstream on the creek bed we encountered the imposing moss-covered giant. At the Hemlock State Explorer, we love old iron furnaces. Be sure to check out the post on Rockland Furnace and our Ultimate Archive of Iron Furnaces and Pre-Industial Relics.
To think, this was once a high-tech enterprise and played a critical in the growth and development of our nation. Now it stands forgotten in the woods. Be sure to see the video below for an explanation for how these once mighty furnaces were used to produce pig iron.
Rockland Furnace was built in 1832. All things considered, after nearly two hundred years, the dressed stone furnace is relatively well preserved.
Here’s an intriguing stone structure in the ground near Rockland Furnace. It was the wheel pit and millrace to provide water power for operation of the furnace bellows.
The Adventure’s Not Over Yet!
We continued south on the trail past Rockland Furnace, following Shull run through the gorge and encountered this interesting heart-shaped rock.
The trail fizzled out as it approached private property, so we headed back up the ravine and took Rockland Station Road down toward the Allegheny River. The road intersected with the Allegheny River Trail, a rail trail running along the bottom of the gorge paralleling the river. We headed left, past a parking area and encountered informational signs for Rockland Furnace and the remarkable Rockland tunnel shown below. The 2,686-foot-long railroad tunnel cutting through Woodhill was completed in 1916 to circumvent the troublesome hairpin loop following the Allegheny River. The tunnel got very dark very quickly, although we could just see a pinpoint of light at the other end. The paved trail appeared well-maintained through the brick-lined tunnel, and we are eager to return with bikes and lights for further exploration.
Parking to Freedom Falls is at 41.23703, -79.74794.
Parking near Rockland Furnace is at 41.23184, -79.75201
All of the attractions of this adventure: Freedom Falls, Rockland Furnace, and the Rockland Tunnel are easily accessible via a short walk. Each would be well worth the visit on its own; how much more so packaged together? We loved the intricate and complex Freedom Falls and plan on making a return trip when the water level is higher. We also can’t wait to come back with bikes and lamps to explore the Allegheny River Trail and Rockland Tunnel.
Be sure to visit the Rockland Furnace page on our Ultimate Archive of Iron Furnaces and Pre-Industial Relics.
Also, be sure to check out our other adventures.
