johnstown flood national memorial

I am a fan of the National Park System, and I understand the need for delayed openings in certain circumstances. This was not one of those circumstances. The roads were fine, with less than an inch of snow at the time the delay was "announced" (They didn't announce it to potential visitors). The weather didn't get bad until the delayed opening time, so the delay accomplished nothing significant - except to keep me cooling my heels in the parking lot for 1/2 hour.Anyway, the visitor center was nice and informative, and the two Rangers who doubtless got stuck when the weather worsened were very pleasant and helpful. The layout of the visitor center allowed for a good interpretation and view of the flood site, and I'm glad I got in to visit this important site.

Wow does this National Park enjoy drama. The visitor center has quite the arresting entrance-you come in, turn the corner, and are confronted with a representation of the flood debris coming right at you. Then, the video they have explaining it is extremely dramatic, but well done. It was interesting for me to have just come from the Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS up the road, where all of the mentions of Johnstown were the iron industry and the link between Pittsburgh and the Alleghenies, as well as the Clara Barton NHS in the DC area, because the Flood got the American Red Cross jumpstarted.They also have a very good tabletop map with colored lights, like the ones at the Civil War sites, that show the advance of the flood and its destruction. Very well-done park, I think!

We were the only visitors that day. The museum is up on a little hill and has two floors with personal history of victims and also a little movie theater in which they show the whole history of the tradegy. Very interesting place

I have been to over 200 National Parks, and this is perhaps the most moving of all. If you visit, you must do the Incline in town to get a full view, also do the Cemetary where victims are buried, and then the museum. Walk down to the opening to get a feeling of the Lake and the break.

We are a world taken in by the very latest news or disaster. The Johnstown Flood has been awhile and fades from memory.But corporate greed and personal arrogance cost many folks their lives here. You have to be silent a moment and try to take a lesson from such a hallowed place. And it is so amazing how the fates can just sneak up on the unsuspecting and innocent and change or take their lives. Makes you celebrate the lives we have.Watch the movie, soak in the history, drive the valley, think about it.Well worth the stop.

Just finished reading The Johnstown Flood and was so excited to see this place. It sits on the site of the remains of the South Fork Damn and is just very eerie. The visitor center has a great electric map that describes the path of the flood and makes it easy to get your bearings. Visit here first and then head to Johnstown and be sure to visit the Old Stone Bridge where all the debris from the flood collected and caught fire. There is also a museum in Johnstown dedicated to the flood.

I am a writer and photographer for National Park Planner (npplan.com) and I visited the Johnstown Flood National Memorial in September 2014.On May 31, 1889, after two days of record heavy rain, the dam that held back the waters of Lake Conemaugh, an artificial mountain lake created for the enjoyment of Pittsburgh’s elite, broke, sending a wall of water fourteen miles down the valley towards the industrial city of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Over 2200 people were killed in the disaster. The Johnstown Flood National Memorial preserves the site of the dam and the clubhouse of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, and honors those who died in America’s most deadly flood.The park consists of a Visitor Center and Museum, the grounds of the former dam, and the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club’s clubhouse in St. Michael, a short drive from the Visitor Center. There are also two short hiking trails with historical relevance. The South Fork Dam Trail takes visitors from the top of the dam to the bottom of the former Lake Conemaugh, and then through the gap in the dam created by the flood waters. The Carriage Road Nature Trail takes visitors along a short segment of the actual carriage road used by members and guests of the Club to get from the railroad station in South Fork to the cottages along the lake shore.The Johnstown Flood story entails much more than the story of the South Fork Dam and the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. To get a complete picture of the disaster, visitors may want to see additional sites along the path of the flood, most notably the town of Johnstown and its flood museum, and Grandview Cemetery where many of the flood victims are buried. These are not operated by the National Park Service.For complete park information and plenty of quality photos, please visit my web site, National Park Planner.

Make sure to watch the movie. It gives you a real feel for the power of the flood, how fast and furious and devastating it was. From the visitors' center and the trails there are great views of what was once the lake. At $4.00/adult, it's a bargain. I would also recommend taking the short drive to the clubhouse and a couple other member "cottages". The clubhouse was closed for the season when we visited so we couldn't go inside, but it was interesting to compare the present-day lay of the land to the photos of the clubhouse right at the lakeshore. What a different perspective.

We had read a book about the Johnstown flood and so we were interested in visiting the site of this disaster. We entered the visitor center and started to look at the exhibit when we were approached by one of the park rangers. We were asked if we would be interested in taking the van tour. Since we had time we agreed and that was a good decision. She showed us the houses that were on the lake shore in the 1880's. She indicated where the lake shore had been. We were able to go into the clubhouse of the members of the hunting and fishing club. The clubhouse is in need of major repairs. You can do your own tour of course but we were also able to ask questions as the tour continued. We then returned to the visitor center to see the exhibits and watch the movie which is a bit eerie. All in all this was a worthwhile visit.

We did this as the second stage of our "flood visit." The displays were good, but the movie, for some reason, was rather blurry. It's a shame, because this is a good complement to the movie at the museum.

Got in for free on National lands day. Interesting exhibit but not worth paying for. Done in 10 minutes unless you watch the movie. You can stop at the trailhead on the way to the visitors center. It is a small parking areacon your left. You can walk out to what is left of the dam. Just a small creek is left of the lake that was here. Signs along the way give you the story. Stop at the south side to hike down to the creek also more of the story of the flood is available here.

We went both here (a National Park now) and to the museum in town. By visiting both, we got a very goo perspective of the 1889 disaster. This was very good, because one can actually see the scope of the lake bed. One may also walk out on the remains of the dam.

Nps has a wonderful film and exhibits to commemorate this awful event. The narrative is very sad, regardless of whose perspective tells it. Surprised that Johnstown rebuilt but then had serious floods afterwards. Take the time to visit this location and learn it's history!

The National Park Service does an excellent job of bringing the story of the Johnstown Flood and its victims to life. The film shown at the Visitor Center is rather eerie, as it talks about hearing the cries of the dead and ends with descriptions of the 700+ unidentified victims. The Van Tour, offered in the summer, takes visitors to the actual sites of the South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club and the remaining portion of the dam itself. Nothing can compare to actually being there. I highly recommend it!

This place is run by the National Park Service and is excellent.There are many displays, and the movie is outstanding. You can take a hike and go and stand where the dam was and look out on the valley that used to be the lake. Highly recommend this.