Tourism has become big business in Clearfield County and although things are different due to the COVD-19 pandemic, people are still visiting us.
The numbers have not been as terrible as we were projecting, said Josiah Jones, Executive Director of Visit Clearfield County which relies on the hotel tax to support the agency.
“We thought we would have to empty our savings just to survive until October or November,” he said.
Although hotel revenue is down, they received $40,000 more than they expected during the last quarter which was still less than their normal $120,000, but not as low as they had budgeted for, he explained.
The virus has had an interesting effect on how people are traveling these days with more people driving and planning to stay closer to home.
Clearfield County’s outdoor offerings have brought people to the area on day trips or two-day trips with an overnight stay.
Hotels and local B&B’s are both still seeing people who are just passing through the area because as the VCC slogan says Clearfield is “halfway to everywhere.”
Amanda Briggs, Sales and Marketing Manager for Lion Country Lodging which manages the Best Western Plus in Clearfield said it is doing “okay” because of its location near Interstate 80.
Peggy Durant of the Victorian Loft Bed and Breakfast in Clearfield agreed. She stated that because of GPS and Google, “people can find our little town.”
Linda Shaffer of the Inn at Narrow’s Creek in DuBois said her B&B was really busy in July and August has been “just nuts” with people on the weekend calling from the road looking for a place to stay other than a hotel.
Some of her regulars from New York State have returned because they know what to expect at her place which has a rural setting.
Durant said she has been seeing people from Altoona and State College who are just looking to get out of the house and do something different.
The cancellation of events like the “100-mile Yard Sale” and the Clearfield County Fair definitely impacted tourism in the area.
As Durant explained, people book her B&B a year ahead for the sale and they all cancelled. Luckily, her rooms were filled by other people traveling.
She also rents a cabin which has been booked “back to back” also perhaps because of its remote location.
In all, cabins, camp sites and other rural options have been doing well this summer.
Both Parker Dam and S.B. Elliot Park have seen “an uptick in visitation,” according to Park Manager, James McCrockle.
“On the campground side, we have been at, or near capacity almost every weekend since our facilities re-opened in mid-May at Parker Dam which is typical of holiday weekends, but not most weekends through the summer.
“SB Elliott has also seen an increase in overnight use, while we typically don’t reach capacity on most weekends, there have been many more folks staying there as well.”
Susan Williams of the Curwensville Lake Board who is one of the co-managers of the lake reported that they are 10% to 20% busier which she attributes to both the virus and improvements of the park.
They have enlarged their beach to help with social distancing and hope to have some yurts available to rent this fall.
80% of their visitors are from within the state with some others traveling through the area in their recreational vehicles.
“We have been full every single weekend,” Williams said.
Being creative has helped keep people coming back to the area.
The Curwensville Lake is planning a “balloon weekend” this weekend, and is working on a superhero/princess drive thru event for Sept. 26.
Jones mentioned “The Lumberjack Tasting Trail” started by VCC as a way to attract visitors to the county.
Stops on this trail featured free wine tasting and food specials at local wineries, Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub and Staub Brewery.
It has done very well, with some people completing the trail by visiting multiple times, he said.
There are plans now for a Hamburger Trail to start soon.
Most of the people I talked to in doing research for this article, stated that their business is going to suffer this fall due to the cancellation of the Penn State football season.
Briggs, whose company manages six hotels in State College and three in Altoona in addition to the one in Clearfield, estimated they may lose $5 million.
To help replace their lost revenue, they are planning on putting together special fall foliage tours with a possible “passport” program to encourage people to travel throughout the area.
People enjoy going on trips “without having to plan them on their own”, Briggs said.
There is hope among all the groups that the draw of the elk viewing will help them get through the fall season too.
In fact, it seems watching the elk is a very popular thing this summer. According to Jones, the Elk County Visitor Center is having their best year yet.
Even with restrictions and social distancing, Clearfield County still has plenty of options for healthy, family fun to offer visitors.
For upcoming events and options for outdoor activities, you can follow the Curwensville Lake’s Facebook page or check their website.
For educational programs at Parker Dam, go to the Department of Conservation & Natural Resources website.
And for the latest fun offered by Visit Clearfield County, see their website or Facebook page.