PA Wilds Conservation Shops
Helping regional travelers take home a piece of the PA Wilds
PA Wilds Conservation Shops are gift shops that feature products made in the PA Wilds by local artisans and craftspeople. Conservation Shops help connect PA Wilds travelers with locally made products. They not only create a consistent experience on the ground, but you can easily find them here on the Marketplace, too!
Kinzua Bridge State Park
1721 Lindolm Drive
Mount Jewett, PA 16740
KBSP Store Hours*
Open everyday, 10am to 5pm
Leonard Harrison State Park
4797 PA-660
Wellsboro, PA 16901
LHSP Store Hours*
Open everyday, 10am to 5pm
Marienville Four Seasons Trailhead
105 S. Forest St.
Marienville, PA 16239
MVGS Store Hours*
Open Wednesday-Sunday, 10am to 5pm
*Store hours are subject to change based on season
Upcoming News & Events
PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Leonard Harrison State Park "Second Look" event
Date
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Details
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Explore PA Wilds Conservation Shop, meet local artisans
Try out the new colorblind viewfinders, which were made possible in part thanks to donations made to the Charity Checkout for Conservation at the PA Wilds Conservation Shops
Location
PA Wilds Conservation Shop
at Leonard Harrison State Park,
4797 PA-660,
Wellsboro, PA 16901
Kinzua Skywalk Renovation
Recently, the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced that the Kinzua Skywalk will be undergoing a multi-year rehabilitation and renovation project, starting after the 2024 fall foliage season.
For the next few years starting after this 2024 fall foliage season, expect to not be able to step out onto the Kinzua Skywalk except for special openings for two months during each fall season while renovations are taking place.
Other parts of Kinzua Bridge State Park, including the park itself, Kinzua Bridge State Park Visitors Center, PA Wilds Conservation Shop, playground, and Mount Jewett to Kinzua Bridge Trail will all remain open during this time.
With Thanks to Our Partner
Strategic partnerships enable PA Wilds Conservation Shop gift shops to be located across the region.
Shops located at state parks are made possible by a unique public-private partnership between the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), which manages the public lands, and the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., the nonprofit that manages the gift shops. The PA Wilds Center is the external lead organization for DCNR's Pennsylvania Wilds Conservation Landscape.
The PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Marienville is made possible through a partnership with Jenks Township Supervisors, who own and manage the restored train station at the Four Seasons Trailhead, and the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., the nonprofit that manages the gift shops.
You Can Feel Good About Our Sourcing
Ninety percent of the products featured at PA Wilds Conservation Shops are made in the PA Wilds. The PA Wilds Center, the nonprofit that manages the shops and the PA Wilds Marketplace, spends thousands of dollars each year buying inventory and value-added products directly from local businesses and craftspeople for the Conservation Shops, creating important work opportunities that support families and communities.
The Conservation Shops also carry various soft goods, including PA Wilds-branded and state park-branded t-shirts, totes, hats and other apparel. These are sourced using industry and conservation resources such as One Green Planet’s “A Guide to Buying Sustainable, Fair-Trade and Cruelty-Free Clothing.” Once Conservation Shop staff finds a responsible company with competitive prices to source the soft goods, they work with local companies in the PA Wilds to place the order for ‘blanks.’ Then the local companies are hired to give the products their value-added component, be that creating a design for a new line of t-shirts, stitching embroidered patches on fleece jackets, screen printing, or some other service.
It’s not a perfect system, but it is one that the PA Wilds Center has put a lot of thought into, that lives up to our Brand Principles, that is making a difference to small-scale producers and business owners in rural PA – and that we feel you, the consumer, can feel good about.
According to the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA), independent locally-owned businesses – like those involved in The Wilds Cooperative of PA and our gift shops – recirculate a far greater percentage of revenue locally compared to absentee-owned businesses or locally-owned franchises. AMIBA reviewed 10 studies in this area, concluding that “on average 48 percent of each purchase at local independent businesses was recirculated locally, compared to less than 14 percent of purchases at chain stores.”
In other words, when you spend locally at our gift shops, it allows us to spend locally on inventory, and then those businesses spend a large part of that investment locally. It’s one great big reinforcing circle of goodness, and we appreciate you being part of it!
Made Local. Sold Local.
Community partner shops are supported by strategic partnerships with local organizations, including the Lycoming County Visitors Bureau and Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. Although these shops are not operated by PA Wilds Center staff, the community partners are supportive of the PA Wilds mission to integrate conservation and economic development in a way that strengthens and inspires PA Wilds communities, and they have shown a commitment to sourcing products and services from members of the Wilds Cooperative of Pennsylvania.
Lycoming County Visitors Center
102 W 4th St.
Williamsport, PA 17701
This satellite shop opened in April 2018 in Williamsport, the largest city in the Pennsylvania Wilds. Tens of thousands of people live in the city, and many more visit throughout the year for some of its signature events, including Little League Baseball, which hosts international teams. Products are geared toward the local natural assets and themes, such as baseball tees and gear reminiscent of the Pine Creek Rail Trail, a 63-mile bike trail with a terminus in Lycoming County, as well as PA Wilds branded merchandise.
LCVC Hours*
Tuesday-Saturday, 10am to 3pm
Wilds on Main
205 E Main St.
Lock Haven, PA 17745
Opening at the end of 2022, the Wilds on Main store resides in the Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. office. Some of the products include Sue’s Salves and PA Wilds apparel printed by Xtreme Wear, as well as other companies that are based in Clinton County. Other products made in the 13-county PA Wilds region are available as well, including items featuring the PA Wilds logo. Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. has agreed to reinvest 80 percent of sales revenue to purchase additional inventory from PA Wilds makers.
WOM Hours*
Monday-Friday, 10am to 2pm
*Store hours are subject to change based on season
Lycoming County Visitors Center
102 W 4th St.
Williamsport, PA 17701
This satellite shop opened in April 2018 in Williamsport, the largest city in the Pennsylvania Wilds. Tens of thousands of people live in the city, and many more visit throughout the year for some of its signature events, including Little League Baseball, which hosts international teams. Products are geared toward the local natural assets and themes, such as baseball tees and gear reminiscent of the Pine Creek Rail Trail, a 63-mile bike trail with a terminus in Lycoming County, as well as PA Wilds branded merchandise.
LCVC Hours*
Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Bradford Regional Airport Kiosk
212 Airport Rd.
Lewis Run, PA 16738
The PA Wilds Conservation Shop Kiosk at Bradford Regional Airport helps travelers orient themselves to the Pennsylvania Wilds when they land in Bradford. A room inside the entrance of the airport showcases products that were made by PA Wilds artisans and reflect the region. A tablet allows visitors to peruse things to see and do in PAWilds.com and find regionally made wares at ShopThePAWilds.com. No physical sales currently take place at the site.
BRAK Hours*
Daily 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Wilds on Main
205 E Main St.
Lock Haven, PA 17745
Opening at the end of 2022, the Wilds on Main store resides in the Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. office. Some of the products include Sue’s Salves and PA Wilds apparel printed by Xtreme Wear, as well as other companies that are based in Clinton County. Other products made in the 13-county PA Wilds region are available as well, including items featuring the PA Wilds logo. Downtown Lock Haven, Inc. has agreed to reinvest 80 percent of sales revenue to purchase additional inventory from PA Wilds makers.
WOM Hours*
Wednesday 1 to 5 p.m., Friday 1 to 6 p.m.,
Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.