PITTSBURGH — For an outdoorsy kid who grew up on the water in a blue collar Lake Erie shore town, becoming manager of several state parks known for their water thrills is about as good as it gets.

After a long career in Pennsylvania park management, Ken Bisbee recently retired from his post as park operations manager at Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County.

After earning a bachelor's degree in forest science at Penn State University, Bisbee worked his way to the joint management of Memorial Lake State Park and Swatara State Park, both northeast of Harrisburg. For four years, he protected wildlife in the lake and a long stretch of Swatara Creek.

In 1990, he was transferred to Yellow Creek State Park in Indiana County. For 24 years as manager, he maintained the 720-acre lake as a destination for 250,000 annual visitors including boaters and anglers, and flocks of migrating birds.

None of those jobs, he said, were as complex as his 10 years managing Ohiopyle. More than a million people a year visit the park's 20,500 acres. The Youghiogheny River runs through the park, attracting anglers to a rainbow trout fishery stocked by three clubs and the state Fish and Boat Commission.

Paddlers and rafters take up the challenge of waterfalls and enjoy some of the best whitewater rafting in the eastern United States, including the 20-foot Ohiopyle Falls. Campers — experienced and novices — find temporary homes at 234 campsites in Ohiopyle's rugged forests.

Hikers and bicyclists on the Great Allegheny Passage pause by the falls to rest and take in the sites at the Ohiopyle State Park Falls Area Visitor and Education Center, which was completed during Bisbee's park management tenure.

"I loved the fast pace of one of the busiest and biggest parks in the state," he said. "I know I'll miss the day-to-day things — the huge crowds and people motorcycle riding, hiking."

Bisbee was in charge at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Pennsylvanians realized the state parks were among the only places that remained open. Campsites at Ohiopyle and other state parks were booked solid.

Bisbee said he'll miss the park staff and his neighbors, the 23 residents of Ohiopyle borough who run the shops and keep the town alive. At the start of the recent Ohiopyle Wine and Arts Festival, the borough honored him with a special award.

Bisbee said there are some memories he'll never forget.

"Well, there was the woman who was bitten twice by the same snake," he recalled.

Ohiopyle contains several beautiful micro-environments; some can be rugged. In the past four decades, 23 visitors have lost their lives on the Ohiopyle section of the Youghiogheny River. Some were hikers who neglected to rest or stepped too near to a vertical cliff face. But many were paddlers who underestimated the river's power.

The most recent occurred in March, when a man's body was found in the Youghiogheny rapids. The Fayette County coroner ruled the deal an accidental drowning. Bisbee said the river was higher than usual and the water temperature was in the 30s and 40s, which can lower survival chances for people who fall in without proper gear.

Another case occurred in 2022 when a woman fell out of the raft on a guided trip. She, her two daughters and a friend were rafting when it overturned at the notoriously deceptive Dimple Rock. There, a boulder creates an unseen submerged vacuum that can pull people under and trap them. Many river deaths at Ohiopyle have occurred near Dimple Rock.

"But the deaths aren't all in the water or trails," Bisbee said. "Some people park their autos and do drugs. And there have been some suicides. I guess they wanted to go in a peaceful place."

Despite the tragedies, Bisbee said he's grateful for the lucky breaks.

While swimmers dangle flip-flops over the boulders at Ohiopyle Dam, venomous snakes watch from shadows underneath.

"Fortunately, there weren't many bites in the boulders across the dam from the visitor center," he said. "People don't know that it's habitat for rattlesnakes."

Bisbee said he'd like to remember the improvements and advances that occurred under his leadership at Ohiopyle State Park.

The $9 million Visitor and Education Center, completed in 2014, added a new level of enlightenment to the region via a place where guests can find answers to questions about the Ohiopyle gorge, the Youghiogheny River, the region's human history and some 70 species of wildlife. Additional parking added under Bisbee's watch made the park more accessible, and a campsite loop with 20 sites is being added this year.

At the end of a long and satisfying career, Bisbee said he and his wife are moving from Ohiopyle to another home on the water at Cheat Lake, W.Va.

"As I move on," he said, "I hope I'm leaving the park in good shape."

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