Owlet Gift Shop at Moraine

Refine your mushroom understanding with these fine additions to the Owlet Gift Shop. Field guides, foraging books, playing cards, vintage tin signs and identification guides are now available. Open everyday 10:00-5:00 except Monday.

Check out the triplets in the Osprey nest having a bite to eat today!

On Sun., May 30, the PFBC will waive its license requirement, allowing anglers to fish within public waterways across PA without possessing a fishing license. The second Fish-for-Free Day will happen on Independence Day, Sun., July 4. Learn more: http://ow.ly/4WhM50EWHnr

An important update on cruises.

Celebrate the third osprey egg hatching with this new back print shirt design available at the Owlet Gift Shop! Hoodies, sweatshirts and t shirts are offered in a variety of comfort colors. Shop open today 10-5. Regular hours begin Saturday May 29 and continue through the summer. Open every day except Monday.

The name has been revealed! Today was the official unveiling of our new educational tour boat. Congratulations to Shannon Williams, of Butler, who submitted "Pr...eston's Pearl" in the naming contest hosted by the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau. The name honors Frank Preston, who was the driving force behind the creation of Moraine State Park. What a beautiful day! We were grateful to host donors and distinguished guests for such a special occasion. Public cruises will begin Memorial Day Weekend, stay tuned for ticketing information! See more

STORE IS CLOSED FOR THE WINTER We want to say Thank You to everyone who shopped at The Owlet during our "first" opening for the Holiday Season. We appreciate your support. Many of you discovered us for the first time & congratulations to our winners of a free Moraine Preservation Fund membership. As we begin a New Year of optimism please follow us here & share us with your friends. There will be photos posted, exciting news to share & memories to be made as you continue to visit Mcdanel's Boat Launch, Moraine State Park. We will re-open in a few months & will post here ... See you all in the Spring!

While we patiently wait for Spring!

We want to say Thank You to everyone who shopped at The Owlet during our "first" opening for the Holiday Season. We appreciate your support. Many of you discovered us for the first time & congratulations to our winners of a free Moraine Preservation Fund membership. As we begin a New Year of optimism please follow us here & share us with your friends. There will be photos posted, exciting news to share & memories to be made as you continue to visit Mcdanel's Boat Launch, Moraine State Park. We will re-open in a few months & will post here ... See you all in the Spring!

GROWING BOLD...Bald Eagles don't take to the skies looking like they fell off the back of a $1 bill. Takes about 5 years, as you can see from the fantastic illu...stration sent to us by Elaine Harry. (Thanks, Elaine!) In fact, some folks mistake "un-balded" Eagles for Turkey Vultures. An easy way to tell juvenile Bald Eagles from TV's is through their flight profiles. Eagles' outstretched wings are flat when soaring. TVs, on the other hand, soar with their wings in a shallow "V." (Think "V for Vulture.") So take notice of that next big, dark raptor you see riding the wind. It just may be an adolescent Eagle on its way to coming of age. See more

So excited that the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau is sponsoring the naming of our new boat AND giving you the chance to name it! Click the link in the post below to see how.

Open for The Holidays! Details on our event page here!

Explore some lesser known trails for adventurous social distancing!

Unfortunately, there will be no Winterfest 2021. Please see below. There is still time to shop with us this holiday season. Open Thurs-Sat 11am-4pm through Christmas Eve.

2021 Chris Condello Moraine State Park calendars now available at the Owlet Gift Shop on the north shore at McDanels Launch. Shop holiday hours are Thursday, Friday and Saturday 11-4 until Christmas. Unbelievable original photographs of sunrises and sunsets around Moraine State Park. Calendars are signed and numbered.

Did you know you can walk this beautiful trail right behind the Owlet Gift Shop at Moraine ? It leads to the Butterfly Trail thru an evergreen forest & still has traces of life everywhere. A surprise gazebo & small pond. Waiting for a blanket of white soon. Beautiful in every season. Plan your holiday shopping adventure! The Owlet is open this week Tuesday Thursday Friday Saturday 11 - 4. Holiday Shopping by The Lake!

Surprise! Pop up Tuesday! Adding an extra OPEN day this week! Safe shopping & fantastic gifts to fit busy schedules! Please share this last minute notice! Wishing for snow at Moraine State Park all sales benefit Moraine Preservation Fund OPEN TUESDAY 11 - 4 !

Are you enjoying the cabins at Moraine State Park ... perhaps booked for Christmas? We have beautiful hand painted ornaments & hand blown glass to hang on your cabin trees! Or a gift for a special someone! Come & visit us thru Christmas. All sales benefit Moraine Preservation Fund's mission. Thurs. Fri. Sat. 11 - 4

The Little Shops of Butler County Shopping Tour is this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All 12 little shops will be hosting a 3-day Open House for everyone to shop local. All purchases here in The Owlet Gift Shop at Moraine benefit the park through Moraine Preservation Fund.

Did you miss us? As we wind down our info sharing about our new tour boat, we will have a few days between posts at times. But here we are with new info! Our ne...w tour boat is no doubt larger than the old Nautical Nature. In fact it is 16.5 feet wide and 51 feet long with the engines extending an additional 3 feet. It is designed to have a 50 passenger capacity plus a crew of a minimum of two (captain and first mate). With its size cruises will be performed with the engines running at approx 2800 rpm which equates to about 10mph. The boat is capable of speeds twice that range, but would only be used in an emergency situation. We can't wait to see you as one of our passengers in 2021, especially right now as we would have been preparing for our always fun Halloween Cruise :( Stay tuned on our Facebook page in March and April as we prepare our cruising schedule!

It was a wonderful Winter Wonderland this week at The Owlet! Many shoppers & visitors enjoying nature & I even got to investigate our ski trails! Highly recommend cross country skiing here ... I headed for The Butterfly Trail ... Two more days to shop & more snow on the way! All sales benefit Moraine State Park thru Moraine Preservation Fund

Are you enjoying our daily updates about the new tour boat? Today we share what will take the place of those famous yellow buckets on the upper part of the b...oat! The simple answer is YOU! That’s right, the new tour boat has a second open air level for your viewing pleasure! This is one of the most exciting additions to this vessel. Guests will be invited (if conditions allow) to take a seat on the top level of the boat to get a bird’s eye view of the lake and shorelines on your next educational tour. It also will allow us to begin operating with COVID restrictions at an even safer level should we still need to come spring. You will still be able to hear narration of the first mate while getting some great looks at Osprey, heron, eagles and more! We don’t know about you, but we can’t wait for the first Birdwatching cruise!

We’re back again with updates about our new tour boat. Today we answer what you are all wondering.It’s the end of October, why launch now? We want to be read...y to welcome you in Spring 2021! The boat was delayed in its arrival. It was originally due in late spring and we had fully intended to cruise this summer. As the production of the boat began again in the summer, we had still hoped to receive it in time to take fall foliage cruises. But this time, we were hampered by permits needed to transport such a large load from TN to PA. We took delivery now to be able to launch and train with the builder. Once launched you will see us over the coming weeks performing stability testing (those yellow buckets represent the weight of passengers!) as well as training of all of our volunteer captains. Once all has been completed a new cover will be made, the boat will be removed from the water and winterized. See more

Welcome December! We are open this week-end Thursday thru Sunday 11 - 4 All sales benefit Moraine State Park thru Moraine Preservation Fund. We have great gifts!

Day three of our daily updates about the newest addition to Moraine Preservation Fund! Where did this beautiful new tour boat come from? Moraine Preservation ...Fund board members have been working for two years with a team of people to help create a comfortable and modern new tour boat. The boat was built specifically for its purpose and the needs of the lake by Sailabration Houseboats, Inc in Powell Tennessee. The boat was designed by MPF board members, reviewed by park staff, evaluated by a naval architect for stability. Additionally, the new boat has been inspected in detail by an experienced Western Pennsylvania boat surveyor upon arrival, engines evaluated and purchased from Honda Marine. As part of the design of the new boat, larger engine sizes were selected due to their commercial duty rating and allow the boat operation to be run in lower RPM ranges. The lower RPM provide MPF benefits related to reduced fuel burn and reduced wear on the engines. Once public cruise operations begin in 2021, the boat will be operated at the same speeds as the past to provide the same overall tour length of approximately 90 minutes.

Are you counting? We have many species here at The Owlet! We love our birds!

An Osprey just before it hits the water. The photographer of these amazing photos is Chen Chengguang.

Welcome back to our daily updates about the arrival of our new educational tour boat! Today, let’s look at what the history of this activity on the lake and how... the boat is utilized. Moraine Preservation Fund has been operating an educational tour on Lake Arthur for more than 25 years! Many of you have joined us in the past for a 90 minute narrated tour of the lake. During each excursion, first mates share history of the creation of the park; information about activities available; sightings of the many species of wildlife that call the park home and more! The tour takes passengers from the dock at McDanels Launch to just beyond the 528 bridge on the eastern side of the park. The tour boat is also used annually to host specialty cruises, private parties and many groups (senior groups, scouts, etc.) We partner with park staff each year to host hundreds of local school students in annual science and biology field trips that include instruction and lessons on the water. Don’t miss your chance to cruise with us in the spring of 2021; when we will host weekend cruises, speaker series, wildlife watch and dinner and brunch cruises!

We have FIREWOOD NEW HOURS in October! Open Fri., Sat., Sun. 10-5 Benefits Moraine Preservation Fund and the park.

Check out the first of daily updates from Moraine Preservation Fund about the new educational tour boat!

Such an exciting day!

What will Moraine Preservation Fund announce in the coming days? Stay tuned!

It will be a perfect weekend to complete a little Hike and Seek! Stop by the Owlet (fri., sat., or sun. 10am-5pm) to pick up your activity supplies!

Today homeschoolers enjoyed a watercolor technique class hosted by Owlet Gift Shop staff volunteers.

Happening now! Mother Nature is working magic! Come out, enjoy, visit us & pick up a treat! All sales benefit Moraine Preservation Fund.