There is a new boat launch on the Allegheny River, thanks to the work of the Warren County Conservation District and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. The new boat launch has been used informally for years next to the Dairy Delite, at the junction of Route 6 and Route 59 just outside of Warren.

The area behind the Dairy Delite has been eroding for years, causing many locals to become concerned and want to do a streambank stabilization project. When Mark Keyes purchased the business in 2020, that opportunity arose.

Keyes wanted to provide a safe, stable location for kayakers and canoes to enter and exit Brown Run, the stream that runs past Dairy Delite. This stream provides easy access to the Allegheny River.

With Keyes on board, the WCCD applied for the grant from Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers for the canoe launch and coordinated that part of the project. WPC was responsible for guiding the contractors from Fox & Sons Excavating during installation. Both projects complemented each other in stabilizing the streambank.

The Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) administers the Statewide Waterway Access Grant Mini Grant Program (SWAG). The grant program, supported by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, is designed to help meet growing demand for non-motorized boating opportunities. A matching grant from DEP was administered by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC).

The new boat launch doesn’t have ample parking, so Keyes asks visitors to drop their boats off at the launch, located furthest from Route 59, then park in the lower parking lot on Route 59 so that there is still parking for Dairy Delite Customers.