Chimney Rocks Park

One of the limestone pillars at Chimney Rocks Park.

The chief of a Native American tribe fancied sitting on top of a rock.
In 1924, someone placed a bronze plaque on a rock.
Seventy years later, the borough of Hollidaysburg bought the area – so they could place a nicer plaque on a rock.

Chimney Rocks Park as seen from Route 36 near Hollidaysburg.

This is all the history I could find on Chimney Rocks Park, located above Route 36 outside of Hollidaysburg. If you feel cheated of 30 seconds of your life, then you and I share the same disappointment.

Out of all the resources available on the Internet this day and age, I could find only two websites providing background on the park. 
I thought I had more at my disposal when I started the search, but I realized how a typo screwed up my results.

Chimney Rocks (emphasis on the ‘s’) Park is part of Hollidaysburg, where as Chimney Rock State Park (note the lack of ‘s’ and addition of “State”) is a gorgeous state park located in North Carolina with one rock topped with an American flag. If you’re local to Altoona, make sure to add the ‘s’ so you don’t end up driving an extra 12 hours to what should be a 15-minute trip.

Digression aside, Chimney Rocks Park has only two significant websites providing history about the place. What’s even more disheartening is they’re both almost identical because they’re websites to the local governments and almost match word-for-word. 

The Chimney Rocks can be seen from several parts of Hollidaysburg.

Anyway, present-day Chimney Rocks Park is a nice escape from the clustered streets of Altoona and Hollidaysburg. The latter purchased the area in 1994 for the rights to renovate the land with a picnic area, a playground, hiking trails, fenced overlooks and parking, according to the websites. Upon request, people can rent the park for special occasions like parties and weddings.

There are two main reasons the park brings several people every day. 

Hollidaysburg as seen from the Lower Overlook at Chimney Rocks Park.

The first is the view. The park sits on top of a small mountain (more of a big hill, but you get it – It’s high up) overlooking the valley below. From certain spots, visitors can see miles of nothing but green, rolling hills, the entirety of Hollidaysburg with its historic buildings and the outskirts of Altoona. I’ve visited my fair share of overlooks, but this one is beyond impressive.

What makes it all the better is you don’t have to climb anything to appreciate the view. Two parking lots reside just a few seconds from the park. From there, a gravel trail through a field takes you to what’s known as the Lower Overlook. The most physical activity required is getting in and out of your car. This makes the overlook convenient for people of any age or physical state. I make fun of the local government’s lack of historical background on the area, but I give it credit for its intuitiveness to choose this spot for a public park.

The second reason to visit Chimney Rocks is the rocks themselves. You can see the rocks from almost any angle in downtown Hollidaysburg. They protrude from the north face of the mountain and just sit there in solidarity among a blanket of green. They don’t look like much, but they're large enough in size to be seen from a few miles away.

If you’re smart, there’s an easy-access, wide trail starting between the two parking lots that will take you right to the rocks. If you’re ignorant like myself, you can start from one of the side trails that is about eight inches in width, contains heavy plant growth, usually has mud, is filled with cobwebs and provides all sorts of ways to mutilate yourself. To my benefit, there are other side overlooks accessible only by these tougher trails, but I wouldn’t advise anyone who lacks hiking experience or has a disability (I didn’t consider my mental handicap at the time) to attempt them. 

The view from one side of Chimney Rocks Park.

They are tough, and they are dangerous. No matter if you take the friendly trail or the death trail, they all lead back to these rocks.The rocks themselves, I found, aren’t as big as I figured. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not a pebble in your shoe, but they’re not the Cliffs of Dover, either. They have a resemblance to Stonehenge, just much rougher in texture and lacking the organized placement. It’s just a bunch of jetting limestone pillars extending from the ground. This is another reason why I keep obsessing over the park’s history. How did these rocks end up here? They protrude on this side of the mountain but almost nowhere else. Why? How long have they been around? Erosion doesn’t seem to have affected the rocks by much, but I wonder if they were much bigger decades or centuries before. They’re relatively close in position – just in one cluster. Why this spot? 

None of this is explained.

What I also found out was it’s near impossible to take a great picture of them. They’re mostly surrounded by trees, which also block much of the sunlight above, creating a shadow almost any time of day. Even with my powerful camera, I had to mess around before I could get a decent shot. Without Photoshop, my best pictures still contained darkness. 
I wouldn’t let this discourage you from seeing the rocks, though. They’re a sight to see, but they’re not worth bringing your entire family up there and spending the money to hire a portrait photographer to design your next Christmas card.

The view of Hollidaysburg from the top.

The trails eventually lead to the Upper Overlook, which is where the best view is at. The area has a concrete slab with fencing around it for a safe view, but there’s not much stopping the average idiot (yours truly) to go around and sit on the small, pants-soiling high rocks. The pictures I got from this spot were great, but if anyone was around to take pictures of me taking pictures, I’d have some embarrassing Facebook photos to explain. I had about a dozen mild panic attacks because the feeling of vertigo is constant. Any wrong twist in my posture would have sent me plummeting to my death screaming, “I should’ve seen this coming!” 
But It was worth it, and all at the cost of one soiled pair of boxers.

If I’m correct, this is what the locals refer to as the “Chief’s seat,” where according to legend, the local Indian chief overlooked the valley and issued attack commands. There’s never any mention of what tribe existed here, if it lived on the mountain or why it left (My guess is ‘Murica). 
I might be wrong about the seat’s location, but it’s the only place I can see someone sitting on a rock. It’s the widest out of the other pillars and the most accessible. Any other option would require a great deal of balance, insanity and the biggest pair of stones (pun intended) to attempt climbing and mounting these pillars of death.

The historical plaque at the top of the park.

Also at the overlook is the original plaque placed here on Oct. 17, 1924. I tried to read what is inscribed on it but to little avail. The plaque has been vandalized beyond belief (That is NOT my name on there in white) and has faded into a greenish hue with age.

The white star that can be seen at night during the holiday season.

If you decide to venture far enough, you’ll find hidden among the brush a 20-foot-tall white star with light bulbs attached. The borough lights the star every year for the holiday season. It’s not much to look at on a hot and muggy summer day, but it warms the soul on a frigid Pennsylvania winter night.

That’s my story of Chimney Rocks Park. I wish I had more. I wish I knew more. It’s such an interesting place because of its splendor and mystery. If anyone can provide me with additional information (free of charge), I would be forever grateful.