New Brighton: Riverfront, Nature and History

New Brighton brings together a variety of experiences for a stay: riverfront scenery and wildlife watching, walking and history tours, as well as art and historic memorial sites. If you’re looking for a hotel for your visit, choosing a focus for your days can help guide your decision. The parks appeal to different interests, while each self-guided tour focuses on a specific topic. There is also an art gallery and sites connected with individuals and remembrance.

Riverfront, Trails and Nature

Big Rock Park encompasses seven acres of riverfront along the Beaver River and a half-mile hiking trail. This lets you enjoy the riverfront scenery and a walk during the same visit. An active bald eagle nest is also visible from public land in the park. Alongside the trail, the nest offers a distinct opportunity for wildlife watching; wildlife conditions can change.

New Brighton Fishing Park offers different features: an accessible fishing pier, a canoe launch and a 600-foot stretch of riverfront. The difference between the parks is clear for planning purposes: Big Rock Park focuses on its hiking trail and visible nest, while Fishing Park features a fishing pier and canoe launch. You can choose the focus of your outing based on whether you’d rather prioritize wildlife watching and a trail or activities on the water.

Self-Guided Trails and Local History

Grove Cemetery offers a half-mile self-guided tour with ten stops. It highlights the graves of abolitionists, athletes, artists, war heroes and industrialists from the New Brighton area. The range spans people from different walks of public life. If you’re interested in local history through specific gravesites and the groups of people represented there, this tour offers a clear thematic introduction.

The New Brighton Historical Society has developed a tour of Underground Railroad sites in New Brighton. The brochure for the self-guided tour is available at the Municipal Building of the Borough of New Brighton and online; check current availability before making plans. New Brighton also still has six designated historic Underground Railroad safe houses.

The two self-guided options have different focuses: Grove Cemetery highlights gravesites and the groups of people named above, while the other tour focuses on Underground Railroad sites. This lets you choose a history experience centered either on specific biographies or on this distinctive subject.

Art and Memorial Sites

Merrick Art Gallery houses paintings by Hudson River School artists and is the only art gallery in Beaver County. Along with the parks and historic sites, it offers a dedicated point of interest for the visual arts.

The original Irish-Townsend House building was built by Lydia Irish in 1855. The historic White Cottage marker commemorates Grace Greenwood (Sara J. Clarke Lippincott, 1823–1904), who wrote children’s stories there during the mid-19th century. Both places connect local history with specific people, but from different perspectives: one through the history of a house, the other through the life and writing of an author.

Townsend Park is a memorial park honoring those who served in the World War. Together with the art gallery, historic buildings and self-guided tours, it adds further cultural points of interest. You can tailor your stay to the topics that interest you most, without limiting nature, art and history to a single reason for visiting.

Discover more destinations: Beaver Falls, Monaca.

View the broader travel guide: Beaver.