Lodge at Glendorn acquires outfitters permit from ANF; land in Warren Co.

On the left, Shane Appleby, activities director at the Lodge at Glendorn, and David Okerlund, manager, show off the new jet boat purchased by Glendorn for fishing and scenic boat trips. This is just one of the recent acquisitions made by Glendorn to ensure their guests have an enjoyable stay.

BRADFORD, Pa. – Guests at the Lodge at Glendorn now have more than a half a million acres of land to enjoy after the Relais & Chateaux attained a new outfitters permit and land in a nearby county.
The outfitters permit from the Allegheny National Forest allows the employees of Glendorn to do all of the activities they do on property on the ANF, the only national forest in Pennsylvania.
“The Allegheny National Forest adjoins our property,” said Glendorn manager David Okerlund. “This is going to allow us to utilize that land – 517,000 acres – for our guests to enjoy.”
In fact, there is access to the ANF right from the Glendorn property so, in essence, a guest never leaves Glendorn and can experience all the ANF has to offer with a Glendorn guide, including hunting, fishing, horseback riding, hiking and biking.
“This will certainly enhance our guests’ experience and further expand on what we currently offer,” Okerlund said.
Glendorn, an ORVIS-endorsed fly-fishing guide, also purchased 1,300 acres of property in Spring Township, Warren County.
Okerlund explained that Glendorn now owns two miles of a Class A wild trout stream that guests can enjoy.
He said fly-fishing is one of the many things that attracts visitors to Glendorn each year, whether they take a trip down the Allegheny or Clarion rivers or stay on property to fish.
“Even those new to fly-fishing can leave here knowing about the sport.”
Okerlund explained that the process to get the permit included submitting an application and attending several meetings. Okerlund credited Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, with helping pave the way.
“This is a great opportunity for visitors at Glendorn to have,” she said. “To increase accessibility to the Allegheny National Forest is perfect for increasing recreation on the Forest.”
Okerlund said business at Glendorn is going strong as evidenced by the purchase of 1,600 acres in the last six months and that is not all Glendorn has purchased.
A new jet boat, an 18-foot 2012 Starcraft, was also just purchased so guests can enjoy fishing or scenic river tours.
“This boat enables us to run in really shallow places, places you can’t get with another boat,” said Shane Appleby, activities director at Glendorn. To put it in perspective, this boat can go 45 mph in six inches of water.
Earlier this year, Glendorn purchased two adjacent properties of more than 170 acres, which will be used for addition trout fishing and horseback riding.
Glendorn, located at 1000 Glendorn Drive, was the family retreat of the Dorn family for years until the family opened the estate up for guests in 1995. In 2009, Cliff Forrest purchased Glendorn and has since invested in restoring and improving the property.
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