Facilities
Crestfield is blessed to have an abundance of natural resources that allows us to have a ton of fun (but safe and ecologically sound) in the outdoors! With miles of hiking trails, property on the Slippery Rock Creek, and 226 rolling acres of fields and woods, Crestfield offers a creative space to re-create in God's beautiful creation!
Archery Basketball Canoeing Clay Pits Climbing Wall High Ropes Hiking Low Ropes
Crestfield installed an NADA certified archery range in the summer of 2001. Opening each spring and made available until mid-autumn, the archery range hosts hundreds of participants each year. Our range is always supervised by a certified instructor to maintain maximum safety.
Retreat groups are
able to schedule a time for archery by requesting this program on the
user agreement form.
Crestfield was blessed to have two
generous donors pave the way (quite literally!) to install a basketball
court here at Crestfield in the Summer of 2005. Just a short walk from
the cabin area, the basketball is open year round to anyone looking for
some downtime to shoot some hoops. Balls are always on hand in the
storage container at the court. The basketball court is located in
the upper ball field.
With property on the Slippery Rock Creek and 18 canoes, Crestfield is a great place to plan a day long canoe trip or spend an hour on the waters during your retreat. All of our summer campers get to experience the paddling life during their stay in the summer.
The rolling Slip' that borders Crestfield is very gentle conducive to beginner canoeists and those looking to spend quality time surrounded by the beautiful countryside that borders the creek.
The canoeing season begins in late spring, and closes in mid-autumn. Each Crestfield canoe trip is supervised by a American Red Cross certified lifeguard. Our lifeguards are also trained in small watercraft rescue.
Our canoes are also available to rent for your own river excursion. Crestfield has two canoe trailers that haul eight and six canoes, respectively. We can deliver them for you, or you can pick them up yourself! For more information on either renting our canoes or using them for your retreat at Crestfield, call our office at 724-794-4022.
The Clay Pits are the signature activity at Crestfield. Since God has blessed this region with natural clay deposits, campers at Crestfield for many, many years have enjoyed frolicking in the natural goo of Crestfield.
Located in the woods and accessed by a nice hike through nature, the clay pits are a great activity for groups of kids. Since this is an outdoor activity that requires a jump in the creek or outdoor hose to clean-off, the clay pits are available only in the late spring, summer, and early autumn. If your group would like to schedule the clay pits, you can request it by writing it in on your user group covenant form.
Put on a harness - and we'll meet you at the 'Wall". Our indoor climbing wall is a wonderful opportunity for people of all ages to test their skills, have fun, and be challenged at Crestfield. All of our summer campers experience the thrills of climbing, while user groups have the option of incorporating this activity into their retreat schedule.
Safety
At Crestfield, we take your safety seriously while on the climbing wall. All of our instructors have completed an eight hour training course on climbing safety here at Crestfield. Our equipment and set-up is inspected annually by an outside inspector for maximum safety and fun during your experience at the Crestfield climbing wall.
The Wall Itself
The climbing wall has been transformed over the years since the early
90's when it was constructed. Today, there are 6 different "faces" at
the 'Wall - each with their own character and difficulty level.
1) Hans - Hans is a beginner skill level wall composed of artificial
climbing holds. It has an incline with large hand holds designed to
build confidence for beginner climbers. It also serves as a good warm up
face for climbers seeking to challenge themselves on the other faces at
Crestfield.
2) Frans - Frans is an intermediate skill level face that uses natural rocks that have been drilled for use on a climbing wall. Frans is a straight forward face, and is a good "next-step" after Hans.
3) Pebbles - Pebbles is one of our two most challenging faces at the 'Wall. It utilizes a rope ladder for access, it is the highest face, and uses smaller holds for more of a challenge.
4) Bam-Bam - Bam-Bam is very similar to Pebbles, by utilizing the same challenging features. Bam-Bam is a great challenge for experienced climbers.
5) Old Smokey - This rock face is an intermediate skill level that features an artificial chimney halfway up. While the chimney is a great place to rest - be careful! Getting out of the chimney can be quite the challenge!
6) Crestfield Crunch - While this face may look small, its artificial
overhangs present a unique challenge to this face - giving it an
intermediate skill level status.
High Ropes Course
Experience the challenge of our high ropes course. Our high course is a completely
safe way for groups seeking to overcome more than just the fear of
heights, but also debriefing about what it means to overcome our fears
with the Crestfield trained facilitator. Our high ropes course contains
three elements: a high tension traverse, a high bosun chairs
and the hour glass.
All of our high ropes elements are safe in that each participant is required to wear a harness and helmet. The belay used is a dynamic belay with a trained Crestfield facilitator.
To reserve the high ropes for a morning or afternoon session, call the office at 724-794-4022.
On over 226 acres, Crestfield has miles of hiking trails for you to explore! Journey through the peaceful woods and cross over the calming waters of Hogue Run over one of our many beautiful wooden bridges. You may even see some of the wild life that makes Crestfield their home - deer, rabbits, turkey, beavers, or even a great blue heron.
There is much to see and explore through the trail network that exits at Crestfield.
With 9 different initiative challenge elements at our Low Ropes Course, we have enough activities to keep your group having fun while learning about what it means to be a team. All of our summer campers experience the excitement of our initiative activities, while user groups may reserve time to grow as a team. A Crestfield trained facilitator will work with your group to keep you safe as well as thinking about teamwork. Our various permanent elements include:
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Bosun Chairs -
Meuse
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Mountain Tops
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Nitro Crossing
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Spiders Web
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Swinging Log
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Tension Traverse
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TP Shuffle
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Whale Watch
Crestfield invites your group to come for an afternoon of team-building. From youth groups, to church sessions, or corporate business partners, we promise that our low ropes course experience will build a sense of community and team. Our facilitator will help your group debrief the experience at the low ropes course, and help you discern where your group can take its next moves!