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Venango County has something for everyone -- from outdoor recreation to live theater, shopping, and beautifully-preserved historic downtowns with vibrant cultural assets, all surrounded by peaceful rolling countrysides and deep forests.

The County of Venango owns a park that is open to the general public, which includes a quaint beach, picnic areas, and hiking trails. Plan your visit to Two Mile Run County Park, today.

For more information on the region's outdoor attractions, including hiking, biking, camping, golf, boating, and so much more, visit the county's Be Here! website. Also, be sure to check out the beautiful Oil Creek State Park, a richly forested valley through which streams Oil Creek, where wooden oil derricks once replaced trees during the world's first oil boom in the late 1800s, which is on display at Drake Well State Park. Now a state park, the valley is filled with hiking and biking trails (paved and unpaved), as well as several waterfalls and scenic vistas.

The paved Oil Creek State Park Trail is a local component of the under-development Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail, which starts at the Perry Monument on Presque Isle, follows roads through Erie into western New York, and works its way south to Oil Creek. It follows Oil Creek to the Allegheny River, then continues along the Allegheny River to downtown Pittsburgh. The other local Venango County segments include The McClintock Trail, The Oil City Trail, and the Allegheny River and Samuel Justus Trails.

Every summer, the region celebrates its page in history books as the birthplace of the world's oil industry, with the Oil Heritage Festival, throughout downtown Oil City. For a complete listing of events throughout the year, visit the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce.

In early October, the hugely popular annual Applefest hits the streets and parks in downtown Franklin, bringing with it more than 100,000 visitors for the event's food, vendors, live music, car shows, and so much more. For more Franklin events throughout the year, visit the Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce.

At Franklin's historic Barrow-Civic Theatre, in the heart of the city's scenic and historic Liberty Street, there's always something going on. Visit the theatre's website, today, to plan your next outing.

In addition to the wealth of great business retailers within the population centers, The Cranberry Mall offers more shopping options, including current hit movies and new releases at The Movies at Cranberry, along with the many standalone businesses located around the mall, in Cranberry Township, conveniently located in the center of Venango County, between Oil City and Franklin.

In Oil City, the Venango Museum of Art, Science, and Industry, has an architectural style recognized as Beaux Arts. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is located within Oil City's historic Northside business district. The Museum collects, preserves and exhibits artifacts and related material relevant to interests of Venango County residents and visitors. Through a changing exhibit area, the Museum strives to provide a quality educational and cultural experience for visitors of all ages. 

In Franklin, The DeBence Antique Music World Museum houses a collection of more than 100 antique mechanical musical instruments dating from the mid 1800’s to the 1940’s.  This collection was begun by Jake & Elizabeth DeBence in the 1940’s and continued to grow through the years.  In 1965 the DeBences retired to the Franklin, PA. area and housed the collection in a barn which they opened to the public for viewing.  After Jake’s death, Elizabeth offered the collection for sale.  It was her fervent wish that the collection remain intact and in the area. 

In the idyllic Borough of Emlenton, the Crawford Center houses a restored classroom circa 1928 and features permanent and changing exhibits using artifacts from the museum's collection of records, photographs and memorabilia of the Emlenton area.