Allegheny Highlands Trail: Garrett to Meyersdale

This is a GREAT location for beginning backpackers with minimal backpacking rules, short trails and cell service. Although all trails (with a few exceptions found in this brochure -labeled as "Areas Closed to Camping") in the Forbes State forest allow primitive backpack camping (primitive backpack campers are those who camp at undeveloped sites, according to the PA DCNR), I'll be specifically d...

Laurel Ridge Cross-Country Ski Center is a great place to try cross-country skiing! The ski center maintains and grooms 30 kilometers of cross-country ski trails through Laurel Ridge State Park.  You can rent skis from the rental center onsite. As of January 2021, they do not take reservations for rentals. The ski center is open Fridays-Mondays during the ski season. You can find up to date in...

You'll find the trailhead for Wolf Rocks at top of Linn Run Rd off Laurel Summit Rd. Off the left-hand side you will find what is referred to as parking lot D - the route to Wolf Rocks begins there.The hike is nothing to write home about, though with only a 5 mile total for the out-and-back it's a nice hike for kids, or a bonus loop if you hiked up from Linn Run trails.The real attraction to Wo...

Bear Run Nature Reserve features a number of trail loops that range from 1.7 miles in length to 11.9 miles.  By hiking overlapping trails, you can complete an 8 mile hike that passes by Paradise Overlook, which provides great views of the Youghiogheny River Gorge.  Start at the trailhead, which is located at the end of the Bear Run Nature Center parking lot.  Make sure you pick up a map at the ...

"Fallingwater is the name of a house built over a waterfall in southwest Pennsylvania. Frank Lloyd Wright, America’s most famous architect, designed the house for his clients, the Kaufmann family. Fallingwater was built between 1936 and 1939. It instantly became famous, and today it is a National Historic Landmark." www.fallingwater.orgThis house built over a waterfall is very unique and all...

Start at the Loop trail, directly across from the warming hut. This groomed trail rolls smoothly along through native rhododendron, hemlocks and large rocks. From there you can connect to a number of trails: try linking from Albert trail to Picnic trail, then continuing on to Wolf's Rocks, where there are great views of the valley and adjacent ridges. Enjoy exploring the area—there are enough t...