Pennsylvania - Laurel Highlands Attractions

Built in 1789 by Jacob Bowman, Nemacolin Castle is a brick home featuring 22 rooms that have furnishings spanning 200 years. Many original Bowman family furnishings are on display.

Kentuck Knob was built in 1953 by Frank Lloyd Wright and designed to blend in with the surrounding scenery: red cyprus and native fieldstone are the house's materials. A sculpture garden with 35 major works and a woodland trail are also on the grounds.

Linden Hall is a 35 room English Tudor home that was built in 1913 and located on this 785 acre estate. It features 27 fireplaces, and 13 baths with baroque woodcarving, marble, crystal and gold leaf found in many of the rooms.

Surrounded by the Laurel Mountains, Donegal is close to the Laurel Highlands Trail which provides opportunity for hiking.

Caddie Shak features 50 acres of attractions including go-karts, bumper boats, miniature golf, batting cages and paintball.

Living Treasures Animal Park houses more than 500 animals and birds. Other highlights include a petting zoo, pony and Clydesdale rides.

Located in the Blue Ridge mountains, Strawberry Hill Nature Center is a 592 acre preserve offering bird and animal watching, hiking trails, cross-country ski trails and natural history displays.

Located on Raystown Lake, Seven Points Cruises offers 90-minute sightseeing cruises with music and historical narration aboard the Raystown Belle and Raystown Queen.

Compass Inn Museum is an authentically restored stagecoach stop. Built in 1799, This lively Inn was primarily used by wagoners and drovers, young men who "drove" animals to market. Furnished with period pieces, visitors can tour various rooms including the bedrooms and serving kitchen.

The first Indian settlement was made in 1727 and the first settlers arrived in 1732. Ligonier Valley is the home of Fort Ligonier, Linn Run State Park, Story Book Forest, Idlewild Park, and Compass Inn.

Fort Ligonier is a reconstruction of the original fort constructed in 1758. Reenactments, battles, encampments, folkcrafts and archeological digs provide a glimpse of life during the French and Indian War.

Idlewild Park and Soak Zone offer amusement rides, waterslides, and live entertainment throughout seven theme areas.

Housed on the campus of St. Francis University, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art emphasizes 19th and 20th century paintings and graphics. Permanent and changing exhibits highlight regional and national artists.

In 1907, Lewis Smith made his own mustard and when confronted with the problem of what to put his mustard in, the first L. E. Smith glass tank was built. It is now one of only a handful of American hand-made glass factories remaining.

This State Park in south-west Pennsylvania is of interest to art lovers as well as nature lovers. The rapids on the Youghiogheny River attract white-water rafting. Fallingwater, a private house to the north of Ohiopyle, is an architectural masterpiece by Frank Lloyd Wright.

This was the country estate of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury during the Jefferson and Madison administrations in which he reduced the national debt, purchased the Louisiana Territory and funded the Lewis & Clark exploration. Diplomat, financier, historian, ethnologist, industrialist and farmer, Gallatin's life and career are examined with exhibits and programs presented at Friendship Hill National Historic Site, his restored frontier home. Ten miles of hiking and nature trails wind through the site.

Bare Memorial Fountain is in the basin of the spring for which the town was named and features multi colored sprays of water that rise to a height of 25 feet.

The East Broad Top Railroad and Coal Company, founded in 1856, was a narrow gauge railroad that hauled coal and other resources through south central Pennsylvania.

A vintage 1873 narrow-gauge steam train offers scenic round trips through the countryside.

The Rockhill Trolley Museum features restored trolleys, dating from the 1890s, providing scenic excursions. Photographs and other displays present the history of the trolley.

The West Overton Museums in Scottdale highlight life in a 19th century rural-industrial village. Visitors can glimpse the past in the 1859 Old Farm gristmill, the 1838 Abraham Overholt homestead and springhouse.

Farm equipment, pottery, exhibits about the coke and coal industry including a replica coke oven are on display.

Flight 93 National Memorial is a permanent memorial to the passengers and crew of Flight 93 that prevented an attack on the Nation's Capital on September 11, 2001.

Rural life from 1750 to 1950 is presented at Somerset Historical Center through two recreated farmsteads. Visitors will enjoy a visit to the covered bridge, view the cider press, as well as relics and machinery from western Pennsylvania.

Life of the early settlers to the Casselman Valley is depicted in two buildings filled with antique tools, household furnishings and other historical objects.

The Indian Caverns were thought to be quite small until Harold "Hubby" Wertz and his wife, Lenore visited in 1928. They unearthed what is now known as Giant's Hall as well as over 500 artifacts and some skeletal remains. Limestone formations and American Indian artifacts are displayed in the caverns.

Seldom Seen allows visitors to understand the entire process of mining and shipping coal. The mine opened in 1939 and closed in 1963. Electric train rides take passengers to the underground coal mine, with a walk through the museum included.

DelGrosso's Amusement Park provides 30 rides such as the Balloon Race, Carousel, Ferris Wheel, Wacky Worm and Space Odyssey. A water park, miniature golf, and go-karts are also available at DelGrosso's.

The Gardners Candy Museum is an 1890s candy store complete with a recreated candy kitchen, candy-making utensils, candy boxes and other memorabilia. Gardners began making and selling candy in 1897.

Waynesburg was named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, a Revolutionary War hero. Waynesburg College is located in town; it was one of the first colleges to grant degrees to women.

The Greene County Historical Museum is housed in a 52-room home that was built in the 1850's. It was a typical Greene County farmhouse made of locally fired brick. Exhibits and displays of local artifacts date from the early native Monongahela culture to the early 20th Century.

Windber was a town created overnight by the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. Coal companies like Berwind-White would create large-scale housing developments with houses, stores, churches, and recreational parks. Then immigrants would be invited to live there and to work for the coalmines.

Windber Coal Heritage Center has mining tools, clothing, a replica Wash House, and map of the mines.

The Youngwood Depot serves as a keeper of historic railroad records. Thousands of photographs, dating back to the 19th century, are displayed in the original passenger and freight station. Artifacts are also on display to allow visitors to experience what railroad family life was like during the 20th century's era of rapid development.