The Laurel Highlands is a region in southwestern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

made up of Fayette County, Somerset County and Westmoreland County. It has a population of about 600,000 people. The region is approximately fifty-five miles southeast of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

; the Laurel Highlands center on Laurel Hill and Chestnut Ridge of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

. The mountains making up the Laurel Highlands are the highest in

, with Mount Davis in Somerset County the highest point in the state at . Because of the elevation, weather in the Laurel Highlands is generally cooler and wetter than in most other parts of the state. The Laurel Highlands are a popular area for camping, hiking, mountain biking, hunting, whitewater kayaking, trout fishing, wildlife viewing, and downhill (and cross-country) skiing, and golf.

Amusement parks and resorts

Seven Springs Resort on 4th of July at dusk viewed from the summit pre fireworks

Hidden Valley Resort Hidden Valley Resort (also known as HV) is a holiday resort in Huntsville, Ontario, Canada, about 225 kilometers (140 mi) north of Toronto. It is situated on one shore of Peninsula Lake, which is also home to the nearby Deerhurst Resort. Hidd ...

* Idlewild Park and Soak Zone * Nemacolin Woodlands * Polymath Park *

Seven Springs Mountain Resort Seven Springs Mountain Resort is an all-season resort located in the borough of Seven Springs, Pennsylvania. It has a relatively high elevation for a Pennsylvania ski area, at above sea level. Activities include biking, canopy touring, ziplining, ...

* Laurel Mountain * Summit Inn Resort

Architecture

* Fallingwater * Kentuck Knob * Polymath Park

National Parks & Historic sites

National Parks * Allegheny Portage Railroad *

Flight 93 National Memorial The Flight 93 National Memorial is a memorial built to commemorate the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was one of four aircraft hijacked during the September 11 attacks in 2001. The memorial is located in Stonycreek Township in Somer ...

* Fort Necessity *

Friendship Hill Friendship Hill was the home of early American politician and statesman Albert Gallatin (1761–1849). Gallatin was a U.S. Congressman, the longest-serving Secretary of the Treasury under two presidents, and ambassador to France and Great Britain ...

* Johnstown Flood National Memorial Fallingwater, Pennsylvania

UNESCO World Heritage Site * Fallingwater Historic Sites *

Bowman%27s Castle Bowman's Castle, also known as Nemacolin Castle, was built in present-day Brownsville, Pennsylvania, at the western terminus of the Nemacolin's Trail on the east bank of the Monongahela river. It was built around the original trading post, wh ...

* Bushy Run Battlefield * Compass Inn * Fort Ligonier * Hannastown, Pennsylvania * Heritage Discovery Center * Johnstown Flood Museum * Johnstown Inclined Plane *

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

* Quecreek Mine Rescue Fort Ligonier1

* Route of the Lincoln Highway *

Somerset County Courthouse Somerset County Courthouse can refer to: * Somerset County Courthouse (Maine) * Somerset County Courthouse (New Jersey) The Somerset County Courthouse is located in Somerville, the county seat Somerset County, in New Jersey, United States. Co ...

Somerset Historical Center The Somerset Historical Center is a rural history museum for the southwestern part of the U.S. State of Pennsylvania and is 4 miles (6 km) north of Somerset. The museum is part of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Th ...

* Staple Bend Tunnel *

Uptown Somerset Historic District Uptown Somerset Historic District is a national historic district located at Somerset in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 190 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, and 1 contributing object. It encompasses an area cent ...

* Wagner–Ritter House & Garden * West Overton, Pennsylvania

Parks and outdoor recreation

State Parks and Forests * Forbes State Forest *

Gallitzin State Forest Gallitzin State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #6. The main offices are located in Ebensburg in Cambria County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The forest is located on in two tracts. The ...

* Keystone State Park * Kooser State Park * Laurel Hill State Park * Laurel Mountain State Park * Laurel Ridge State Park * Laurel Summit State Park * Linn Run State Park * Mount Davis (part of Forbes State Forest) * Ohiopyle State Park *

Prince Gallitzin State Park Prince Gallitzin State Park is a Pennsylvania state park with acreage in both Chest and White Townships in Cambria County of West Central Pennsylvania in the United States, near both Gallitzin Borough, & Gallitzin Township in the greater Alt ...

* Youghiogheny River Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail - panoramio

Trails *

Coal and Coke Trail Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed whe ...

Ghost Town Trail The Ghost Town Trail is a rail trail in Western Pennsylvania that runs between Black Lick, Indiana County, and Ebensburg, Cambria County. Established in 1991 on the right-of-way of the former Ebensburg and Black Lick Railroad, the trail foll ...

* Great Allegheny Passage *

Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail is a hiking trail in southwestern Pennsylvania, which largely follows the Laurel Hill geologic formation. It begins at Ohiopyle State Park and travels generally to the northeast, and ends at Conemaugh Gorge ne ...

(part of Laurel Ridge State Park) * Jim Mayer Riverwalk * Westmoreland Heritage Trail * Five Star Trail

Downhill ski areas

* Laurel Mountain Ski Resort *

References

External links

* {{Coord, 40.241, -79.239, type:adm2nd_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Allegheny Mountains Pittsburgh metropolitan area Regions of Pennsylvania Highlands