Centre: Forests, Water and History

Centre offers a wide range of ways to explore its landscapes and history: themed gardens, tea-coloured wetland waters, mountain valleys and museums each provide a different focus. When planning your trip, you can start by considering whether you’d rather spend most of your time outdoors or explore historic places and collections. These priorities can also help you choose a holiday rental that suits the experiences that matter to you.

Gardens, Forests and Lakes

The H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens at the Arboretum at Penn State cover 10 acres of themed garden areas. Another 14 acres comprise rolling meadows and walking paths. The arboretum also preserves a rare remnant of an old oak-pine forest. The gardens, open meadows and forest remnant reveal different sides of the same landscape, so a visit need not be limited to just one kind of nature experience.

The State Parks also differ markedly in their settings. Bald Eagle State Park encompasses a 1,730-acre lake at the foot of Bald Eagle Mountain, surrounded by forests, fields and wetlands. Its diverse habitats offer good opportunities for wildlife viewing, and boating is one of the activities available. Poe Valley State Park, by contrast, lies in a rugged mountain valley. Forests surround the 25-acre Poe Lake, giving the park its enclosed valley character.

Black Moshannon State Park has a character all its own: its 3,394 acres of forest and wetlands preserve distinctive natural habitats. Black Moshannon Lake has tea-coloured water, fed by clear springs and small streams that flow through wetlands. Wetland hikes and water studies engage directly with this landscape. If you want to compare lakes and waterscapes, you’ll find a different nature experience here than at the large Bald Eagle Lake or in the forested Poe Valley.

Hiking and Outdoor Activities

At Penn-Roosevelt State Park, you can hike the Mid-State Trail. Gravel biking is also possible on more than 100 miles of forest roads. This combination offers two distinct ways to spend time outdoors: on foot along a named trail or on a gravel bike across an extensive network of forest roads.

Penn’s Cave adds an unusual cave experience to the mix: the tour of the water-filled limestone cavern takes place entirely by boat. For a guided trip on land, there’s also a 1.5-hour Jeep off-road adventure across 1,400 acres of rugged terrain, from the cave’s rocks to the mountaintop. As this tour operates seasonally, it’s a good idea to check the latest visitor information before travelling.

Poe Valley State Park offers a variety of public programmes from May to September. Along with hiking, gravel biking, boating, and activities related to the wetlands and waterways, there are several ways to enjoy active days. When choosing your accommodation, you can consider which of these activities you want to shape your trip, without trying to fit every experience into a single day’s itinerary.

Local History and Culture

Centre Furnace Mansion is the restored and furnished residence of the Centre Furnace ironmaster. It reflects the period when Moses Thompson and his family lived there from 1842 to 1891. The history of Centre Furnace also includes a publicly accessible remnant of a blast furnace at the intersection of E. College Ave. and Porter Rd. The Centre Furnace grounds and gardens are open to the public from sunrise to sunset.

In downtown Bellefonte, the Historical Museum is located in the Miles-Potter-Humes House, an early 19th-century Georgian house. Its collections cover Centre County’s industrial heritage, influential county residents, textile history, and everyday life in Bellefonte and the surrounding area. The Pennsylvania Military Museum includes a gallery, grounds with a pavilion and a paved path about 800 metres long, outdoor exhibits, and the shrine and memorials of the 28th Division. As a construction project is affecting museum operations, check the latest visitor information before your visit.

The Centre County Grange Fair also brings together local history and living tradition: it has a 152-year history and is the only remaining tent fair in the United States. Whether you’re planning your trip around museums, historic places, waterscapes or trails, the differences between these attractions give you concrete ways to choose your destination and holiday rental.

Discover more destinations: State College, Port Matilda, Pine Grove Mills, Bellefonte, Centre Hall, Spring Mills, Pine Glen.

Back to the main travel overview: Pennsylvania.