Somerset County: Nature, History, and Maple Tradition
Accommodation in Somerset County
Somerset County combines impressive landscapes with places where history can be experienced firsthand. Between mountainous terrain, lakes, extensive forest trails, and museums, the range extends from peaceful days in nature to intense historical impressions. When choosing a vacation rental or holiday home, it is therefore worthwhile to first determine your preferred travel rhythm: Would you like to hike, learn about regional history, visit special memorial sites, or combine nature and culture?
Memorial Sites of Special Significance
A central point of interest is the Flight 93 National Memorial. In Somerset County, it commemorates the 40 people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. The Flight 93 Visitor Center Complex includes exhibitions, a viewing window, a bookstore, the Flight Path Walkway, and an observation point. The Flight 93 Site Tour offers seven stops. You can experience the route as an approximately 2.2-mile hike lasting about one hour or drive between the stops.
Memorial Plaza includes a quarter-mile walkway extending along the landscape at the Flight 93 crash site. The Wall of Names consists of 40 individually selected and polished white marble stones, into which the names of the passengers and crew members are engraved. At the entrance, there is also a 93-foot-high tower with 40 wind chimes. Those interested in the connection between architecture, landscape, and remembrance will find several different ways to engage with this place.
Lakes, Forests, and Trails for Active Days
Laurel Hill State Park encompasses 4,062 acres of mountainous terrain in Somerset County. The 63-acre Laurel Hill Lake is a focal point of the park. A 1.25-mile compacted gravel path runs along the lake and is suitable for walking and cycling. In addition, a six-mile canoe and kayak water trail ends at the historic Kings Covered Bridge.
Kooser State Park encompasses 250 acres of forest and is traversed along its entire length by a trout stream. The Forbes State Forest contains more than 250 miles of trails and roads suitable for hiking. The 70-mile Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail runs between Ohiopyle and Johnstown through Forbes State Forest. Spruce Flats Bog is located in its Laurel Mountain Division.
For a different landscape experience, consider the Mt. Davis Natural Area. It encompasses 581 acres around the summit of Mt. Davis, which, at 3,213 feet above sea level, is the highest point in Pennsylvania. An observation tower offers a 360-degree view, and the highest point is accessible by vehicle. These different options help you choose accommodation suited to shorter excursions, longer days of hiking, or a combination of both, without assuming a specific accommodation location.
Regional History, Mining, and Maple Tradition
The Somerset Historical Center is a 150-acre museum of rural history. It is dedicated to life in southwestern Pennsylvania from the first farmers to the present day. The grounds are also home to Walter's Mill Covered Bridge, built in 1859 and relocated to the Somerset Historical Center in the early 1960s. The Visitors Center presents the exhibition Patterns on the Land; it is preceded by an audiovisual program, and the grounds can be visited as part of guided tours.
The Pennsylvania Maple Museum is open for tours Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is included in general admission to the Somerset Historical Center and is part of the guided tour. The Pennsylvania Maple Festival also tells the story of a regional tradition: It was founded in 1948 by citizens of Meyersdale to promote the region's maple industry. Guests can experience every step of maple syrup production there, from tapping the trees to a pancake and sausage meal with pure maple syrup from Somerset County. Maple Weekend Taste & Tour offers free tours and tastings of maple products in and around Somerset County.
At the Quecreek Mine Rescue Site, you can walk to the rescue shaft from which the miners were brought to safety after 77 hours of icy darkness, 240 feet underground. The site includes the original rescue capsule and the drills used during the rescue operation. In an auditorium, visitors can also watch a live presentation about the mine accident and the rescue of the nine trapped miners. Wharton Iron Furnace is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Right Starting Point for Planning Your Trip
The county's 9/11 Memorial Trail offers a special perspective: Cyclists can travel north from the Great Allegheny Passage at Garrett to the Flight 93 National Memorial outside Shanksville. Seven Springs Mountain Resort complements the offerings with downhill skiing and snowboarding slopes, summer and winter tubing, and various activities throughout the year.
If you are traveling with children of different ages, alternating short visits, longer trails, and museum experiences can add variety to your plans. When searching for a vacation rental or holiday home, therefore focus primarily on which of these travel ideas are most important to you. For further orientation within the area, you can also visit the pages for Somerset and Windber.
For the higher-level travel overview: Pennsylvania.
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