Public Parks in Laurel Highlands 12
State parks and forests, national recreation areas, wildlife refuges and city parks.
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Laurel Hill State Park
A swimming lake in the mountain forest of the Laurel Highlands, with a grove of old-growth hemlocks, stone and timber buildings left by the Civilian Conservation Corps and miles of trout water.
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Ohiopyle State Park
The Youghiogheny roars through a deep gorge here, with Ohiopyle Falls at the edge of the village, whitewater rafting, natural rock waterslides on Meadow Run, Cucumber Falls and the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail.
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Keystone State Park
Day-trippers from the Pittsburgh area come for the sandy swimming beach on this wooded lake, with boating, fishing and trails close by and cabins and a campground just up from the shore.
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Kooser State Park
High in the Laurel Highlands, rustic cabins built by the Civilian Conservation Corps sit beside a trout stream in cool forest, a short hop from the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail.
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Laurel Ridge State Park
A long, slender park that exists mainly to carry the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, 70 miles along the ridge from the Youghiogheny River to the Conemaugh Gorge, with shelters for backpackers.
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Linn Run State Park
A mountain stream tumbles over Adams Falls in this wooded hollow, with rustic rental cabins, trout fishing and trails climbing into the surrounding state forest.
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Laurel Summit State Park
A cool, breezy picnic ground near the top of Laurel Ridge that doubles as the starting point for walks to the rocky Wolf Rocks overlook and the Spruce Flats bog.
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Forbes State Forest
Scattered high-country tracts of the Laurel Highlands, from Pennsylvania's highest point on Mount Davis to the Spruce Flats bog, with ridgetop trails, trout streams and room for backcountry rambles.
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Gallitzin State Forest
Mountain woodland named for Demetrius Gallitzin, the frontier priest of the Alleghenies, where the John P. Saylor Trail loops through the rugged backcountry of the Clear Shade Wild Area.
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Mount Davis
Pennsylvania's highest point, at 3,213 feet, is a gentle rise on a broad plateau, with an observation tower looking over the Laurel Highlands and trails through stunted, windswept woods.
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Laurel Caverns
Pennsylvania's largest cave, deep inside Chestnut Ridge, offers guided walking tours, rugged crawling-and-climbing caving trips and a mountaintop view across the Laurel Highlands.
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Laurel Mountain State Park
A ski area on the crest of Laurel Ridge, nearly 3,000 feet up, known for its steep runs and for the long views across the valley below from its slopes and lodge.
