No matter the season, there’s always a reason for groups to visit southwestern Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands.
About an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh, the region offers a compact collection of some of the country’s most important historical landmarks, along with lesser-known attractions groups are sure to equally enjoy. And it’s all set within the spectacular Appalachian Mountains, making the Laurel Highlands an ideal destination year-round.
“It’s kind of a running joke that my favorite season in the Laurel Highlands is the next one,” said Eric Knopsnyder, director of public relations and community outreach for Go Laurel Highlands. “But we really do have so many things of historical value to this country and the world. And the great thing is, groups can see them in a short amount of time.”
From iconic showstoppers to exquisite hidden gems, here are four historic sites travel planners will want to include in any Laurel Highlands itinerary.
Flight 93 National Memorial
Located on the site where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001, the Flight 93 National Memorial pays tribute to the 40 Americans who heroically thwarted the hijackers’ plan to crash into on the U.S. Capitol. Rather than allow the plane to be used in the attacks, the passengers and crew of Flight 93 attempted to take back control of the aircraft, leading the hijackers to crash it. The 2,200-acre memorial’s visitor center has an interactive exhibit that describes the events of 9/11; the Wall of Names, 40 polished white stones inscribed with the names of those lost; and the 93-foot-tall Tower of Voices, from which ring 40 wind chimes.
The memorial is free and takes about three hours to experience fully. The site is managed by the National Park Service, and it doesn’t offer group tours, but rangers can provide an orientation if time allows.
“It’s something that I think every American should visit at least once,” Knopsnyder said. “The different aspects can be haunting, but it’s also empowering. You hear that Tower of Voices, and you realize what people did there and the sacrifices they made and the courage it took. It can really be an uplifting experience.”
Fort Ligonier
Tucked away in the little town of Ligonier, so charming it would put any Hallmark movie location to shame, Fort Ligonier will delight anyone even slightly interested in America’s past.
“George Washington served there,” Knopsnyder said. “They have a great museum that has pistols he owned. The fort was the site of a battle on October 12, 1758, where the British were able to drive away a group of French and Native American forces. I’d set aside two hours to see the inside and tour the grounds. And then if you want to arrange for lunch in town and do some shopping, groups could easily spend half a day there.”
Fort Ligonier Days, a three-day festival held each October to commemorate the battle, is always fun and features reenactments, juried crafts, a parade and more. Or leaders can arrange a specialty tour of the fort. Options include a sunset outing with a wine reception and lantern-lit walk, and the popular “George Washington: Forts and Failures That Led to Success” tour. This experience is led by a reenactor who shares stories of the young Washington’s adventures and ends with visitors enjoying ice cream, Washington’s favorite treat.
Fallingwater
Visionary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterwork, Fallingwater was designed 90 years ago as a vacation home for the Kaufman family, owners of a Pittsburgh department store. The iconic structure, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019, perches so daintily over a sweeping waterfall it appears to float there, seamlessly blending art and nature.
Private tours are available of the terraced home and the grounds, surrounded by 5,100 serene acres of mountain forest. Preordered boxed lunches can be enjoyed on site.
Since it opened to the public in 1964, seven million
people have visited Fallingwater. The experience changes dramatically with the time of year, according to Knopsnyder.
“The beauty of the Laurel Highlands in the different seasons is really reflected in Fallingwater,” he said. “When you see it in the spring, or in the summer, it’s very different than when you see it in the fall with the foliage. There are limited hours in the winter, but if you get there on a December weekend and see it covered in snow that’s an incredible experience unto itself.”
Historic Hanna’s Town
Historic Hanna’s Town, an archaeological site and open-air museum, was once a vibrant Colonial settlement on the wild and woolly western fringes of the frontier. As revolutionary fervor swept through what would become the United States, residents passed the Hanna’s Town Resolves.
“They adopted it on May 16, 1775, and it protested the injustices of the British parliament,” Knopsnyder said. “They resolved to take up arms to resist tyrannical acts. So, it was an interesting place in an interesting time. Historic Hanna’s Town doesn’t necessarily get the recognition of some of the other attractions, but it’s still a fascinating place to go and find out about history in the area and how that impacted the nation as a whole.”
In 1782, in one of the last conflicts of the Revolutionary War, Hanna’s Town was attacked and burned by Native Americans and their British allies. Thanks to the Westmoreland Historical Society, the settlement has been recreated and today features a reconstructed tavern and Revolutionary War-era fort, three relocated log cabins and an authentic 18th-century Conestoga wagon. Guided tours are available to groups May through December. Group leaders may also arrange for demonstrations or hands-on activities around such topics as the court, the militia, historic clothing and textiles, tin punching, artifact analysis and the long rifle.
