Interesting Pennsylvania and Beyond
Travel, exploration, nature, history, and more
Purchases of Our Book "Great Pennsylvania Amusement Parks Road Trip"
6.05.2022
Shikellamy State Park: Scenic Overlook Above Susquehanna River, Boating, & Hiking
5.15.2022
Pikes Peak Scenic Overlook Above The Susquehanna River, Liverpool, PA
Pikes Peak Overlook is located halfway between Harrisburg and Sunbury, just off of Route 15. It gives a great view of the Susquehanna River from State Game Lands. The ride between Harrisburg and Sunbury is very pretty and underrated in regards to its scenic aspects. Be sure to check it out. It is located just off of Overlook Road, with a 50 foot hike over. Be careful driving up Overlook Road because it is a state forest road and steep. The wide views over this scenic stretch of river and highway are really worth checking out. I was thoroughly impressed by this overlook because of the wide expanses of views that you get.
GPS coordinates are 40.609803, -76.954436
5.08.2022
Exploring Beautiful Black Moshannon State Park Bog & More, Centre County
Black Moshannon State Park is a nice and little outdoor recreation gem for Central PA. It has a lot to offer for the region, with the central focus being a nice mountain lake, with lots of opportunities for boating with small boats, kayaking, canoeing, fishing, swimming at a beach, picnicking, sightseeing, hiking, and more. CCC era cabins can be rented out, complete with fireplaces. There is even a one room schoolhouse that is preserved at the park. It is a lovely little state park near Philipsburg, Centre County. The highlight that brought us though is the unique bog habitat.
5.01.2022
6+ Raystown Lake Scenic Overlooks and Vistas
There are lots of great places to take in scenic views at Raystown Lake. Specifically at Raystown Dam you get views of the Juniata River valley to get a sense of what the valley looked like before it was filled in with the lake, and in the other direction towards the lake you get a view of the giant lake itself. On the river side, you can even get views of eagles and an eagles nest.
Coordinates to Recreation Area at Dam:
40.431419, -78.006977
4.24.2022
Roaring Run Natural Area Hiking Trails: Laurel Highlands, Forbes State Forest: Creek Crossings, Wildflowers, Woods & Great Elevation Changes
You also get a glimpse at this site of what the landscapes of Hidden Valley and Seven Springs Ski Resorts would look like without the development. In the spring, the hollows and hillsides in many areas are covered in spring wildflowers, especially trillium. We hiked about 15 miles and it was a challenging, varied, fun, and sometimes treacherous hike, especially at the dozens of creek crossings.
4.10.2022
A Relaxing Early Spring Day on the Beach at Presque Isle in Erie
I usually go for more structure in an article, but today I decided to loosen up a little bit and do something different. It was an April day that was unseasonably warm, with temps up in the 80s, which ended up being just shy of the overall record for the day in Pittsburgh and western PA. Morning came along and we wanted to do something. We headed up to Erie to do one of our favorite things on a warm day, spend a day on the beaches at Presque Isle State Park.
We sat out on the beach, played, CeCe explored, and Brit flew a kite. Sara's Drive in had just opened back up for the year. It had been a long pandemic winter and getting out on a weekend like this was just perfect.