PA Bucket List

If you're looking for some of the best things to see and do in Pennsylvania in November, you're in the right place! With fall foliage season winding down and Halloween items on the clearance rack, Thanksgiving and Christmas and closing in fast! So here are my picks for some of the best festivals, parades, and holiday light-up events happening in PA...

Cook Forest State Park covers an 8,500-acre expanse across portions of Clarion, Jefferson, and Forest counties in northwestern PA. The park is named in honor of John Cook, the first permanent settler of European descent in the region. Once called the "Black Forest" (because light had difficulty penetrating the dense canopy of trees), this region of Pennsylvania was and is revered...

The Spider-Man mural in Johnstown is a tribute to Johnstown native, legendary comic-book artist, and Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko. A 1945 graduate of Greater Johnstown High School, Ditko studied under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonist and Illustrators School in New York City. In 1954, The Thing #12 was released, Steve Ditko's first published comic-book cover. In 1962, Ditko teamed up...

Lebo Vista is a fantastic roadside scenic overlook at the southern end of the PA Grand Canyon. Located in the Lycoming County portion of the Tiadaghton State Forest, the turn-off to reach this roadside vista is located along Route 44, AKA "The Highway to the Stars". Directions to Lebo Vista The intersection of Lebo Road and Route 44 is located at GPS...

The Cedar Creek Gorge Trail is a beautiful 1.5 mile loop hike featuring two suspension bridges over Cedar Creek in Westmoreland County. The trail is located in Cedar Creek Park, a 479 acre county park located on the banks of the Youghiogheny River. An easy hike through a picturesque wooded setting, the Cedar Creek Gorge Trail is a great destination any...

I spent most of the day on October 15,2022 looking for the best fall foliage views in Cambria County. My day started with an impromptu stop at the Reade Township war memorial along Route 865 - the fall foliage there was simply too vibrant to pass up. From there I made my way to Prince Gallitzin State Park, where the fall...

I spent most of the day on October 16, 2022 looking for the best fall foliage views in the PA Laurel Highlands (Somerset, Westmoreland, and Fayette counties). I started out with a sunrise hike to Beam Rocks Overlook in the Forbes State Forest. Once the sun broke through the considerable cloud deck, the vibrant foliage of the forest really came alive around the rocks. From...

If you're looking for directions to Ralph's Majestic Vista in Centre County, you're in the right place! Ralph's Majestic Vista in Centre County is one of the best scenic overlooks along the Allegheny Front Trail in the Moshannon State Forest! And while several guidebooks and trail apps offer advice on hiking the entire 41.8 mile loop trail, the focus here is...

I spent the better part of the day on October 12, 2022 looking for the best fall foliage views in Centre County. I started out with a 1.4 mile out-and-back hike to a pair of vistas along the Allegheny Front Trail. The fall foliage in the Moshannon State Forest was exceptional as I made my way through a rocky chasm en route to the...

I spent part of the day on October 10, 2022 looking for the best fall foliage views in Jefferson County, PA. I started my explorations at Beartown Rocks in the Clear Creek State Forest. Beartown Rocks features both a wonderful scenic overlook, as well as hiking trails that weave their way through a sea of enormous boulders and rock formations. The fall foliage views of...