Pennsylvania's Most Scenic Byway Passes Tree-Lined Mountains And Some Of America's Favorite Small Towns

Pennsylvania hosts some of America's most scenic road trips. The Longhouse National Scenic Byway, traversing the Allegheny Plateau, is known as the "Road to the Authentic America," where resplendent northern hardwoods, like oak and black cherry, grow in abundance. At Pine Creek Gorge, you'll find Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon, a wonderful destination for lazy autumnal drives. But to find the most prepossessing of them all, head to the southwest of the Keystone State and cruise along the 68-mile Laurel Highlands Scenic Byway.

Starting on the border with West Virginia and finishing in the small borough of Seward, the byway traverses rolling countryside and tumbling waterfalls, and is at its prettiest when the foliage begins to turn in autumn. In fact, according to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania has one of the longest, most varied fall foliage seasons of any region in the world, thanks to its long, cool nights and changing atmospheric conditions in September and October. When the trees are at their most autumnal depends on the season, but in southern Pennsylvania, mid to late October is usually the optimal window for fall leaf viewing. Naturally, this provides a beautiful backdrop to your drive. 

But you can also ditch your car, and explore the area's trails on foot or bike, or take to the waterways on an inflatable raft or kayak. One of the best places to explore is Ohiopyle State Park. Here you'll find the eponymous Ohiopyle Falls, a riverwide waterfall with a 20-foot drop that's sometimes referred to as Pennsylvania's Niagara, as well as Upper and Lower Jonathan Run Falls, Cucumber Falls, and the Upper Cascades on Meadow Run. There are great hiking options in the park, too, from breezy forest walks to challenging 10-plus-mile treks with hundreds of feet of elevation.

The Laurel Highlands is full of scenic small towns, like Mount Pleasant, known for its namesake Glass & Ethnic Festival each fall, and the borough of Ohiopyle, enclosed by the forests of the state park. Latrobe, a borough of historic Parklands near Pittsburgh, also merits a visit. Latrobe has a wonderfully parochial landscape, all rolling hills and jutting church spires. It looks like the kind of place you'd want to unleash your golf clubs and play 18 holes, which is appropriate, given one of golf's great luminaries, Arnold "the King" Palmer, was born and raised here. The King himself had a hand in designing the woodland course at Latrobe Country Club. The club offers stay-and-play programs, with accommodation in one of its handsome clapboard homes.

One of the most impressive sights along the byway is Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the community of Mill Run, constructed by one of America's greatest architects in the 1930s. Wright believed nature was "the only body of God that we shall ever see," and developed his design philosophy, known as organic architecture, around this principle. Inspired by the underlying tenets of Japanese design, Wright built homes that weren't so much on top of their environment as appearing to rise from it, inexorably intertwined with it. 

Fallingwater was originally built for Edgar J. Kauffman, the owner of a department store in Pittsburgh, who later entrusted it to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. It's a remarkable sight, straddling a waterfall, with light ochre concrete, Cherokee red steel, ribboned windows, and cantilever terraces, all working in sync with the house's rocky foundations. It's one of the only Wright-designed houses that's open to the public and offering tours to guests throughout the year.

Road trips are not about rushing from point to point, so your best plan of action is to stay in one of the towns or boroughs along the byway and break the trip into two or three days. For something cozy and rustic, consider a log cabin in Donegal, right in the heart of the Laurel Mountains, or in Cairnbrook on the Allegheny Front, with sprawling views of the plateau. The charming Starlight Hill Bed and Breakfast, sitting on the edge of a bluff, is half a mile from Fallingwater and a short drive from Ohiopyle State Park.

If visiting Fallingwater is atop your Laurel Highlands to-do list, there are also lots of accommodation options in Uniontown, a historic town 20 miles away. Established around the same time America's founders were signing the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, its red-brick architecture and palatial buildings harken to this bygone age. If you opt for Uniontown's Hilton Garden Inn, note the columns in the light-drenched lobby, inspired by the architectural style of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Nemacolin in Farmington, with three luxurious hotels in the 2,200-acre estate, is one of the most boutique accommodations in the Laurel Highlands. Whether you stay in Falling Rock, echoing Wright's Mesoamerican influences, the Parisian-style Chateau, or the Tudor-esque Grand Lodge, you're guaranteed a pretty special experience.