Tissue Farm, located in beautiful and historic Confluence Pennsylvania, is centrally located and right next to so many attractions that you could spend a couple weeks here and see something everyday. From Falling Water to white-water rafting in Ohiopyle state park, and The Great Allagheny Passage and Kentuck knob, just to name a few things. We love the Laurel Highlands of Appalachia, we think you will too.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water (A World Heritage Site)
Perched above a mountain cataract on a rocky hillside deep in the rugged forest of Southwestern Pennsylvania, some 25 minutes from Tissue Farm, is America’s most famous house. The commission for Fallingwater was a personal milestone for the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright, since it clearly marked a turning point in his career. After this late-career triumph, the sixty-seven year old would go on to create a series of highly original designs that would validate his claim as “The world’s greatest architect.”
Great Allegheny Passage (GAP)
The 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage soars over valleys, snakes around mountains, and skirts alongside three rivers (the Casselman, Youghiogheny, and Monongaleha) on its nearly level path. Cyclists pass through the Cumberland Narrows, cross the Mason-Dixon Line, top the Eastern Continental Divide at 2,392’, weave through the breathtaking Laurel Highlands to Confluence and then wind their way through 19,052-acre Ohiopyle State Park, journey through the region’s coke, coal, mining, and steel-making corridor, and end at Pittsburgh’s majestic Point State Park. The Tissue Farm is a 3 minute detour from the trail. A great place to stay for the night.
7 Springs Mountain Resort
Seven Springs Mountain Resort is the perfect place for family vacations that create lifelong memories. So much more than exceptional snowsports, Seven Springs’ legendary experiences provide guests with relaxing escapes. Take the entire family skiing in the morning, take a shot at sporting clays or enjoy the thrills of snowtubing in the afternoon, enjoy a luxurious spa treatment in the evening before a great dinner and then do it all again the next day after a relaxing overnight stay.
Since 2004, Seven Springs has been committed to developing and growing its terrain parks, halfpipes and superpipe. Now, Seven Springs has five terrain parks of varying difficulty and progression and more than 50 features in all. The resort’s hard work and dedication towards these efforts have been nationally recognized for two consecutive years including the 2010-2011 selection as the #1 parks and #1 pipe on the East Coast.
Ohiopyle State Park
Located on the southern reaches of the Laurel Ridge, Ohiopyle State Park encompasses approximately 20,500 acres of rugged natural beauty and serves as the gateway to the Laurel Highlands. Close to major metropolitan areas and offering vast choices of activities, Ohiopyle State Park attracts millions of visitors annually.
Passing through the heart of the park, the rushing waters of the Youghiogheny [yawki-gay-nee] River Gorge are the centerpiece for Ohiopyle. The “Yough” [yawk] provides some of the best whitewater boating in the eastern United States, as well as spectacular scenery.
Ohiopyle is the southern gateway into the Laurel Highlands and represents the beautiful natural resources and unique sense of community that visitors can find throughout the region.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Kentuck Knob
In 1953, Bernardine and I.N. Hagan purchased eighty acres in the mountains above Uniontown in Western Pennsylvania where their families had lived for generations. After falling in love with the home of their friends the Kaufmanns, Fallingwater, they telephoned Frank Lloyd Wright and asked if he would design a house for them. His answer was: “Of course. Come on out.”
At eighty-six, and hard at work on the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Beth Shalom Synagogue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, and about twelve residential homes, Wright said he could “shake it (Kentuck Knob) out of his sleeve at will” never even setting foot on the site, except for a short visit during the construction phase. This would be one of the last homes completed by Wright.
Laurel Caverns
Laurel Caverns is 26 miles from Confluence and 11 miles from Farmington, PA, surrounded by the Forbes State Forest. For purposes of GPS, put in 1065 Skyline Drive, Farmington, Pennsylvania.
Laurel Caverns is a large natural calcareous sandstone cave located 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. Most of the passage ceilings in its three mile labyrinth are between ten and twenty feet high (many as high as 50 feet) with an average width of over twelve feet. This makes it the largest cave in Pennsylvania. If classified as a sandstone cave, it is the largest sandstone cave in the world. The cave itself is situated beneath a 435 acre privately owned geological preserve. Because this property is at the top of Chestnut Ridge, all of the water that enters the cave is pristine.
Mount Davis Natural Area
Located in southern Somerset County, the Mt. Davis Natural Area is composed of 581 acres and surrounds the rock known as Mt. Davis on the summit of Negro Mountain. The top of this rock is 3,213 feet above sea level and is the highest point in Pennsylvania. An observation tower is located at the high point, offering a 360-degree view of the highest point in the state. Interpretive and informative signs are also located at the high point, which is accessible by vehicle. The area offers many unique sites, such as trees deformed by strong winds and winter ice storms and small concentric stone rings caused by localized frost heaving. Drainage is to the southeast into Tub Mill Run, a tributary of the Casselman River, a part of the Mississippi River watershed.
Hiking trails connect the Mt. Davis State Forest Picnic Area with the high point as well as to the lower elevations of the natural area. A picnic area is located about 1 mile from Mt. Davis along Mt. Davis Road. Hiking trails connect the picnic area with the high point, and from Mt. Davis lead into the lower elevations of the natural area. Motorized vehicles are not permitted in the area except on the road to the High Point.
Youghiogheny River Lake
In the heart of the Laurel Highlands and spanning the Mason-Dixon line between Pennsylvania and Maryland lays Youghiogheny River Lake. Boaters consider Youghiogheny River Lake, with its 16-mile length and channels up to one-half mile wide, the best powerboat and water-skiing lake in southwestern Pennsylvania. The tail waters of the dam are one of the few in Pennsylvania open for trout fishing year round and are stocked by the Fish and Boat Commission on a regular basis throughout the spring and summer.
