Looking for beautiful Western Pennsylvania road trip stops? There is no need to look beyond our National Parks! In this Western Pennsylvania road trip itinerary, we will introduce you to five of Pennsylvania’s National Parks (four that we never even heard of!). Together, these parks connect to make a great weekend road trip.
The most noteworthy stop on this road trip route is the Flight 93 National Memorial. This site attracts visitors from all corners of the country that wish to pay homage to the heroes that gave their lives on a Western Pennsylvania field on 9/11. If you recall, American Airlines, Flight 93 was one of the four planes that were hijacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001. This was the plane that was halted as the passengers and crew overtook the terrorists that had turned the plane in hopes of heading to Washington D.C.
Our Western Pennsylvania Road Trip Route
Getting a chance to visit Flight 93 National Memorial is a moving experience that one should take during their lifetime. When you visit, you will have the chance to also visit four other neighboring parks that are managed by the National Park Service.
Here’s the point-to-point route that we took on our two day, one night excursion:
Jason and I enjoyed a quick road trip, just a few hours drive from our Central Ohio home. We packed our bags for 1 night, and hit the road. We headed east to western PA, and in so doing got to spend time in five (yes, 5!) National Park Units!
Day 1 of 2: Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS, Johnstown Flood NM
We woke up early on a Friday, dropped our dogs at the boarders. After we said farewell to our fur friends, we started the ~3.5 hour drive to our first stop – Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. We reached the site around noon which left plenty of time to take a hike and explore the park.
The Johnstown Flood National Memorial is located about 30 minutes drive from the Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS. You can easily spend a couple of hours exploring Allegheny Portage Railroad, and still leave in time to explore the displays at the Johnstown Flood NM Visitor Center.
We stayed the night in Johnstown at the Hampton Inn, ate dinner at a restaurant called Hoss’s Family Restaurant (which was reminiscent of a Ponderosa if you remember those old steakhouses), and turned in for the night after checking out downtown Johnstown (a short drive from our more remote hotel). We visited during a popular festival in the downtown, so it was neat to see people out and about!
Day 2 of 2: Flight 93 NM, Fort Necessity NB, Friendship Hill NHS
The next day, we finished our loop and headed back home – returning around 8pm.
Day 2 consisted of a visit to the emotionally powerful Flight 93 National Memorial where we were able to pay tribute to the events of 9/11. After this, we visited the site of President Washington’s first battle at Fort Necessity. Finally, we wrapped up our trip with a visit to Friendship Hill where we learned about the Nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin.
Our Trip Overall
More details on each site follows, but at a high level, western PA is beautiful! We experienced some significant rainfall – eerily there was a downpour when we went to the Johnstown Flood NM site. After that bout of bad weather, everything cleared up for the rest of our time there.
When you are driving in the area, note that you are in the Allegheny mountains. This means that there are some beautiful and lush landscapes to see as well as some hills to drive. Luckily, we didn’t find huge drop offs along our route, so our drive was pretty stress-free!
I particularly enjoyed the drives on day 2. We visited toward the end of summer, so the trees between Fort Necessity and Friendship Hill made for some gorgeous visuals and cooling shade.
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site was the first stop on our trip. This site told the story of the Allegheny Portage Railroad in terms of its history and impact on travel westward.
Why this is a National Historic Site
In essence, before the invention of automobiles, Pennsylvania was impossible to traverse. The Allegheny Mountains made much of Western Pennsylvania out of reach of travelers and economic development. If you wanted to head west, visitors would travel to the north or to the south by water / canal. This route took them past the better part of Western Pennsylvania.
The Allegheny Portage Railroad addressed the geographical barrier imposed by the mountains, and made it possible to make a multi-day trip through the center of Pennsylvania.
An Engineering Landmark
The construction of the railroad was an engineering feat! The park video (one of my favorites actually) is a ~20 minute film told from the perspective of a man that grew up in the area and worked on constructing the railroad. One image that sticks in my mind is the description of how thick hemp ropes (~3.5 inches thick) were used to pull engines containing canal boats up the mountain side in order to connect. The occasional break of the high-tension line which was over a mile long could result in catastrophe!
Famous visitors to the area included Charles Dickens who traveled the route.
Things to Do At Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS
When you visit, you can take a stroll along the nicely finished boardwalk that takes you downhill to the engine house. In the engine house, you can see some of the historical engineering infrastructure, railway and gears that were used.
The Lemon House was a tavern along the way for travelers. You can approach this site just a short walk near the engine house.
Additionally, you have the option to do a short hike back to the Skew Arch, one of the railroad’s original arches. This hike is downhill on the way out and requires just a bit of effort uphill on the way back. It’s nice to walk under the shade trees on a warm day like ours was. We did feel a bit of pressure to get back up the hill quickly as we started to hear rumbles of thunder and didn’t want to get caught in a downpour.
Overall, this site was a nice way to start our Western Pennsylvania road trip!
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
The Johnstown Flood National Memorial was established to remember the historic flood event that resulted in the failure of the South Fork Dam and led to a path of destruction as water rushed furiously toward the city of Johnstown, PA, destroying everything in its path.
This 1889 flood resulted in the loss of over 2,200 lives and brought a collective consciousness together as Americans spread word and support for the victims and survivors, even at such an early time in our Nation’s history.
One Reason that I Love Visiting Our National Parks
I hadn’t heard about the Johnstown flood before my visit, and can now say that I appreciate the events that unfolded here over a century ago. This is one of the things that I love so much about making visits to the National Parks! That historical events and significant places are preserved and shared so that we can remember the past and integrate it in our lives as we move forward!
The Johnstown Flood Video
As per normal, we were happy to be able to check out the Johnstown Flood video shown in the Visitor Center. The theater was one of the nicer ones that we’ve seen in the parks that we’ve visited, but I was left confused by the park video.
This was a first for me as I typically get a lot out of the park videos and encourage folks to view them when they visit. The Johnstown Flood video was a dramatization that was reminiscent of an old Alfred Hitchcock film. It seemed to emphasize the horror of the flood and less so on the significance of the event in historical terms.
In the course of one day, I went from seeing one of the best done park videos at the Allegheny Portage Railroad park to one of the (in my opinion) worst – the Johnstown Flood video! What I remember the most from the film were the horrified shrieks of a child that was overtaken by the flood, and the impersonal descriptions of the remains of those lost in the flood and ensuing fires.
On the way out of the theater, thoroughly confused, I saw a sign that read “parental guidance recommended”. I highly suggest that parents take heed of this warning before subjecting their kids to the eerie film. For the first time ever, I would say that this is a park film that visitors can feel fine with skipping.
Flight 93 National Memorial
Many may remember the horrible events of 9/11 that changed the course of U.S. History with rippling impacts felt across the entire world. The Flight 93 National Memorial pays homage to the heroes that gave their lives to stop the brutal acts of terrorism from claiming so many more as planes were turned into weapons of destruction.
Visit the Visitor Center Complex
The artifacts and interpretation at this National Memorial are powerful! The park’s Visitor Center is nicely laid out to provide both historical facts and news footage from September 11th.
As you move deeper into the displays, you see the personal effects, and charred wreckage of the obliterated plane. Further in, you will hear the final phone calls that the passengers made to loved ones. And finally, a wall of photographs and names gives visitors a chance to remember each of the passengers and crew.
This is a moving experience, and I encourage folks that visit to take the time to move through these interpretive displays slowly and respectfully.
Prepare Yourself to Embrace the Visitation Experience
I though that I had prepared myself to appreciate the history contained at this site – after all, I was familiar with the facts of the day. I found that I was sorely under-prepared though as the experience created in the Visitor Center Complex, beginning with the timestamped walkway that lays out the timeline for 9/11 through the very last photo display forced me to really reflect and internalize again the events from nearly two decades ago.
I had a chance to remember the events that unfolded that day, and was taken back to my 11th grade Precalc class where we watched in horror as the second plane flew into the side of the World Trade Center. And by the end of the displays, I felt as vulnerable as I did that day in 11th grade.
So, a word to the wise – prepare yourself, and embrace whatever emotions you might feel.
Visit the Flight 93 Overlook
After taking your time in the Visitor Center, you can then proceed outdoors to observe the overlook just beyond the Visitor Center. From this perspective, you can see the field where the plane fell from the ridge above the crash site. Displays indicate the direction of the various events that took place on the field below.
Walk the Memorial Plaza
We drove from the Visitor Center to parking near the walkway of the Memorial Plaza. A nicely paved walkway takes visitors out to marble pillars erected with the names of each of the passengers and crew. You can then look through slats in the wall to the marker of where the plane met its fiery end.
While you can look out upon the Memorial Plaza from the overlook, it is nice to take the half-mile round trip walk out to the site. I found that is was a reflective time to digest the Visitor Center experience and get more in touch with the quiet surroundings.
Stop by the Tower of Voices at Flight 93
On the way out of the Memorial, you can stop at the Tower of Voices which were dedicated in 2018. This tower is to be laden with 40 wind chimes representing the voices of the 40 passengers and crew that lost their lives on Flight 93.
There is a small parking area that puts you in close proximity to getting up close to the tower. When we visited, the wind chimes were not installed, but it was neat to get to approach the massive tower.
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Fort Necessity National Battlefield was a nice site to visit. This site introduced us to the first battle that George Washington, the man that ended up being the recognized as the First President of the United States, was engaged in.
In short, George Washington was leading a group of men that were clearing roadways through Pennsylvania. This group walked into what ended up being the beginning of the French and Indian War and ultimately the American Revolution.
We were lucky to arrive at the Battlefield shortly before a ranger guided tour took place. On the tour, the ranger talked through the strategic placement of the Battlefield as it controlled access to critical rivers that would allow supplies to be carried. The tour continued outside where a costumed soldier provided context about the fort and the supplies that would have been in use during this time (around the mid 1700s).
Friendship Hill National Historic Site
The drive between Fort Necessity National Battlefield and Friendship Hill NHS was my favorite of the entire trip! Some of the roads curve and wind through sparsely populated and hilly areas. This made for some pretty scenery.
When we arrived at Friendship Hill, we found ourselves is a relatively remote part of western Pennsylvania along the Mongaheila River. This was the summer home of Albert Gallatin, the first Secretary of the Treasury for the United States.
This was a neat home as it had been constructed in phases over a number of generations. There are a couple of nicely done videos that talk about the home and about Albert Gallatin, the statesman and land surveyor that is credited with establishing the roots of economic independence for our country!
Conclusion
Taking a Western Pennsylvania road trip is a great way to spend some time on the open road! In just two short days, you can also get your National Park Passport stamped in five western Pennsylvania National Parks.
Happy Exploring!
Looking for other road trip ideas? Check out our Las Vegas road trip or retrace our steps in our easy South Dakota road trip guide!
6 Comments
great info, but PA has no national parks!
i just wanted to suggest that other terminology would be more accurate!
This is a nice article about historic sites in Western PA. I was at the Flight 93 National Memorial in 2020, the day before my 55th birthday. It was emotional & very moving. They had all 40 windchimes installed in the Tower of Voices, & fortunately there was a slight breeze that late September day. On the way to Flight 93 Memorial, I was a little off course & drove past Fort Necessity, but didn’t go in. I’ll have to go there & to the railroad museum next time.
That must have been an amazing experience! We’d love to go back to experience the Tower of Voices with the windchimes installed. Also, one great thing about driving past a site is the mental note that you make to go back one day. Making an “experience wish list” is one of the things that’s great about road tripping in my opinion. Sometimes you discover gems when driving that you wouldn’t even know about otherwise… great additions to the wish list! Happy exploring!
Great overview and lovely details. I’ve visited the Flight 93 Memorial and Fort Necessity. Need to go back and check out the additions to Flight 93 and the other sites you visited. They are all inspiring and humbling. Interesting that our Nation’s two most tragic sites, with the biggest human loss in the 19th and 21st centuries are so close to each other.
That is so true! I hadn’t considered the proximity of the sites and the enormity of their significance to our history. What a keen insight!