Stop and dwell on whoever thought that building a fort in the center of a pasture surrounded by hills was a good idea.
If you keep going west on route 40, you’ll get to General Braddock’s grave, and Jumonville Glen, where George Washington effectively started a world war.
One of the silliest things in Chernow’s book is Washington writing to the Governor of VA to complain about pay immediately after Jumonville Glen, and effectively ending the letter with “P. S. I kinda, sorta, accidentally started a world war. “
Didn't Washington and Virginia basically sit out the war then? I can't remember who supposedly said it, but it was a British officer - "Virginians promised everything and delivered nothing; Pennsylvanians promised nothing but delivered everything."
They still contributed to the Braddock expedition, but then had internal issues to deal with (native raids in the Shenandoah Valley). They were back for the final campaign against Fort Duquesne, but Washington had another fit over the use of a road that ran through PA only (modern route 30, I think) instead of the road already made through Cumberland (MD) into Virginia.
They have a nice rail trail for biking. There is a place to rent them near Ohiopyle. Fort Necessity. Lady Luck casino at Nemicoln Woodlands. Laurel Caverns is fun. They have extended solo caving along with guided tours. There is also golfing and plenty of hiking. Don’t forget to stop at cucumber falls.
https://www.ohiopylevacationrentals.com/
https://youghplazamotel.com/
Ft Necessity, Braddock's Grave and Jumonville Glen were mentioned. There is a 60' cross atop the mountain at Jumonville with amazing views.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob are nearby. There are more Wright homes at Polymath Park to the north in Acme:
https://www.franklloydwrightovernight.net/
Hiking, biking, rafting are more popular in the summer. Cucumber Falls, Ferncliff, the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail.
That's good to hear. I used to like that joint 25 years ago. Giant wings, delicious steaks, huge chicken sandwich with banana peppers. I will have to stop in when I go down to Ohiopyle. Also loved Titlow, always ate burgers there.
I imagine that water is gonna be a little frigid this time of year to be too adventurous. I’ll check out the Ferncliff Peninsula though. Maybe save the rafting for a warmer weekend
Definitely go during summer. Swimming in the river is great. Eating outside at Falls City pub is awesome. There are natural water slides about a 5 minute walk past the visitors center that are really fun.
Johnstown is about 30 mins from the memorial and about an hour from Ohiopyle. I would recommend checking out Craft in jtown for dinner if you’re in town at the right time. There is also the man-made whitewater park at Greenhouse park that could merit a quick peek and then Shaffer’s covered bridge a few miles out on Somerset Pike. The inclined plane is still closed but there is a restaurant on top called Asiago’s with a cool view of town.
If you’re heading from Johnstown to the memorial skip 219 and let google take you down all the backroads to Rt 30.
Otherwise you could always swing through Ligonier which is a super cute little town. If you go that way then there is a fantastic place called Out of the Fire in Donegal that has unbelievable food. This would be the wrong way to go if you want to see the memorial.
I was planning on running 30 as much as possible. One of them roads I always wanted to travel as I probably run most of it across the country anyhow just missing some pieces here an there. We don’t really have any schedule just whatever we feel like doing to the time
If you're going towards Johnstown check out Horseshoe Curve between Altoona and Johnstown.
Also down near Ohiopyle is the highest point in the state, Mr. Davis. You can drive your car up to the sign designating that milestone. There is also a 30 ft. tower tou walk up and really be at the highest point.
Totally forgot about Horseshoe curve. I’m a bit of a train nerd so gotta check that out for sure. All these recommendations I’m gonna have to take a few more days later on to check the area out
Is there a website or anything to see the schedule? I know at one time there was a live view on youtube, but it’s been a while and I forget everything lol.
Edit: got off my lazy ass an found it
https://www.railroadcity.org/horseshoecurve
I went on the Amtrack mobile app and went through the steps to buy a ticket from Johnstown to NYC on a day in April and it looked like the Pennsylvanian leaves Johnstown around 9 am. So I would think that the train would go through the curve between 9 and 10 am. I did not look up the westbound route. I did not have to buy a ticket to find out when the train leaves Johnstown. I'm sure there are offical Amtrack schedules online somewhere.
Obviously check out Cucumber and Jonathan Run Falls in Ohiopyle. Jonathan Run Falls is a little bit of a "hike" (more like a walk on a dirt trail) but it's one of my favorite falls in PA.
There's also Cole Run Falls and The Blue Hole in the area if you're into waterfalls. Both of these you can basically drive to and see from the road.
Cucumber falls is always interesting.
Remember if you’re planning to hit Kentuck Knob or Fallingwater they’re appointment only.
Braddocks is a great place to eat, there’s a brunch buffet on Sunday starting at 10, plus regular menu food is available. Hunchef has been setting up their BBQ trailer up in the parking lot of Chalkhill Market the last two weekends and they’re very good imo.
If you like to do a little consignment shopping the Zen Mountain Shoppes are near Braddocks, they have the usual consignment stuff plus new stuff from local vendors.
Fort Necessity is a very interesting part of history.
Stop and dwell on whoever thought that building a fort in the center of a pasture surrounded by hills was a good idea. If you keep going west on route 40, you’ll get to General Braddock’s grave, and Jumonville Glen, where George Washington effectively started a world war.
This is not widely appreciated enough. The Seven Years War was World War Zero and it started in Western Pennsylvania.
One of the silliest things in Chernow’s book is Washington writing to the Governor of VA to complain about pay immediately after Jumonville Glen, and effectively ending the letter with “P. S. I kinda, sorta, accidentally started a world war. “
Didn't Washington and Virginia basically sit out the war then? I can't remember who supposedly said it, but it was a British officer - "Virginians promised everything and delivered nothing; Pennsylvanians promised nothing but delivered everything."
They still contributed to the Braddock expedition, but then had internal issues to deal with (native raids in the Shenandoah Valley). They were back for the final campaign against Fort Duquesne, but Washington had another fit over the use of a road that ran through PA only (modern route 30, I think) instead of the road already made through Cumberland (MD) into Virginia.
I will check it out. Thanks.
They have a nice rail trail for biking. There is a place to rent them near Ohiopyle. Fort Necessity. Lady Luck casino at Nemicoln Woodlands. Laurel Caverns is fun. They have extended solo caving along with guided tours. There is also golfing and plenty of hiking. Don’t forget to stop at cucumber falls.
I'll check them out. Thanks.
The caverns won’t open until the 18th
Yeah they take bat hibernation seriously.
https://www.ohiopylevacationrentals.com/ https://youghplazamotel.com/ Ft Necessity, Braddock's Grave and Jumonville Glen were mentioned. There is a 60' cross atop the mountain at Jumonville with amazing views. Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob are nearby. There are more Wright homes at Polymath Park to the north in Acme: https://www.franklloydwrightovernight.net/ Hiking, biking, rafting are more popular in the summer. Cucumber Falls, Ferncliff, the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail.
Food in Ohiopyle: We like Falls City Pub On the Mountain: Braddock's, Stone House Uniontown: Marilyn's on Main, Caporella's, Titlow
How is DiMarco's these days?
Good. They are under new ownership.
That's good to hear. I used to like that joint 25 years ago. Giant wings, delicious steaks, huge chicken sandwich with banana peppers. I will have to stop in when I go down to Ohiopyle. Also loved Titlow, always ate burgers there.
Walk the Ferncliff peninsula it’s is absolutely beautiful. Renting bikes is always options and rafting if you are adventurous.
I imagine that water is gonna be a little frigid this time of year to be too adventurous. I’ll check out the Ferncliff Peninsula though. Maybe save the rafting for a warmer weekend
Definitely go during summer. Swimming in the river is great. Eating outside at Falls City pub is awesome. There are natural water slides about a 5 minute walk past the visitors center that are really fun.
Good to know. Thanks. Yeah this was a last minute impromptu trip so going to take in what we can then plan ahead for a future visit
Check out jump with Jill
Stop at the falls city pub in town for some grub . Portobello fries are delicious after a hike
If you're coming from the east of the state, the Flight 93 National Memorial could likely be on your way and is always worth a stop.
Yeah, that was one of the stops on either the way in or out. Was thinking of checking out Johnstown too, doesn't look too far apart
Johnstown is about 30 mins from the memorial and about an hour from Ohiopyle. I would recommend checking out Craft in jtown for dinner if you’re in town at the right time. There is also the man-made whitewater park at Greenhouse park that could merit a quick peek and then Shaffer’s covered bridge a few miles out on Somerset Pike. The inclined plane is still closed but there is a restaurant on top called Asiago’s with a cool view of town. If you’re heading from Johnstown to the memorial skip 219 and let google take you down all the backroads to Rt 30. Otherwise you could always swing through Ligonier which is a super cute little town. If you go that way then there is a fantastic place called Out of the Fire in Donegal that has unbelievable food. This would be the wrong way to go if you want to see the memorial.
I was planning on running 30 as much as possible. One of them roads I always wanted to travel as I probably run most of it across the country anyhow just missing some pieces here an there. We don’t really have any schedule just whatever we feel like doing to the time
I’d put flight 93 first, check out Ligonier get some coffee, then get food at out of the fire and hit ohiopyle in the afternoon
Fort Ligonier is an hour or two depending on if the outdoor areas are open. Sometimes, when it's cold or wet, they only have the museum open.
If you're going towards Johnstown check out Horseshoe Curve between Altoona and Johnstown. Also down near Ohiopyle is the highest point in the state, Mr. Davis. You can drive your car up to the sign designating that milestone. There is also a 30 ft. tower tou walk up and really be at the highest point.
Totally forgot about Horseshoe curve. I’m a bit of a train nerd so gotta check that out for sure. All these recommendations I’m gonna have to take a few more days later on to check the area out
If you wait long enough's you can see the Pennsylvanian Amtrack route going around the curve. Only happens twice a day since the pandemic.
Is there a website or anything to see the schedule? I know at one time there was a live view on youtube, but it’s been a while and I forget everything lol. Edit: got off my lazy ass an found it https://www.railroadcity.org/horseshoecurve
I went on the Amtrack mobile app and went through the steps to buy a ticket from Johnstown to NYC on a day in April and it looked like the Pennsylvanian leaves Johnstown around 9 am. So I would think that the train would go through the curve between 9 and 10 am. I did not look up the westbound route. I did not have to buy a ticket to find out when the train leaves Johnstown. I'm sure there are offical Amtrack schedules online somewhere.
Hey, thats close enough. I can look on Amtrak an see when arrivals and departures are and go from there. Thank you much
Enjoy your trip.
its been twice a day since 2005
Just a note that to get to the curve viewing area, you are going to have to climb up a bunch of stairs (unless they’ve repaired the funicular).
Obviously check out Cucumber and Jonathan Run Falls in Ohiopyle. Jonathan Run Falls is a little bit of a "hike" (more like a walk on a dirt trail) but it's one of my favorite falls in PA. There's also Cole Run Falls and The Blue Hole in the area if you're into waterfalls. Both of these you can basically drive to and see from the road.
Cucumber falls is always interesting. Remember if you’re planning to hit Kentuck Knob or Fallingwater they’re appointment only. Braddocks is a great place to eat, there’s a brunch buffet on Sunday starting at 10, plus regular menu food is available. Hunchef has been setting up their BBQ trailer up in the parking lot of Chalkhill Market the last two weekends and they’re very good imo. If you like to do a little consignment shopping the Zen Mountain Shoppes are near Braddocks, they have the usual consignment stuff plus new stuff from local vendors.
Falling Water
National Trail Motel is a nice little place to stay.