Erie…Feel the Lake Effect

Erie is Pennsylvania’s only Great Lakes Port City and boasts a wealth of natural beauty and fascinating history. Erie is situated along picturesque Presque Isle Bay, one of the world’s best-protected harbors surrounded by a 3,200-acre peninsula, Presque Isle State Park. Enjoy Presque Isle State Park with 7 miles of sandy beaches, trails and plenty of outdoor recreation.

Travel downtown for Broadway shows, theatrical performances, philharmonic delights, and comedy club entertainment. Explore acres of vineyards at local wineries. Enjoy dinner and a show at unique interactive dinner theatres. Shop till you drop with NO TAX ON CLOTHING OR SHOES. Root for our professional sports teams: Erie Seawolves AA baseball, Erie Otters OHL hockey or the Erie Bayhawks NBA D-League basketball. Splash around at Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park or put your skies on for downhill or cross-country outdoor fun.

Find everything you expect from a big metropolitan city with the affordability and charm of a smaller town.

www.VisitErie.com  800-524-3743 “ERIE…FEEL THE LAKE EFFECT” 

Winter outdoor activities abound at Pymatuning State Park! The Park is open every day for cross-country skiing and there is also the five-mile Fries Road Trail that is perfect for snowmobiling. Additional trails are found all over the Park for winter hiking, skiing, snowmobiling and sledding. For Park information, call 724-932-3142. www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/pymatuning.aspx

Avalanche Xpress Snow Tubing Park in Meadville is the most exciting place to “get air.” It’s the newest, longest and steepest snow tubing park in northwestern Pennsylvania! Their four 7-story, 900 foot tubing runs will take you back to your childhood sledding days! When you’re done, you can take the chill off by relaxing with a hot drink in front of their fireplace or play table and arcade games in the clubhouse. No snow? No problem! Cutting-edge snowmaking machines keep the hill white even if the weather doesn’t. Call 814-333-2827 for hours, rates and more! www.golfwhisperingpines.com/avalancheexpress/

Indulge your wild side with designed hunts at Scattergun Reserve, Outdoor Sporting Reserve and Conference Center. Specializing in bird, deer and turkey hunting, this four season resort offers their guests a truly unique and exciting sporting and recreational experience. Combine your stay with shooting clays or charter fishing. Call 814-587-3597 today to schedule your hunting getaway! www.scattergunreserve.com

Visit Clearfield County, PA

Welcome to the backwoods. backroads. backwaters. Leaf peepers will find our winding-mountainous roads the perfect place to view the changing colors of Pennsylvania.  Boasting the highest elevation and the largest free roaming elk herd east of the Mississippi River the possibilities are endless. Enjoy Autumn at one of the two state parks or the almost 40,000 acres of state game lands. Come during one of the many Fall Festivals.

This is the perfect time of year to explore the county with your GPS. The Clearfield County Geotrail highlights area cemeteries adding to the spookiness of the month of October.

Let Visit Clearfield County help you plan your weekend away from home. Visit our website www.VisitclearfieldCounty.org for road trips, coupons and the perfect place to spend the night. Like us on Facebook to share your leaf peeping experience.

The Christmas Tree  Capital of the World!

One hour east of Pittsburgh, is Indiana County, Pennsylvania, the Christmas Tree Capital of the World, growing more than one million trees annually on over 80 farms. Start a new tradition by selecting your holiday tree from one of our various tree farms, some offering choose and cut from their fields. Visit the exhibits at the Jimmy Stewart Museum, showcasing the star of the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Tour the Festival of Lights with more than 80 light displays, including animation, as you drive through the park around a two-mile lake at Blue Spruce Park. To celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the Festival of Lights, visitors can count the number of Rudolphs in the light displays and enter to win a $300.00 shopping spree at the Indiana Mall. A gift shop, featuring local crafts and special nights to visit Santa, will complete your holiday experience.

Indiana County Tourist Bureau

Indiana, Pennsylvania

1-877-746-3426

www.VisitIndianaCountyPa.org

This is the perfect time of year to explore and discover Central PA’s  Susquehanna River Valley. Here, the river sets a relaxing pace where meandering and exploring come easily.

Spend the day visiting four family-owned wineries, enjoying some of the good things that are homegrown in the Susquehanna River Valley. Along the way, go antiquing at more than a dozen antique stores – one of which houses 400 antique dealers in one place! Take the kids to a historical house museum, explore thriving downtowns, attend a seasonal festival, or watch a movie in a restored Art Deco movie palace. Everywhere you turn, you’ll see something that amazes and inspires you.

As evening approaches, plan a romantic dinner for two or share your day’s adventures with friends and family at one of our many pubs and restaurants. Settle into a quiet evening at a cozy hotel, cabin, cottage, or bed and breakfast.

VisitCentralPA.org  or 1-877-207-8599

Oil Heritage Region

To everything, as the saying goes, there is a season. And if nature is your game, or the great outdoors your favorite place, you know how the fall/winter season is in Northwest PA. You watch the fog and frost soften the crinkly edges of the autumn landscape that is so beautifully filled with color. Or when winter hits the region and the air turns crisp and cold you can always find unique and interesting things to do. Visit Oil Creek State Park, walk the recreational trials or get your cross-country skis out for a fantastic winter day trip. Then there’s nothing like whooshing down a steep hill on a sled at Two Mile Run Park.

Looking for something the whole family can do? Visit Venango Museum for their Christmas Tree Extravaganza; ride through the holiday light display in Titusville or take the Christmas Express Train; or experience a holiday event at the Barrow-Civic Theatre in Franklin.

Looking for the perfect gift that only needs a bow? Purchase a gift-certificate getaway package from the many different bed and breakfasts, attractions or art galleries!

Enjoy the beauty of fall foliage or wintertime experiences, all in the Oil Heritage Region. Contact us at www.oilregion.org

State College, PA  is home to the Penn State Nittany Lions and is rated one of the best adventure towns in the United States as well as one of the best places to live, work and play! Experience the spectacular colors of fall then when the snow flies… ski, snowshoe or stay inside by the fire.  Shop our historic districts, eat in our local cafés and microbreweries and experience Broadway shows, a little off Broadway. Bellefonte is an architect’s dream with stately Victorian mansions and an historic train station hosting the Polar Express. Boalsburg has small town charm but with a big place in the history of America, it’s the birthplace of Memorial Day, home to the Pennsylvania Military Museum and the Christopher Columbus Chapel.

Roar with the Penn State Nittany Lions and while you are here, dip into the Penn State Creamery and rock out at the Bryce Jordan Center with headline bands and some of the biggest names in entertainment.  

Visit the new ESSpa at Carnegie Inn and Spa or the new Nature Inn on the lake at Bald Eagle State Park and climb Mount Nittany for spectacular views. If you’re a Penn State sports fan, ask about Winter Sports Weekends!

Contact the Central PA Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-358-5466 or www.visitpennstate.org  ¤