I recently went on a surprisingly awesome day trip with a friend to the area of Connellsville, Pennsylvania. The beautiful area of Connellsville sits right in the heart of the Laurel Highlands. It is probably good to add that it is less than an hour from Pittsburgh. It is also particularly close to so many adventurous places that I thoroughly enjoy visiting, but recently I realized how many nifty things sit right in town, or just a few minutes away. So many times I have driven through the main part of town. Everytime I have thought wow this is a cute place, so many beautiful old buildings. Never did I think to do some research on it and see what it had to offer.
Both the first and last places we visited that day I have entire posts about. If your interested in reading more about them the posts will be linked.
Robinson Falls, Connellsville
Robinson Falls is a gorgeous waterfall located just on the outskirts of town. If you have ever seen cucumber falls in Ohiopyle you might say one may remind you of the other. It runs approximately 20 feet tall and it absolutely captivating. The view from the top and the bottom are both equally stunning. Although I would highly recommend viewing both, something about climbing behind the falls always give me a rush. If you are interested in the exactly location, more photos, or some history click the link here and check it out.
The Mount Vernon Furnace
Along our travels that day we just looked up local things to check out in the area. We eventually came across the Mount Vernon Furnace. The Mount Vernon Furnace ended up being a really cute historical stop along our day trip. The furnace was built in 1798 and then rebuild in 1801 after an explosion. Although the furnace itself is all that remains there once was a village surrounding it. Apparently, there was a general store, schoolhouse, sawmill, a grist mill, and a few other buildings as well. How neat would it be to see what the whole town once looked like.
East Park, Connellsville
East Park Falls in Connellsville, Pennsylvania is another close place to stop by. It is a city owned park, right in the middle of town. The park is really cute and full of history. Some of the main creek is cobblestone which is what is showing in the photo above. Pavilions sit over the creek, which is also quite intreging. There is a neat little bridge that runs alongside the creek and through a tunnel that I found as one of my favorite spots. The path through the tunnel leads to very old cemetary. There is also 2 waterfalls right inside the park. Unfortunately while we were there, there were alot of people and the creek was low. Unfortunately I did not get photos of the waterfalls. But still another awesome spot to stop along the day trip.
The Old Overholt Distillery
The abondoned Overholt Distillery was probably my favorite stop of the day. Being able to stand in a building with so much history was really amazing. I did write an entire post about some of history and the general trip if your interest check it out here.
To conclude, all of these places are less than 15 minutes from each other. I’m sure there are also many other places in the area you could check out as well. For instance, the Youghiogheny river trail also runs along the river through the town of Connellsville. This trail is just a section of the Great Allegheny Passage. Just another reason why visiting Connellsville, Pa is an awesome place to day trip.