Laurel Hill State Park
Laurel Hill State Park consists of 4,072 acres of mountainous terrain in Somerset County. The 63-acre Laurel Hill Lake is a focal point of the park. Laurel Hill is surrounded by thousands of acres of pristine state park and state forest lands. A trail system invites visitors to hike and explore the park and observe the diversity of plants and wildlife. Hemlock Trail passes through a beautiful stand of old growth hemlocks.
In October of 1945, the Department of the Interior transferred the project to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and it became Laurel Hill State Park.
Recreation
Hiking - Picnicking - Swimming - Boating - Fishing - Hunting - Education - Giftshop - Snowshoeing - Sledding - Snowmobiling - Ice Fishing - Organized Group Cabin Camps - Organized Group Tenting - Laurel Hill Lodge - Camping Cottages - Camping
The Laurel Hill Recreational Demonstration Area Historic District includes all CCC-constructed buildings and structures that retain a significant degree of integrity. The district contains 202 buildings on 1,352 acres of land, which is the largest collection of CCC architecture in Pennsylvania State Parks.
The rich flora and fauna of Laurel Hill State Park make it a great place to watch wildlife year-round. The mixed deciduous forest is dominated by oak, maple, cherry and poplar trees with an understory of witch hazel, serviceberry, rhododendron and mountain laurel. Although most of the park was timbered in the early 1900s, for unknown reasons the Hemlock Trail Natural Area remains intact. The massive eastern hemlocks of this six-acre, old growth stand are now approaching the climax stage of succession.
Wildflowers are common and range from the early blooming snow trillium and spring beauties that grace the trail edges, to the goldenrod and sow thistles that color the fields and roadsides well into November.
Whether by sound or sight, visitors can enjoy a wide variety of bird species, both migrant and resident. Especially popular are the tree swallows and eastern bluebirds that inhabit the park's twenty-box bluebird trail. This trail winds from below the campground to the wildflower field across from the Visitor Center. This relatively open area is also a popular hunting ground for diurnal raptors, such as the red-tailed hawk, and nocturnal predators such as the tiny screech owls that nest in the area each year.
In the spring and early summer, the calls of spring peepers, bullfrogs, and American toads fill the night, intermingled with the haunting calls of great horned and barred owls.Late in the summer, the chirps, trills, and buzzes of katydids, cicadas and tree crickets fill the night.
Small mammals like woodchucks, chipmunks, and gray, red, and fox squirrels are commonly seen throughout the park during daylight hours. White-tailed deer and eastern cottontail rabbits are most often seen at dawn or dusk in the more open meadow areas. The elusive mink, fox, black bear, coyote, bobcat and fisher have been spotted in the park. Familiar to every camper are the skunk, raccoon and opossum that frequent the park in search of carelessly stored camp foods.
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