A Fall Weekend in Southwest PA
I recently did a whirlwind trip down to Southwestern Pennsylvania and wanted to share the details! By the time this is published, most of the leaves will be on the ground, but the places I visited are not only beautiful in the fall, but would be worth checking out in any season. I live in Buffalo, NY so this is a very doable weekend road trip, but could also be incorporated into a multi-stop vacation if you are headed that way. I am going to go through our itinerary to show the cool places we stopped.
Day One
We hit the road super early. Our first stop was to the Kinzua Bridge State Park. This place is very cool! If you haven’t heard of this park, here is the history as to why it’s so unique. The 339-acre Kinzua Bridge State Park, is the home of the Kinzua Viaduct. The Viaduct, once the longest and tallest railroad structure at 2,053 feet long and 301 feet high, was partially destroyed by an F1 tornado during July 2003. After the tornado, the remaining part of the bridge was turned into a skywalk with a partial glass floor. The views from above are always beautiful, but especially in the fall! You can either stay on the platform and take in the scenery, or you can hike the trail that takes you down to the bottom and up the other side.
Located at 296 Viaduct Road, Kane, PA 16735
Admission is free and open year round, weather permitting
Our second stop was totally random and unplanned but how could we not! Our GPS took us right through Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania! The home of Groundhog Day and where Punxsutawney Phil tells us if there will be more winter or an early spring. It’s a cute town filled with groundhog statues everywhere.
After a lovely ride (a few hours haha) through the fall foliage, we arrived at our hotel for the night. I booked us a room at Nemacolin. I have had friends that stayed there and have heard great things. I will disclose that this resort comes with a hefty price tag. We only stayed one night so I am not sure if we missed out on some of the amenities, but I am not racing to return. Upon arrival, we were greeted with our choice of a glass of sparkling wine or apple cider. That was a nice touch. We had a quick turnaround for our dinner reservation at Barattolo, an Italian restaurant located on the property, so we did not accept help with our bags. Little did I know that our room (located in The Lodge) required us to carry our bags up two flights of stairs. Wait, what!! It also felt like a ghost town in the Lodge, like everyone was in the Chateau and we were left out haha.. I will say that the grounds were very beautiful, I loved the shuttles that take you around the property and our dinner was very good.
Located at 1001 Lafayette Dr, Farmington, PA 15437
There are many extras offered to enhance your stay such as zip lining, wine tastings, bowling and ax throwing, and a pretty amazing spa from what I hear.
Day Two
We were up bright and early again to get breakfast and start our 9:40 am tour at Fallingwater. I definitely recommend stopping at the Bittersweet Cafe. I really loved the overall vibe there, the food and coffee were fresh and homemade and the grounds were just beautiful.
Located at 205 Farmington-Ohiopyle Rd, Farmington, PA 15437
Just a five minute ride from Nemacolin and only 15 minutes from Fallingwater
After breakfast we drove to Fallingwater! This has been on my bucket list for some time so to see it in real life was amazing. If you are not familiar with Fallingwater, it is an incredible home built over a waterfall by Frank Lloyd Wright for the prominent Kaufmann family. The tour was one hour and very informative. You are only allowed to take photos on the first floor, but there are three floors to explore.
Book your tickets in advance (they range from $15 for a grounds pass to $85 for an in-depth guided tour) and they definitely sell out! We spent $32 each to do the guided tour!
Located at 1491 Mill Run Road, Mill Run, PA 15464
There is a cafe and a museum store located on the grounds.
Since we were so close, we also purchased tickets for the Polymath Park Tour. I had never heard of Polymath before, but we were pleasantly surprised. Our ticket included lunch at the Tree Tops restaurant and a tour of three of the four houses on the property. I did not take many photos on the tour, but you can see more pics at the link above. If you are interested in the history or properties of Frank Lloyd Wright, you would love this tour.
Located at 187 Evergreen Lane, Acme, PA 15610
Tickets range anywhere from $26 for a basic tour to $173 for a two house tour and dinner in a private dining pod.
You are shuttled around the property to the different houses so this tour is great for most ages.
After our tours we made our way into Pittsburgh. We hit some Friday traffic which caused some stress, but we made it to our hotel in time to get ready for dinner and head out for the night. We stayed at the Marriott Courtyard Downtown and felt the location was great and they offer valet parking which is a plus!
Dinner was at Poulet Bleu, a French inspired, American Bistro. We were seated upstairs at a beautiful table and enjoyed everything we ordered. Especially the French Martini, made with vodka, pineapple, framboise and citrus. Yum! We ordered a few items to share and of course had to order the chocolate soufflé. 10/10 would recommend if you make it to Pittsburgh.
Located at 3517 Butler St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Street Parking Only
Okay I know, this is the longest day in history but it’s almost over haha.. After dinner we drove to the Pittsburgh Zoo to experience the Asian Lantern Festival. I loved every minute of it. It was quite crowded but everyone was really enjoying themselves. The festival only runs until October 30th of this year, but I wanted to include pics in case they run it again next year.
Located at 7370 Baker St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
Plenty of parking in their lot
Day Three
Our last morning we took a stroll around downtown to find coffee and just see the city. We stumbled upon a wonderful coffee shop, grabbed a bagel and got in the car to head back out to the mountains! On a whim, I emailed the owner of the Pittsburgher Highland Farm to see if he could accommodate us for a tour and he said yes! This ended up being my favorite thing that we did. We met with the owner and he gave us an incredible tour of his farm. The cows were very calm and didn’t seem to mind us being in their space, some even posed for photos! We also got to see the tiny home on his land that he has listed on Airbnb.
Located at 722 Armbrust, Hecla Rd, Mt Pleasant, PA 15666
After our tour it was time to make the drive home. We had such a wonderful time exploring Southwest PA and both agreed we loved the area. The fall colors were breathtaking and the area had so much to offer that we didn’t have time to see. Until next time!!
x, Julie