Blog
20 Things To Do This Summer
Pennsylvania’s Great Outdoors Region works so well when it comes to affordable summer family fun. Here, visitors will find more than 1-million acres of forest and public land, including State Forests, State Parks, Wild Areas, and the Allegheny National Forest, which...
PA Wilds BDR-X
The PA Wilds BDR-X is a 500-mile loop through the incredible Pennsylvania mountains and forests created by Jack O’Connor and now managed by Backcountry Discovery Routes (BDR). The route runs mostly on dirt and gravel roads through Pennsylvania State Forests with short...
Meet the Makers: An In-Person Experience
Every handcrafted item has a story, and every maker brings their own passion, creativity, and experience to what they create. That is why highlighting makers across our region with our 'Meet the Makers' blog is so special. The PA Made Shop brings those stories to life...
GRAVEL CYCLING & BIKEPACKING
In the last few years, a quiet revolution has been rolling across backroads, forest service routes, and forgotten rail corridors in Pennsylvania’s Great Outdoor Region: the rise of gravel cycling and bikepacking. What began as a niche offshoot of road and mountain...
Arts and Culture
Pennsylvania’s Great Outdoors region may be best known for its endless outdoor and natural beauty, but it also offers a wide variety of cultural destinations and experiences to explore. Whether you enjoy the performing arts, one-of-a-kind crafts, or striking visual...
Medix Run Watershed Assessment
The Elk County Conservation District has been working on a watershed assessment of the Medix Run watershed and here are some more details on this project from their newsletter. “What exactly is a watershed assessment?” We will break it down below. What is a watershed?...
Meet the Maker: David Smith of Palace Apiaries
By Mickayla Poland From Pizza Dough to Bee Hives David Smith of Emporium, in what seems like a lifelong pursuit of new challenges, went from award-winning pizza to award-winning honey. David is the owner of Palace Apiaries, a family-run beekeeping operation based in...
LOCAL WATERSHEDS
Morning mist hangs low over the ridgelines where Cameron, Elk, and Forest Counties stitch together the wild heart of Pennsylvania’s Great Outdoors Region. Up high, rain beads on mountain laurel and hemlock needles, then slips into moss and leaf litter. Every drop has...
Celebrating America’s 250th
2026 marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Across America and here in Pennsylvania’s Great Outdoor Region there are plenty of fun filled events and ways to celebrate. Here are just some of the fantastic events happening this year in...
Quehanna Jet Bunkers
Deep in the Quehanna Wilds of Pennsylvania, where the mountains roll like a frozen green ocean and the streams run cold and clear, the forest keeps its secrets well. Mountain laurel tangles along the ridgelines, oaks and pines whisper in the wind, and elk step softly...
