Nearby Attractions to Shawnee State Park

Information about Shawnee State Park’s nearby attractions is available from The Alleghenies and the Bedford County Visitors Bureau.

Explore the Area

The park is located near Bedford County, which offers many points of interest. Days can be spent sampling the past heritage and the present culture through its mountains and rolling agricultural fields.

U.S. 30, the Lincoln Highway, roughly follows the Forbes Trail that was the main highway between Fort Bedford and Fort Ligonier in the 1700s. Original inns and other examples of a unique Bedford architectural style can be seen along the road and in small settlements such as Schellsburg.

The City of Bedford Historic District includes the oldest courthouse in use in Pennsylvania and the Espy House where President George Washington headquartered in 1794 to review his troops on their way to suppress the Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania. A walking tour of 51 buildings in the historic district is available in the Bedford County Travel Guide.

Old Bedford Village, on old Route 220 just north of Bedford, is a complex of historical buildings which were collected from all over the county. Arranged in the manner of a typical colonial settlement, the buildings were reconstructed and contain demonstrations of the early American crafts which were found in colonial Bedford. Craftsmen clothed in authentic garb explain their craft.

Learn about some of the area businesses and things to do from the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce.

Nearby State Parks and Forests

Shawnee State Park is close to one state park and one state forest, where visitors can enjoy recreation, education, and other activities.

Gallitzin State Forest

The 24,370-acre Gallitzin State Forest is located in Somerset, Bedford, Cambria, and Indiana counties. Much of Gallitzin rests on the Allegheny Front and the Laurel Ridge.

Outdoor recreation opportunities include hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, picnicking, fishing, hunting, camping, skiing, and snowmobiling.

Blue Knob State Park

The 6,128-acre Blue Knob State Park is in the northwestern tip of Bedford County, west of I-99. The elevation of the park can cause air temperatures to be several degrees cooler than the surrounding cities. The annual snowfall averages about 12 feet.

Recreational activities include hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, picnicking, swimming, fishing, hunting, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, and camping. For downhill skiers, Blue Knob Ski Area in Blue Knob State Park is one of the best ski resorts in Pennsylvania, and is 25 miles from Shawnee State Park.

Other Nearby Outdoor Spaces and Natural Places

Bedford County is well known by sportsmen for its beautiful trout streams and abundant deer and other wild game. State Game Lands 228 is located near the park.

For the non-hunter, Bedford offers great wildlife observation opportunities, especially migrating birds.

Pennsylvania Heritage Areas

Heritage Areas protect, enhance, and promote Pennsylvania’s historic, natural, cultural, and scenic resources.

Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor recognizes our nation’s first coast-to-coast highway, which stretched from New York City to San Francisco in 1913. It’s one route that changed America forever, marking the birth of popular American tourism -- vacationing by automobile.