What are the Most Treasured Views in Pennsylvania? Experience our top picks
This is part of a new USA TODAY network project showcasing breathtaking — and perhaps, underappreciated — views throughout the United States. These are some of the most beautiful landmarks, scenic vistas and hidden gems you can truly treasure in your area.
Home to the Allegheny National Forest and a portion of the Appalachian Mountains, Pennsylvania offers breathtaking scenic views that attract nature enthusiasts and casual travelers alike.
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From the rolling hills of the Laurel Highlands to the serene waters of Lake Erie, the state's diverse landscapes offer unforgettable experiences.
Here are some of the views the Keystone State has to offer:
Presque Isle State Park
Presque Isle State Park sits on a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula with Lake Erie on one side and Presque Isle Bay on the other. Located in Erie County in northwestern Pennsylvania and known to locals as “the peninsula,” Presque Isle provides plenty of places for stunning year-round views of nature and of structures built by humans.
Start at the park’s Tom Ridge Environmental Center, where visitors can climb stairs or ride an elevator up the 75-foot-tall glass enclosed observation tower. The top offers views of Lake Erie and is a great spot for watching migrating birds in the spring and autumn.
From its connection to Millcreek Township near the Ridge Center, the peninsula arches to the north and east, causing its Lake Erie beaches to face west and north. All are good spots for seeing the sun go down but Sunset Point, as its name implies, is perhaps the best. It's also a popular spot for flying kites and is sometimes referred to as Kite Beach. While sunsets can be seen year-round, the beaches in winter are often covered by ice dunes that are beautiful to view but dangerous to climb on.
In addition to Sunset Point, one of the park’s most scenic and photographed spots is at the Presque Isle Lighthouse. First lit in 1873, it has a 57-foot-tall tower that is still operated by the U.S. Coast Guard as a Lake Erie navigation aide. The lighthouse grounds are open to the public during regular park hours for free but there is a fee to climb the tower, which provides views of the peninsula and Lake Erie.
On the peninsula’s other side, Presque Isle Bay separates the state park from the City of Erie. Parking lots and the paved Multi-Purpose Trail offer drivers, walkers and bicycle riders multiple spots from which to watch boats or gaze across the bay at city features including Liberty Park and the Bicentennial Tower.
Near the peninsula’s eastern end is a black-and-white structure that’s much photographed and often mistaken for a lighthouse. The North Pier Light helps guide boats between Lake Erie and Presque Isle Bay but has no house attached to it. Built in the 1800s, the three-story steel tower was moved to its 13-square-foot concrete foundation on the end of the North Pier in 1940. The inside of the tower isn’t open to the public but visitors can walk up to the light structure during Presque Isle State Park hours.
Lower Susquehanna Riverlands
A connection of state, local parks and conservation land along the Susquehanna River in York County, Pennsylvania provide many public views of the 444-mile river as it expands to a mile wide in its southern reaches just before the Chesapeake Bay.
Samuel Lewis State Park opened in 1954 with a lofty view northward up the river as it intersects two bridges. The 95-year-old Veterans Memorial Bridge, a reinforced-concrete arched bridge, is considered an engineering landmark by the Pennsylvania section of the American Society of Civil Engineers as a classic design of early 20th century American highways.
The scenic location has been a favorite for decades for chilly Easter sunrise services and breezy summer kite flying.
North of Wrightsville is the recently opened Susquehanna Riverlands State Park that has an equally majestic view with the wild, wooded experience of an undeveloped park. The historic stone Shock’s Mill Bridge carries trains across the river.
Highpoint Scenic Vista & Recreation Area is maintained by York County and was created in 2007. Set back from the Susquehanna River the towering hill of 79 acres of meadowlands provides 360-dgree views of the Susquehanna River and views of the towns of Wrightsville and Columbia.
On the eastern bank of the river, between the boroughs of Columbia and Marietta, Chickies Rock County Park in Lancaster County also offers stunning views of the river and York County to the west. A notable feature is a huge outcropping of quartzite looming 100 feet above the river.
