Laurel Summit State Park

Laurel Summit State Park
Pennsylvania State Park
Wolf Rock Loop
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Westmoreland
Township	Cook
Location	^[1]
- coordinates	40°07′04″N 79°10′30″W / 40.11778°N 79.17500°W / 40.11778; -79.17500Coordinates: 40°07′04″N 79°10′30″W / 40.11778°N 79.17500°W / 40.11778; -79.17500
- elevation	2,674 ft (815.0 m) ^[1]
Area	6 acres (2 ha)
Founded	1964
Managed by	Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Location of Laurel Summit State Park in Pennsylvania
Website : Laurel Summit State Park

Laurel Summit State Park is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Cook Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is also a picnic area with a scenic view of Linn Run on the summit of Laurel Mountain. The temperatures at Laurel Summit State Park are generally several degrees cooler than the surrounding towns in the valleys.^[2] The elevation of the park is 2,739 feet (835 m) above sea level.^[1]

The area in and surrounding Laurel Summit State Park is now a thriving second growth forest. One hundred years ago it was generally described as a "waste land". The ridges of the Laurel Mountain had once been covered with old-growth forest. These forests were clear cut during the lumber era that swept over most of the mountains and forests of Pennsylvania during the mid-to-late 19th century and very early 20th century. The lumberman stripped the mountains. They took the logs to the sawmill where they were cut into lumber. Smaller logs were used to reinforce the mine shafts of the many coal mines throughout southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The bark of the hemlock tree was used as a source of tannin at the tanneries of the area. The only thing the lumbermen left behind was the treetops. These tree tops were left to dry. The passing steam locomotives of the Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad would ignite this dry brush causing massive wildfires that swept through the mountains and valleys. In 1909, after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had purchased the land from the lumberman, Forester John R. Williams reported, "I should say that fully three-fifths (60%) of the reserve had been burned since the lumbering was done. The fires did great damage to the young growth. Some places were covered with nothing but ferns and blackberry bushes." Scars from these fires can still be seen today in the Laurel Summit vicinity.^[2]

Most of the wildlife in the area was devastated due to the destruction of their habitat or over hunting. White-tailed deer were imported from Michigan and New York to reestablish what had once been a thriving population of deer. These deer were released throughout Pennsylvania. The current population of deer in Pennsylvania are descended from the original stock that was introduced in 1910 after the lumberman had moved out of the area.^[2]

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within 30 miles (48 km) of Laurel Summit State Park:^[3]^[4]^[5]

Keystone State Park (Westmoreland County)
Kooser State Park (Somerset County)
Laurel Mountain State Park (Westmoreland County)
Laurel Hill State Park (Somerset County)
Laurel Ridge State Park (Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland counties)
Linn Run State Park (Westmoreland County)
Ohiopyle State Park (Fayette County)
Shawnee State Park (Bedford County)
Yellow Creek State Park (Indiana County)

References

1 2 3 "Laurel Summit State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. August 30, 1990. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
1 2 3 "Laurel Summit State Park". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
↑ Michels, Chris (1997). "Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation". Northern Arizona University. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
↑ "Find a Park by Region (interactive map)". Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
↑ 2007 General Highway Map Westmoreland County Pennsylvania (PDF) (Map). 1:65,000. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division. Retrieved 2007-07-27. Note: shows Laurel Summit State Park

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laurel Summit State Park.

"Laurel Summit State Park — Official map" (PDF). (301 KB)

Protected areas of Pennsylvania

Federal

NPS National Historical Parks & National Historic Sites	Allegheny Portage Railroad NHS Edgar Allan Poe NHS Eisenhower NHS Friendship Hill NHS Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church NHS Hopewell Furnace NHS Independence NHP Steamtown NHS Valley Forge NHP

National Memorials	Benjamin Franklin Flight 93 Johnstown Flood Thaddeus Kosciuszko

National Battlefields and National Military Parks	Fort Necessity NB Gettysburg NMP

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

Other protected areas	Allegheny National Recreation Area Blue Marsh National Recreation Area Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area Middle Delaware National Scenic River Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Forests	Allegheny

USFS National Historic Sites	Grey Towers

National Wildlife Refuges	Cherry Valley Erie John Heinz Ohio River Islands

State

State Parks	Allegheny Islands Archbald Pothole Bald Eagle Beltzville Bendigo Benjamin Rush Big Pocono Big Spring Black Moshannon Blue Knob Boyd Big Tree Buchanan's Birthplace Bucktail Caledonia Canoe Creek Chapman Cherry Springs Clear Creek Codorus Colonel Denning Colton Point Cook Forest Cowans Gap Delaware Canal Denton Hill Elk Erie Bluffs Evansburg Fort Washington Fowlers Hollow Frances Slocum French Creek Gifford Pinchot Gouldsboro Greenwood Furnace Hickory Run Hillman Hills Creek Hyner Run Hyner View Jacobsburg Jennings Joseph E. Ibberson Kettle Creek Keystone Kings Gap Kinzua Bridge Kooser Lackawanna Laurel Hill Laurel Mountain Laurel Ridge Laurel Summit Lehigh Gorge Leonard Harrison Linn Run Little Buffalo Little Pine Locust Lake Lyman Run Marsh Creek Maurice K. Goddard McCalls Dam McConnells Mill Memorial Lake Milton Mont Alto Moraine Mt. Pisgah Nescopeck Neshaminy Nockamixon Nolde Forest Norristown Farm Ohiopyle Oil Creek Ole Bull Parker Dam Patterson Penn-Roosevelt Pine Grove Furnace Poe Paddy Poe Valley Point Presque Isle Prince Gallitzin Promised Land Prompton Prouty Place Pymatuning R. B. Winter Raccoon Creek Ralph Stover Ravensburg Reeds Gap Ricketts Glen Ridley Creek Ryerson Station S. B. Elliott Salt Springs Samuel S. Lewis Sand Bridge Shawnee Shikellamy Sinnemahoning Sizerville Susquehanna Susquehannock Swatara Tobyhanna Trough Creek Tuscarora Tyler Upper Pine Bottom Varden Warriors Path Washington Crossing Whipple Dam White Clay Creek Worlds End Yellow Creek

State Forests	Bald Eagle Buchanan Clear Creek Cornplanter Delaware Elk Forbes Gallitzin Loyalsock Michaux Moshannon Pinchot Rothrock Sproul Susquehannock Tiadaghton Tioga Tuscarora Weiser William Penn (Wild areas)

Scenic Rivers	Bear Run French Creek Lehigh River LeTort Spring Run Lick Run Lower Brandywine Octoraro Creek Pine Creek Schuylkill River Stony Creek Tucquan Creek Tulpehocken Creek Yellow Breeches Creek

Other

Other	Anders Run Natural Area Forrest H. Duttlinger Natural Area Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Hoverter and Sholl Box Huckleberry Natural Area Johnson Run Natural Area Stone Valley Recreation Area Trexler Nature Preserve Wykoff Run Natural Area

Hiking trails	Appalachian Baker Black Forest Central Mountains Shared Use Darlington Eastern Continental Five Star Glacier Ridge Great Eastern Greene River Horse-Shoe Indian Creek Valley Loyalsock Mid State Standing Stone Mason-Dixon North Country Ohio River Old Loggers Path Pinchot Potomac Heritage Quehanna Rachel Carson Sheepskin Susquehannock Thunder Swamp Tuscarora Valley Forge Historical West Rim Wissahickon Youghiogheny River

Rail trails	Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike Beaver River East Coast Greenway Five Star Ghost Town Great Allegheny Passage Great Shamokin Path Greene River Indian Creek Valley Lebanon Valley Lehigh Gorge Liberty Bell Lower Montour Ohio River Palmer Bikeway Panhandle Perkiomen Pine Creek Plainfield Township Schuylkill River Sheepskin Struble Susquehanna Warrior Switchback Three Rivers Heritage York Country Heritage Youghiogheny River

Nature centers	List of nature centers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Municipalities and communities of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States

County seat: Greensburg

Cities	Arnold Greensburg Jeannette Latrobe Lower Burrell Monessen New Kensington

Boroughs	Adamsburg Arona Avonmore Bolivar Delmont Derry Donegal East Vandergrift Export Hunker Hyde Park Irwin Laurel Mountain Ligonier Madison Manor Mount Pleasant Murrysville New Alexandria New Florence New Stanton North Belle Vernon North Irwin Oklahoma Penn Scottdale Seward Smithton South Greensburg Southwest Greensburg Sutersville Trafford‡ Vandergrift West Leechburg West Newton Youngstown Youngwood

Townships	Allegheny Bell Cook Derry Donegal East Huntingdon Fairfield Hempfield Ligonier Loyalhanna Mount Pleasant North Huntingdon Penn Rostraver St. Clair Salem Sewickley South Huntingdon Unity Upper Burrell Washington

CDPs	Bradenville Calumet Collinsburg Crabtree Fellsburg Grapeville Harrison City Herminie Hostetter Lawson Heights Level Green Loyalhanna Lynnwood-Pricedale‡ Mammoth Millwood Norvelt St. Vincent College Slickville Webster Wyano Yukon

Unincorporated communities	Acme Armbrust Baggaley Blackstone Boquet Bovard Brenizer Carbon Claridge Darragh Forbes Road Greenwald Hannastown Hopewell Hutchinson Kecksburg Laughlintown Lloydsville Lowber Luxor Marguerite Morewood Moween New Derry Pandora Peanut Pleasant Unity Reagantown Rector Rillton Ruffs Dale Scab Hill Seger Southwest Stahlstown Standard Shaft Salina Tarrs Torrance Trauger Turkeytown United Bessemer

Ghost towns	Cokeville West Overton

Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

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