On my way to Linn Run State Park, I came across the Powdermill Nature Reserve of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The Museum is in Pittsburgh, but the Powdermill Reserve is in a beautiful area of the Laurel Highlands. The reserve’s website can be found here.
Powdermill Nature Reserve is a field station and laboratory where researchers do long-term studies of natural populations in western Pennsylvania. It is a great place for outdoor fun and education.
You can explore the beautiful woodlands around the reserve via the hiking tails. You can also visit the nature center, which features exhibits that highlight local wildlife, a room of beautiful mounted specimens, an indoor stream, a fish tank, and a “marsh machine” that uses a living plants to purify waste water.
The reserve does permit hunting on a limited basis through a annual lottery for 100 permits. Due to some inclement weather and limited time, I confined myself to the visitor center on this trip.
