THE STATES: MONTANA - PENNSYLVANIA

Choose State Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania

Montana

Known as « Big Sky Country ,» Montana’s 140,000 square miles / 382,000 square kilometers are scenically varied and blessed with abundant wildlife. Here you can view majestic Rocky Mountain peaks, some so high and remote they have never been climbed ; observe elk, bison, grizzly bears and other wildlife in natural settings ; experience the lifestyle of the cowboy and American Indian, and mingle with Montana’s 839,000 residents - some of the friendly people on earth.

Although summer, with its warm weather and up to 15 hours of daylight, in Montana’s most popular tourist season, the state has something to offer year-round : breathtaking wildflower displays and frolocsome newborn calves and colts in spring ; the rich harvest of autumn set against a flaming backdrop of gold and scarlet foliage ; skiing, sleigh-riding, dog-sledding and snowmobiling in winter on un-crowded trails where wildlife is part of the passing scene.

Montana is home to two national parks : World-famous Yellowstone reaches into southern Montana and three of its five entrances are here. The « Crown Jewel of the Continent,» Glacier National Park, is also here, the title a reflection of the parks sensational mountain scenery.

In between the two national parks, Montana’s guests enjoy a variety of activities. The state’s prehistory, when it was home to dinosaurs, can be relived at many museums which now house those extinct mammoths’ bones.

Ghost towns, history museums, and wagon train vacation take visitors back to the days of the Old West. If you want to look like you fit right in, this is the place to purchase authentic cowboy hats, boots and other western wear along with Indian beadwork, clothing and artwork.

Twelve Indian tribes call Montana home and they invite you to join their cultural celebrations (pow-wows). Montana’s clear streams, rivers and lakes offer world-class fishing and recreation.

Become a cowboy for a day or longer at one of Montana’s many guest ranches, some of which offer visitors the chance to participate in calving, cattle drives and farming activities. Prices range from $400 to over $1,000 per week.

Nebraska

Rich in agriculture, cattle ranching and in historical sites that document the hardy settlers who turned « the great American desert » into a flourishing farming region. Nebraska’s nickname, « The Cornhusker State ,» is apt. The state’s eastern section products abundant grain, including corn, the western section is a rippling sea of wheat, while the north central part of the state is home to vast beef cattle ranches. And, every corner of the state contains remnants of the western migration, one of the most gripping saga in all of history.

In Bayard, visit Chimmey Rock National Historic, described by one early traveler as « towering to the heavens. » Nearby, in Scottsbluff, stop by Rebecca Winter’s Grave, a monument to the struggle of a pioneer mother who died during the westward migration. Get a different view of pioneer life at one of the state ‘s many history museums : Bayard’s Oregon Trail Wagon Train, where you can travel aboard a real « prairie schooner » (reservations required » ; the Custer Country Historical Museum in Broken Bow, featuring displays on pioneer life ; the Willa Cather Historical Center in Red Cloud, dedicated to the life and work of the author who immortalized pioneer life.

Modern pioneers can traverse Nebraska on Interstate 80, which crosses the center of the state, parallels the Platte River and passes through Nebraska’s two largest cities, Omaha and Lincoln. The Platte, named by French explorers in the 18th century, is one of many Nebraska waterways that provide countless recreational and sightseeing possibilities, including fishing, boating, white water rafting and bird watching.

Lincoln, the state capital in perhaps best known for the University of Nebraska’s championship Cornhusker football team. Lees than an hour away in greater Omaha, travelers will learn that Nebraska isn’t all corn and cattle. Here, they will find the Joslyn Art Museum, featuring one of the world’s leading collections of Western art; the Old Market, a restored historic district filled with quaint shops; the Orpheum Theater ; and ballet symphony and opera companies.

Nevada

Nevada is truly a land of contrasts and contradictions. It is the driest of the 50 states, yet it is home to the Lake Tahoe ski area with 15 downhill and 13 cross-country sites as well as the nation’s largest manmade lake. Lake Mead, and two immense prehistoric island seas, Pyramid and Walker Lakes.

Nevada is a glittering playground that looks expensive, but is not. Movie stars and tycoons come to play but the resort accommodations are very affordable, and comfortable motels will satisfy even the most budget conscious visitor. The state’s vastness and range of altitudes mean that almost any time is the right time to visit. In summer, retreat to the alpine splendor of Lake Tahoe. Espace winter’s bluster at Las Vegas or Laughlin, where the sun shines and the climate is always temperate.

Las Vegas, known as a capital of gambling and glitz, is transforming into a multi-dimensional resort, where gambling is just one of many attractions. Four new themed resorts opened in 1993 alone : Visitors enter the Luxor Hotel Casino, a 30-story gold pyramid, through a giant sphinx and float to their rooms aboard barges on a simulated Nile River. The Treasure Island is a pirate theme resort. The Grand Slam Canyon, an addition to the famed Circus Circus, is a fully-enclosed replica of the Grand Canyon with water rides, laser tag games and a spectacular indoor roller coaster .The MGM Grand, the world’s largest hotel, casino and theme park, was inspired by MGM films.

The Reno Sparks area is famous for its very special events. Each fall, the Reno National Championship Air Races attract top racers, aerobatic pilots and stunt flyers from around the world. Preceding the air races by a week is the Great Reno Balloon Race. A big attraction in summer is Reno’s Hot August Nights, when car lovers gather for a four-day celebration of 1950s pop culture ; many visit the National Automobile Museum.

Las Vegas and Reno both have numerous full-service shopping malls and bargain-filled factory outlet stores. The newest upscale shopping experience is the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. Spark’s new Victorian Square, a 19th-century themed pedestrian mall ringed by the town’s main resorts, has been remodeled into a stating area for some of the region’s most popular events including the Cinco de Mayo celebration, the Nugget Jazz Festival and the Bets in the West Rib Cookoff.

New Hampshire

The highest mountains in the Northeast ... over 1,300 shimmering lakes and ponds ... and 18-mil seacoast steeped in colonial history ... mall towns, streets lined with clap-board houses ... romantic covered bridges ... meandering country roads ablaze each fall with autumn color.

New Hampshire is, indeed, a varied and fascinating state. New Hampshire is nicknamed « The Grandite State » for the rock which honeycombs its landscape. Though small in size - only 9,034 square miles/23,258 square kilometers with a population of just over 1 million - New Hampshire offers the visitor a wonderful array of things to see and do.

Included on the « always intriguing » list : Mount Washington, the highest peak in the Northeast ; Mr Monadnock, the single most climbed mountain in North America ; picturesque Wolfeboro, the oldest summers resort town in the United States ; New Hampshire’s State House in Concord, the oldest legislative building in America in which both houses continue to sit in their original chambers ; the Kancamagus Highway from Lincoln to Conway, one of the most spectacular drives in the country.

Other top attractions include Franconia Notch State Park, where you’ll find New Hampshire’s famed « Old Man of the Mountain, » a natural granite « profile » that measures 48 feet/16 meters from forehead to chin ; the Flume Gorge and Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway ; Shaker Village in Canterbury, one of the few remaining Shaker communities in the country ; the Mount Washington Cog Railway, the first mountain-climbing, steam powered railway in the world ; the M/S Mt. Washington, a beautiful vessel hat cruises expansive Lake Winnipesaukee; and Strawbery Banke in Portsmouth, a ten-acre waterfront museum where you can explore four centuries of history.

Needless to say, outdoor activities of call kinds abound in this four-season vacation state - from skiing in winter to golfing and canoeing in summer.

As for shopping, all six of New Hampshire’s regions are bursting with specialty shops dealing in antiques, arts and crafts and regional food stuffs. In addition there are many exciting spots for outlet shopping. Best of all, it’s all tax-free.

New Jersey

Ride a roller coaster. Catch a wave. Laze on a sunny beach. Browse for antiques. Paddle a canoe through forests of pine. Shop at factory outlets. Ski down a mountains. Tour vineyards and farms. Watch fishermen haul in the catch of the day. Dine at a gourmet restaurant. Have a date with Lady Liberty ... or Lady Luck.

During just one week, travelers can soar high above breathtaking scenery in a balloon, stroll the world’s first boardwalk in Atlantic City, explore historic sites, take a day trip to nearby New York City, relax on the beach, discover fine museums or catch an acclaimed theater performance. Stay longer, and try the wild amusement rides at Six Flags Great Adventure theme park, one of the largest of its kind ; pamper yourself at an exquisite Victorian bed-and-breakfast inn ; reel in « the big one » from a party fishing boat.

New Jersey can accommodate the interests of whole families - or entire groups. Adventures can climb a mountain or raft down a river. History buffs can relieve the past at early American villages, museums and authentic re-enactments that reflect New Jersey’s role as a major Revolutionary War site.

Those seeking the quiet of the shore will love our beach resorts and quaint seaside towns bordered by long sandy beaches and the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Sports enthusiasts have a menu of fun to choose from : top ranked, world-class golf courses, myriad professional and amateur events and the state-of-the-art Meadowlands sports complex.

Each season brings its own special pleasures : in summer, visitors can watch for whales off the southern coast, pitch camp along a winding river, ride the waves on surf boards or wave runners. In winter, skiers can schuss down steep slopes. In spring, the state’s numerous botanical gardens blossom forth in spectacular style. In autumn, the changing leaves turn hillsides fiery gold, and the football season gets into swing.

New Jersey boats a full slate of world-class events throughout the year : in 1994, the World Cup Soccer Championships will be played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford and, as she is each year, Miss America will be crowned in September at Atlantic City. Seafood festivals, balloon festivals and ethnic celebrations abound.

New Mexico

The English novelist D.H. Lawrence said that « for a greatness of beauty. I have never experienced anything like New Mexico. » He was just one of the thousands of writers, artists and photographers who were drawn to New Mexico by the unique quality of light and the extraordinary beautiful of the sky.

Nature, the arts, and history - all at their most spectacular - enchant visitors and keep them coming back year after year. The wonders of nature can be found in every corner of the state from the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, once of the largest and most spectacular cave systems in the world, located in the south-east part of the state to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge where bird-watchers come to see thousands of snow geese and other magnificent birds in flight, including the rare whooping crane. On the sprawling Navajo Indian Reservation in the north-west, travelers can lose themselves in the tranquil beauty of desert and mountains punctuated by dramatic rock formations.

The art scene in New Mexico in on par with offering in some of the nation’s largest, most sophisticated cities. Santa Fe, the state’s capital, is a mecca for opera lovers who come to hear world-class performances in a hillside. Bursting with art museums and galleries, Santa Fe is also one of the country’s most important art centers, after New York and Los Angeles.

In nearby Taos, a picturesque town at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the artistry of the Spanish colonial architecture vies with the local art scene and the draw of the world-class ski slopes for visitors’ attention. In Albuquerque, the stet’s largest city, the Old Town Plaza in a center for art galleries, craft shops and indigenous adobe architecture anchored by the historical San Felipe de Neri church.

The remarkable legacy of the Indians is beautifully preserved at numerous sites around the state. At Chaco Culture National Historical Park in Chaco Canyon, visit the massive ruins of a towering community built a thousand years ago by the Anasazi Indians, « The Ancient Ones. » Thirteen of the original pueblos of up to 800 rooms still remain there. Near the center of the state, just west of Albuquerque, containing nearly 17,000 ancient rock drawings, and Aztec Ruins National Monument, an excavated 500-room settlement located in north-west New Mexico.

The Southern Rocky Mountains are responsible for New Mexico’s 10,000-foot contrasts in elevation, and also account for cactus bloom at the base of Sierra Blanca or « White Mountain, » which remains draped in a blanket of snow for most of the year. Wondrous sagebrush plains suddenly give way to the chasm of the Rio Grande Gorge, carved by annual spring rapids the lure photographers, fishermen and white-water rafters. And thanks to the unique climate found in the « Land of Enchantment, » vacationers can snow-ski and waters-ski on the same trip.

With such differences in elevation, precipitation and climate, there’s only one word to describe New Mexico’s scenery and landscape ... breathtaking.

New York

Those two little words are so linked in people’s minds witch the big city of that name that visitors often forget about the equally fascinating state that is also called New York.

Those seeking wide sandy beaches, historic villages, great shopping and dining and salt-water fishing can’t find a better vacation spot than Long Island lying due east of New York City.

North of New York City lies the Hudson Valley, a pastoral region of low rolling hills, great antiquing, numerous wineries and notable historic sites including a slew restored stately home/museums looking down from bluffs high above the Hudson River ; the home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, now a museum ; and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

From there, head west into the Catskills, a lively vacation spot whose resorts feature big-name entertainment, golfing and skiing, and whose small towns host numerous ethnic and music festivals in summer. Trout fishing on the Delaware River and its western branches is another big draw here.

The state capital, Albany, anchors the Capital-Saragota region. Here, discover the charms of Saragota Springs, a Victorian resort originally built around the area’s medicinal springs but now even more popular for horse racing and the Saragota Performing Arts Center, summer home of the New York City Ballet and Philadelphia Orchestra.

Due north, enter the perfumed pine forests, icy lakes and soaring peaks of the Adirondacks, a vats outdoor playground for camping, hiking and canoeing. The region’s most famous village, Lake Placid, hosted the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympics and is now a year-round center for skating, skiing and ski-jumping.

Large navigable lakes are the draw in both the 1000 Islands-Sea-way region (where you can watch ocean-going freighters make their way past your hotel balcony) and the Finger Lake region, famous for its deep glacial lakes and superb wineries. The nearby Central Leatherstocking region, the state’s heartland, is the place to learn about America’s national sport at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

If you haven’t had your fill of water, head for the biggest splash of all - Niagara Falls. See it by helicopter, from an observation tower, or from the deck of an excursion boat.

The south-western corner of the state, Chautauqua Allegheny, is home to a large Amish Community ; the largest park in the state, with superb camping, fishing and bird-watching ; and the famed Chautauqua Institution, a center for intellectual and artistic inquiry.

If all that weren’t enough there’s still New York City, "the city that never sleeps." Here you’ll find a mosaic of ethnic neighborhoods, a forest of skyscrapers and one of the world’s leading artistic centers.

North Carolina

More than 400 years ago, two explorers returned to England with news of the « Good -liest Land under the Cope of Heaven. » Soon afterward, the first permanent European settlers to the New World arrived at Roanoke Island.

It was also here, along the North Carolina Outer Banks, in December 1903, that Orville and Wilbur Wright proved humanity could fly. If North Carolina’s history does not draw you, the landscape surely will. The state is blessed with nine national recreation areas, 35 state parks and four distinct geographic regions.

The mountains offer a mix of the scenic and historic. Here you’ll find Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern Unites States ; excursions on Tweetsie Rail-road in Blowing Rock and the Great Smoky Mountains Railway in Dillsboro; Goodwin Guild Weavers, where fabric is women an century-old looms ; the old-fashioned Mast General Store ; George Vanderbilt’s magnificent Biltmore Estate in Asheville ; and in Cherokee, the re-created Oconaluftee Indian Village and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is here, and in Brasstown, the John C. Campbell Folk School offers courses in traditional folk art. If you want to take home hand-crafted items, stop at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Along the North Carolina coast, visit the seaport of Morehead City, the historic town of Beaufort and the pristine beaches of Cape Lookout National Seashore. In Wilmington, the largest coastal town, thrill to the Azalea Festival in spring and visit nearby Poplar Grove Plantation. To the west discover he Pinehurst area, world-famous for golf.

The heartland is the home of Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham, anchors for the Research Triangle Park, a center for science and technology. Heading west into the foothills, stop at Winston-Salem and the re-created 18th-century Moravian village of Old Salem and visit the world’s largest furniture market in High Point, where you can find furniture bargains. In Greensboro, visit the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, an American Revolution site. Charlotte, the state’s largest city, features Discovery Place, a science museum ; the state’s largest theme park, Paramoun’s Caro-winds ; and the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

North Dakota

From the lush, orderly farms of the fertile Red River Valley, across rolling prairies to the rugged Bad Lands in the West, North Dakota provides the modern explorer with plenty of variety ... and lots of space.

North Dakota boasts the most federal wildlife in the continental United States. Scores of museums house native and pioneer collections, led by the state Heritage Center in Bismarck on the capital grounds. Hiking, biking, wildlife watching. Nordic skiing, and world-class hunting and fishing are all here.

North Dakota’s history is linked with some of the country’s most illustrious names. The state was home for a time to the explorers Lewis and Clark, the naturalist John J. Audubon, to Sitting Bull and General George Armstrong Custer and to Theodore Roosevelt, whose dream of a national park system was born here and whose name is immortalized in a park on the site where he lived. The state’s self-guided American Legacy Tour takes you through places associated with these giants.

The Bad Land on Theodore Roosevelt National Park are preserved as Teddy found them, alive with buffalo, elk, bighorn sheep, coyotes and prairie dogs. Visitors can drive the scenic loop or join a trail ride through the broken ravines, juniper couless, and sculpted Little Missouri breaks.

The Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site recalls the glory days of the agricultural Mandan and Hidasta villages, rivals of the more nomadic Sioux. The reconstructed fort of the explorers Lewis and Clark, who spent the winter nearby, is now a country campground.

Lewis and Clark thought the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers would be an ideal spot for a trading post. Twenty-five years later, the great fur trader John Jacob Astor proved them right. Goods are again bartered inside the six-meter walls on Fort Union, a fully National Historic Site.

The fourth anchor of the American Legacy Tour is Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park located on the banks of the Missouri, where the Custer house has been rebuilt a few hundred meters from a 17th-century Mandan village.

North Dakota in nicknamed « The Peace Garden State » in honor of the International Peace Garden where 140,000 hand-planted annual flowers symbolize the peace along the world’s longest unifortified border.

Ohio

Centrally located between the populous mid-Atlantic region and the prairie states of the Midwest, Ohio has it all : an extensive recreational coastline on the shores of Lake Eric ; mile of scenic farmland ; and sophisticated cities, alive with music, museums, theater, dance, picturesque parks and charming architecture.

Ohio is also home to four nation’s most popular amusement/theme parks : Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky; Paramount’s Kings Island ; Sea World of Ohio, and adjacent Geauga Lake in Aurora.

In Ohio, museums of all kinds, from the serious to the fun, play host to visitors with a wide rang of interests. Here you’ll find Cincinnati’s Museum Center Complex, which houses both the Museum of Natural History and the Cincinnati Historical Society; the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton ; the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton; the Wyandot Popcorn Museum in Marion ; the National Afro-American Museum in Wilberforce. And the eagerly awaited Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The many threads that comprise the state’s history (its Native American legacy, its steel industry, Neil Armstrong’s conquest of the moon, the emergence of the Northwest territories) are enshrined at 60 sites around the state maintained by the Ohio Historical Society.

Those who love the outdoors are drawn to Ohio’s 72 state parks, eight of which have full-scale resort lodges. Here, whether your sport is fishing, hiking, swimming, horse-back riding, camping, golfing or simple relaxation, you’ll find something to please you.

The steamboats, which once plied Ohio’s rivers carrying freight and passengers, played an important role in the state’s early development. Today, excursions on boats – some of them vintage steam boats – provide a great way to explore the state’s history and geography. In Cleveland, take a narrated tour of Lake Erie or a sunset cruise on the Cuyahoga River. In Cincinnati, enjoy a riverboat tour anytime of the year.

If dinning and shopping are your passion, the designer specialty malls in downtown Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati offer temptations you’ll find hard to resist. Bargain hunters will delight in the « finds » at the state’s outlet malls.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is America in its native state - pure, natural and unspoiled. It is home to American Indians, buffalo, horses and cattle drives, as well as sparkling cities and charming rural towns.

Oklahoma, the only state ever designated an Indian Territory, has the nation’s closest ties to the American Indian.

Indian cultural events are commonplace in Oklahoma. Red Earth, the world’s largest pow-wow is held each June in Oklahoma City. Thirty-seven Indian nations head quartered in Oklahoma including the Kiowa, Delaware, Sac & Fox, Iowa ad Potawatomi tribes, also hold pow-wows and gathering throughout the summer months.

The spirit of the Old West is very much alive in Oklahoma where museums, festivals ad attractions, such as the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City, preserve and interpret the frontier history of the nation’s 46th state. This massive collection of historic and contemporary Western art includes the National Rodeo Hall on Fame. Horses - and the cowboys who tamed and rode them - are a vital part of the state’s past and present. Each year, more than 50 major horse shows the place in Oklahoma City and Tulsa alone. World-class race track Remington Park in Oklahoma City, anchors an important cluster of museums, restaurants and hotels.

Oklahoma offers more than a chance to observe western life. Travelers can participate in cattle drives, trail rides, re-created wagon trains and living history programs.

If travelers need a diversion from cowboy life, Oklahoma offers more challenging outdoor adventure. More than 200 man-made lakes are the perfect setting for fishing, sailing, boating, water skiing, mountain climbing, rappeling, mountain biking and swimming. Hikers and wildlife enthusiasts will delight in the state’s 56 state parks, 50 wildlife management areas and five federal wildlife refuges. Campers can rough it in style at Oklahoma’s lakeside resorts located in and near several state parks.

For those who believe adventure lies not at the end of travel but during the journey, and intriguing showcase of American culture can be found along historic Route 66, the nation’s first transcontinental paved road. Today, more then 400 miles are carefully preserved for travelers to explore.

Oregon

If the 19th-century settlers who traveled over the Oregon Trail to reach Oregon’s wilderness could return today, they would still recognize a great deal of the countryside they encountered back then. A system of 225 state parks and six nationally protected park and recreation areas have gone a long way toward preserving the state’s unique natural beauty which ranges from maritime to mountainous. Here you will find Crater Lake National Park, its deep, sapphire-blue lake cupped inside an extinct volcanic crater, and The Painted Hills National Monument with its prehistoric fossils.

Portland, the state’s largest city, boasts excellent public transportation, charming restored buildings, modern architecture and a beautiful natural setting on the banks of the Willamette River that is crossed by 11 bridges. Four snow-capped mountains are visible from the city’s skyline. Within the city of 1.3 million inhabitants is one of the world’s largest rose gardens, a huge forested park, zoo and arboretum. Large department stores and boutique malls, as well as unique small shops, theaters, museums, intimate hotels, ethnic restaurants, jazz-club and micro-breweries enliven the city’s center.

Most of Oregon’s towns are small, with fewer than 20,000 residents, but each has it own unique charm. Pendleton, for example, in the north-eastern part of the state, is an authentic western town. Ashland, in the southern part of the state, is famous for its year-round Shakespeare theater performances and fine restaurants, espresso shops, bed-and-breakfast inns and bookstores.

Eugene, in the southern Willamette Valley, is home to the University of Oregon.

In Oregon’s wine country, which lies between the Coast Range and the Cascade, you can visit wineries and tour beautifully restored historic towns and stately homes.

Oregon’s 300 miles/480 kilometers of white sandy beaches border a coastline that combines breathtaking ocean views with fascinating small towns full of opportunities for dining, shopping, and sightseeing. Visit the Oregon Coast Aquarium ; browse through the Cannon Beach art galleries; and marvel at the magnificent Victorian architecture in Astoria, reputedly the oldest city west of the Mississippi.

Those who love the outdoors will find plenty to keep them busy in Oregon, from biking, hiking, beach-combing,, white-water rafting, wind-surfing, golfing on over 130 public courses, to year-round skiing on Mount Hood.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is home to more than 12 million people, living in cosmopolitan cities, small towns and rural areas. Founded in 1681 by the English Quaker William Penn, Pennsylvania has been described as the "birthplace of the nation" for its central role in the American Revolution. To this day, Philadelphia draws history buffs eager to visit dozens of sites linked to the American Revolution, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, meeting place of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. The sites are part of Independence National Historical Park, so admission is generally free.

Philadelphia is also home to numerous cultural attractions, including a world-famous symphony orchestra and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Pittsburgh, at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers, was a major power during the Industrial Revolution. Today, it is a clean, livable city of fascinating architecture, a world-class orchestra, parks, and museums, including the Carnegie Museum Complex.

Reminders of a less peaceful time can be relived at Gettysburg where the armies of North and South clashed in one of the Civil War’s bloodiest battles and where President Lincoln made the address which immortalized the town’s name. Exploring all of Pennsylvania’s major historical sites is easy: Simply follow the route of the Pennsylvania Trail of History, showcasing 27 museums and historic sites, or take the Path of Progress tour route, commemorating the contributions of the miners, railroaders and steel workers of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Journey to the center of the state and Pennsylvania Dutch country, an area settled by Amish and Mennonite people whose religious beliefs dictate that they shun the temptations of the modern world. As you explore the tidy villages and farms, steer clear of horse-drawn buggies, carrying men, women and children dressed in centuries-old style. This is also where you’ll find "The Sweetest Place on Earth," the town of Hershey, famous for its chocolates and Hersheypark entertainment complex.

Outdoor enthusiasts will find abundant opportunities for fishing, boating, canoeing, camping, skiing and cave exploration. Much of this activity centers in the Pocono Mountains - named one of the "Last Great Places on Earth" by the Nature Conservancy - in Pennsylvania’s 114 state parks, which also offer organized programs of nature appreciation and environmental education, and in the 500,000 scenic acres of the Allegheny National Forest.

From Reading, the "Outlet Capital of the World," to Amish country, dining and shopping opportunities abound. After a day at Lancaster’s Central Market, stocked with Amish and Mennonite foods and crafts, shoppers can partake of a Pennsylvania Dutch smorgasbord. Antique lovers can head to Adamstown or Duncanville.

Steeped in colonial and Victorian tradition, the charm of small-town life is preserved in Pennsylvania . Whether showcased in fall foliage, decorated for an old-fashioned Christmas celebration or bustling with the excitement of a spring festival.

After a long, fun-filled day, travelers can call it a night at a luxury hotel, ski resort, family lodge or motel, modern or rustic cabin, country inn or bed-and-breakfast. Prices vary, so there’s something for every budget.