I'm looking for a small town near Altoona...? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: ski resort, home)

[LizGama77]

I NEED it to be near Altoona. I also need it to be in the mountains and if not it has to be surrounded by forest and green. Population of no more than 2,200 people.

[ki0eh]

Population figures for PA municipalities are sometimes skewed by oddly drawn municipal (township, borough) boundaries.

Altoona is on the edge of the Allegheny Front which is a topographic barrier that crosses all of PA, but at the point where this barrier is perhaps most significant.

Going west 10 miles or so to Cresson and its neighboring Mainline communities of Sankertown, Gallitzin, Lilly, Portage, Cassandra gets you into much more wind and snow. This area heading towards Johnstown shares its economic challenges. Also west of the Allegheny Front gets you into the gas fracking zone, for economic good or possible environmental ill. More to the point the heritage of coal mining in this area still scars the landscape and the economy.

In the same broad valley as Altoona itself (other than the more suburban areas and the apparently too-large-for-you communities of Hollidaysburg and Tyrone) are such places as Bellwood and Tipton going north, and Newry and Claysburg going south. I don't know too much about their relative merits and demerits. West of Claysburg is some ski-type development around Blue Knob (2nd highest mountain in PA), some of this seems to be 1960's time warp at first glance.

A special case going southeast is the tidy and relatively prosperous Morrisons Cove area around Roaring Spring and Martinsburg. The Cove is the most open farm country of this part of PA but you're never out of sight of a rimming ridge. This is also an old fashioned conservative area - speaking of time warps, Prohibition never ended in this set of municipalities.

East a little bit off the beaten path is Williamsburg, we used to have an active poster from around there. It doesn't seem quite as dominated by either farming or mining heritage and certainly has been beyond the reach of anything passing for urban sprawl.

Depending on your definition of "near" Huntingdon may be a possibility, maybe it's too big for you but Alexandria is nearby with plenty of others. Huntingdon has a college, prison, and a large reservoir (Raystown Lake) and there are a lot of good hiking trails in Huntingdon County. See Huntingdon PA - The Coolest Small Town in Pennsylvania, Huntingdon, raystown.org

[Craziaskowboi]

I don't know much about central Pennsylvania, but give Bedford a look. It's about 35 miles south of Altoona at the junction of the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-99, and it's in a very rural setting east of the Allegheny Front.


Distance from Bedford to nearby outdoor attractions

10 miles to Shawnee Lake
20 miles to Lake Koon and Lake Gordon
25 miles to Blue Knob Ski Resort
25 miles to the Flight 93 National Memorial
25 miles to Lake Stonycreek
35 miles to the Johnstown Flood National Memorial
35 miles to Raystown Lake
50 miles to Mount Davis (highest point in Pennsylvania)
50-60 miles to the Laurel Highlands

Distances from Bedford to notable cities in Pennsylvania

35 miles to Altoona
40 miles to Johnstown
75 miles to State College
100 miles to Harrisburg
110 miles to Pittsburgh
115 miles to York
135 miles to Lancaster
135 miles to Williamsport
160 miles to Reading
175 miles to Allentown
180 miles to Bethlehem
200 miles to Philadelphia
200 miles to Wilkes-Barre
215 miles to Scranton
225 miles to Erie

Distances from Bedford to nearby cities in neighboring states

30 miles to Cumberland, MD
70 miles to Hagerstown, MD
95 miles to Frederick, MD
105 miles to Morgantown, WV
130 miles to Washington DC
130 miles to Baltimore, MD
140 miles to Wheeling, WV
165 miles to Youngstown, OH
220 miles to Cleveland, OH
230 miles to Richmond, VA

[Davros]

I think the answer depends on what you mean by "near" Altoona ?

An advantage of Bellwood or Tipton is you don't have to cross a hill to get
there. Other than that, I don't know too much about the area.

[2nd trick op]

In the days when I was growing up, and later, attending Penn State, the gritter areas were Central Altoona, due mostly to the sprawling and antiquated Pennsylvania Railroad shops, and the strip-mining areas in Cambria and Clearfield Counties to the north and west. Tyrone, about ten miles north of Altoona, got especially low marks for its foul-smelling paper mill and a "love it or leave it" attitude common in the polarization of the Vietnam War era.

Environmental awareness and redevelopment has eliminated almost all of this, and even freight railroading is now a growing (and well-paying, though demanding) career. Hollidaysburg, which is the actual county seat of Blair County as opposed to Altoona, is a nice area, as are the smaller towns to the south on the way to Bedford and Cumberland.

But my special favorite is Spruce Creek, a little hamlet about halfway between Altoona and State College via Penna Route 45, The road is too winding and narrow for heavy traffic; it climbs a ridge and snakes down into the valley of the Juniata (not much bigger than a good-sized creek here) ducks under the railroad, then heads north, passing the Indan Caverns and a little valley that's home to some of Penn State's experimental farms. Jimmy Carter discovered the trout fishing here during his years in the White House.

It's as unspoiled today as when I first discovered it back in 1967.

[Lion11]

Originally Posted by 2nd trick op

But my special favorite is Spruce Creek, a little hamlet about halfway between Altoona and State College via Penna Route 45, The road is too winding and narrow for heavy traffic; it climbs a ridge and snakes down into the valley of the Juniata (not much bigger than a good-sized creek here) ducks under the railroad, then heads north, passing the Indan Caverns and a little valley that's home to some of Penn State's experimental farms. Jimmy Carter discovered the trout fishing here during his years in the White House.

It's as unspoiled today as when I first discovered it back in 1967.

Agreed!! Spruce Creek is a gem!

Spruce Creek Pennsylvania

[caringlazybones]

Originally Posted by LizGama77

I NEED it to be near Altoona. I also need it to be in the mountains and if not it has to be surrounded by forest and green. Population of no more than 2,200 people.

I live in Bradford, PA which is not that far from Altoona. We are northwestern near Buffalo and Erie. It is a small town, lots of hills and greeneries. Check us out

[Hopes]

Bradford has way more than 2,200 people. It's funny that the limit is 2,200 people, not 2,000 people, not 2,500 people. LOL

[Davros]

Originally Posted by caringlazybones

I live in Bradford, PA which is not that far from Altoona. We are northwestern near Buffalo and Erie. It is a small town, lots of hills and greeneries. Check us out

Uh ... by most standards Bradford is not near Altoona. How long does it take you to drive there, 2 hours ?