The Lake Raystown Family Camping Resort has 250 campsites, cabins and bunkhouse accommodations. The Snyder's Run boat launch is just 1.5 miles down the hill, if guests use the private road out in back of the campground. The resort has a playground, volleyball court, soccer field and 40 acres of walking trails. Log on to RaysTownLakeCamping.com, or call (814) 643-3377.

Greenwood Furnace State Park features 51 forested tent and trailer campsites. A hike in the park provides clues about the community that flourished here from 1834 to 1904, when Greenwood Furnace was a busy industrial complex. The park includes covers 423 acres and a six-acre lake for fishing, surrounded by an 80,000-acre block of Rothrock State Forest.

Several other nearby state parks are day-use only, but offer excellent fishing opportunities, family hikes and unique features worth visiting.

Canoe Creek State Park, 12 miles east of Altoona, covers 958 acres and offers panoramic views when you crest the hill on Canoe Creek Road. Canoe Lake's 155 acres are stocked with walleye, muskies, bass, trout, chain pickerel, catfish, and crappies.

There's also a swim area at the lake, hiking trails and a picnic area. The 349-acre Warriors Path State Park lies near the path used by the Iroquois in raids and wars with the Cherokee and other tribes.

The park is bounded on three sides by the Raystown Branch Juniata River, which empties into Raystown Lake about a mile downstream. A boat ramp for canoes, rafts and small boats is available to float the river, which may be too shallow during summer's high heat. The Raystown Branch Juniata River offers excellent fishing for muskies, walleyes, catfish and smallmouth bass.

The 22-acre Whipple Lake and Laurel Run in Whipple Dam State Park are stocked with trout. The 256-acre park offers swimming, bird watching and lots of peace and quiet.

For information about any of Pennsylvania's state parks, call the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources at (717) 783-2658, or visit Dcnr.state.pa.us/stateParks.

For a memorable family vacation, go for a ride on the Johnstown Inclined Plane, an engineering marvel and the world's steepest vehicular inclined plane. Cable-pulled cars move visitors up the mountainside. For more information, log on to InclinedPlane.com, or call (814) 536-1816.

Or violate the laws of physics by letting your car roll uphill at Bedford County's natural oddity, Gravity Hill.

Be sure to visit Penn's Cave to tour the country's only all-water cavern and wildlife sanctuary. Log on to www.pennscave.com, or call them at (814) 364-1664.

For one of the most unique hikes in the nation, trek up Jacks Narrows National Heritage Trail, which was cut into Jacks Mountain in years long past by miners on their way to the quarries.

A visit to Old Bedford Village, with its variety of special events and historical re-enactments, is sure to educate and entertain. Families with younger children will want to visit the Children's Museum in Bloomsburg, with 50 hands-on exhibits, a picnic area and a butterfly garden. Call (570) 389-9206 for details, or visit The-Childrens-Museum.org.

Be sure to check out the William E. Swigart Auto Museum outside of Huntingdon to see one of the country's largest collections of turn-of-the-century automobiles. For details, call (814) 643-0885 or log onto SwigArtMuseum.com.