• Plunge into white water on the Youghiogheny River. With its class III and IV rapids, it provides some of the best rafting in the east.

• Journey back in time at Old Bedford Village (website: www.oldbedfordvillage.com) for a taste of living history of the pioneer era, with costumed guides, crafts demonstrations and 40 authentic buildings.

• Visit two of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces in western Pennsylvania's Laurel Highlands: Kentuck Knob (website: www.kentuckknob.com) and the spectacular Fallingwater (website: www.paconserve.org).

• Experience the life of the Pennsylvania Dutch in Lancaster County (website: www.padutch.com). Hear interpreters weaving their story at the People's Place in Intercourse. Buy homemade quilts, crafts and wares, detour down side roads for glimpses of horse-drawn buggies, auctions and antique shops.

• Indulge your sweet tooth in the town of Hershey (website: www.hersheypa.com), home of the world's largest chocolate factory, ‘Chocolatetown USA', with a visitor's centre, shopping outlets and an amusement park.

• Descend 76m (250ft) below the earth to Lackawanna Coal Mine (website: www.thecoalminetour.com). Former miners lead visitors on tours through the mines telling of the lives and times of the miners. Visit Eckley Miners' Village (website: www.eckleyminers.org), an authentic coal-mining town.

• Travel through the Allegheny National Forest (website: www.fs.fed.us/r9/forests/allegheny), a vast area of woodlands, virgin timber, rivers and beautiful vistas. Winter sports enthusiasts can explore 480km (300 miles) of snowmobiling trails and seven cross-country ski trails.

• Explore the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon on foot, horseback, canoe or river raft. The 300m- (1,000ft-) deep gorge twists along 80km (50 miles) of Pine Creek and embraces 121,000 hectares (300,000 acres) of forest (website: www.visittiogapa.com).

• Fish, boat or swim Lake Erie. Bordering the Great Lakes, the northwestern corner of the state features 12,950 hectares (32,000 acres) of lakes, as well as hundreds of miles of rivers.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.