Mount Davis

Mount Davis is the highest point in Pennsylvania, rising to 3,213 feet on the long, broad crest of Negro Mountain in the Laurel Highlands of the state’s southwest. Unlike a dramatic peak, it is a high, forested swell on a sprawling Allegheny ridge, but it holds the distinction of being the loftiest ground in the Keystone State, set within the Forbes State Forest.

The summit is crowned by a steel observation tower that lifts visitors above the trees for sweeping views across the rolling, forested highlands. A short walk leads to the high point, marked amid fields of weathered rocks and stunted, windswept trees. Surrounded by hiking trails, wild blueberries and quiet northern forest, Mount Davis offers a peaceful high-country experience. As the rooftop of Pennsylvania, Mount Davis is a treasured natural icon of the state.

Mount Davis offers a short walk to the high point and its observation tower (with sweeping views from above the trees), along with hiking on the surrounding trails of the Forbes State Forest and the Mount Davis Natural Area, picnicking, wildlife watching, berry-picking (wild blueberries and huckleberries in summer), and quiet forest exploration. The wider Laurel Highlands offer abundant recreation. Climbing the observation tower for the view and hiking the high-country trails are the signature draws. The combination of the state’s highest point, an observation tower and peaceful forest makes Mount Davis a rewarding, low-key destination.

Summer offers cool, pleasant high-country weather (and wild berries), while fall brings beautiful foliage across the Laurel Highlands seen from the tower, and spring brings fresh green and wildflowers. Winter is cold and snowy (the access roads may be limited). The high elevation makes it cooler than the lowlands. Clear days give the best tower views. Fall for the foliage and summer for the cool air and berries are the highlights — come on a clear day for the views from the tower, and enjoy the quiet forest of the rooftop of Pennsylvania.

The high ridge was named for John Davis, a Civil War veteran, surveyor and naturalist who settled nearby and studied the area. Long part of the forested Allegheny highlands used for timber and farming, the summit and surrounding land became part of the Forbes State Forest, and the Mount Davis Natural Area was set aside to protect the high-country forest and rock features. The observation tower lets visitors rise above the trees. Mount Davis preserves the highest point in Pennsylvania and its quiet high-country forest, a treasured icon of the state.

Mount Davis is the high point of Negro Mountain, a long anticlinal ridge of the Allegheny Plateau formed when ancient Appalachian mountain-building folded and uplifted the layered sedimentary rock; erosion then lowered the land, leaving the resistant ridge crest as the highest ground. The summit area features curious patterned arrangements of weathered rocks (the result of freeze-thaw action during the Ice Age’s periglacial climate) and stunted, windswept trees. The folded, uplifted plateau rock and long erosion left this broad ridge as the rooftop of Pennsylvania.

The high northern forest of Mount Davis hosts white-tailed deer, black bears, bobcats, snowshoe hares, and a birdlife including the species of the cool highland forest — warblers, thrushes, woodpeckers and raptors — along with the wild blueberries and huckleberries that draw both wildlife and people. The cool, high forest and its openings support varied wildlife. Mount Davis and the surrounding Forbes State Forest offer quiet wildlife watching and birding in a peaceful high-country setting, the highest forest in Pennsylvania.

Mount Davis protects a cool, high-elevation forest ecosystem — northern hardwoods with red spruce and other cool-climate species, heath openings with wild blueberries and huckleberries, windswept stunted trees, and the curious periglacial rock features of the summit — within the Mount Davis Natural Area and Forbes State Forest. The high, cool climate gives it a more northern character than the surrounding lowlands. The high-country forest and its features are ecologically distinctive. Protecting the forest, the heath openings and the summit features sustains both the ecology and the quiet character of the rooftop of Pennsylvania.

Mount Davis holds a treasured place among the icons of Pennsylvania — the highest point in the Keystone State, a peaceful forested summit crowned by an observation tower in the Laurel Highlands, a goal for high-pointers and a quiet retreat into the state’s highest country. Modest but meaningful, it embodies the rolling, forested heights of the Alleghenies. Mount Davis is a cherished natural icon of Pennsylvania, the rooftop of the state.

Mount Davis is in the Laurel Highlands of southwestern Pennsylvania, within the Forbes State Forest in Somerset County, reached via back roads (off Route 669 and forest roads) south of the town of Somerset, about an hour and a half southeast of Pittsburgh. There is no entrance fee. A short trail/road leads to the high point, the observation tower and a picnic area, with more trails in the Mount Davis Natural Area. Access roads may be limited in winter. Services are limited; come prepared. Check PA DCNR (Forbes State Forest) for access, road conditions and information before visiting.

Pennsylvania DCNR (Forbes State Forest) protects Mount Davis and its natural area. Visitors help by staying on trails to protect the fragile high-country forest, heath and the curious summit rock features, not disturbing wildlife or picking excessively, packing out everything, preventing wildfire, and following all rules. The high, cool forest and the periglacial features are sensitive. Protecting the forest, the heath openings and the summit features sustains both the ecology and the quiet character of the highest point in Pennsylvania.

Mount Davis is a gentle high point, but the high elevation means cooler, windier weather than the lowlands (bring a layer), and the observation tower is exposed (hold on in wind and skip it in lightning). The access is on remote back roads that can be rough or snowy in winter (check conditions and come prepared, as services and cell signal are limited). Trails are easy but watch footing on the rocky summit. Respect the cool high-country weather, the exposed tower, the remote roads and the limited services.

There is no entrance fee. Stay on trails; do not disturb the summit rock features, the heath or wildlife. Camp only where permitted under Forbes State Forest rules. Pets must be controlled. Drones are restricted. Prevent wildfire; follow fire rules. Pack out all trash; follow Leave No Trace. Access roads may be limited in winter. Check PA DCNR (Forbes State Forest) for access, road conditions and current rules before visiting.

The town of Somerset, the Laurel Highlands resorts and attractions (Seven Springs, Ohiopyle, Fallingwater), the Flight 93 National Memorial, the Forbes State Forest and the surrounding Allegheny highlands lie near Mount Davis. The Laurel Highlands define the region. Mount Davis is the high point of the Laurel Highlands, a centerpiece for high-pointers and quiet-forest seekers, easily combined with Ohiopyle, Fallingwater, the Flight 93 Memorial and the Laurel Highlands resorts.

Make the drive on the back roads to the rooftop of Pennsylvania, climb the observation tower above the trees for sweeping views across the Laurel Highlands (best on a clear day, especially in fall foliage), and walk the short trails of the Mount Davis Natural Area to see the curious patterned summit rocks and windswept trees. Bring a layer (the high country is cool and breezy), pick wild blueberries in summer, check road conditions (remote, limited in winter), and combine your visit with Ohiopyle and the Laurel Highlands.