Old Growth Forests in PA

Located primarily in north-central Pennsylvania, the twenty sites on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Auto Tour of Old Growth Forests represent many different ecosystems, not only deep classic "big tree" forests. Most of the sites are within what is known as the Lumber Heritage Region, the 15 counties from which most of the timber resources were extracted in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Much of this area has now once more become a heavily wooded area, with over 2.5 million acres of Federal and State forests. Learn more about what old-growth means and see how and why these particular sites were chosen for the tour. We'll explain the principles on which those choices were based and some of the history of Pennsylvania's magnificent forests.