{{short description|State park in Pennsylvania, United States}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} {{Infobox park | name = Laurel Summit State Park | image = LSSP Green trials.jpg | image_caption = Wolf Rock Loop | image_alt = Trail | image_size = 280 | location = [[Cook Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]], United States | coordinates = {{coord|40.16082|-79.1491|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | coords_ref = <ref name="lssp"/> | area = {{convert|6|acre|abbr=on}}<ref name="lssp"/> | elevation = {{convert|2739|ft}}<ref name="lssp"/> | established = 1964 | administrator = [[Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]] | free_label = | free_data = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | visitation_ref = | website = {{Official website}} | module = {{Infobox protected area | map = USA Pennsylvania#USA | label = Laurel Summit State Park | label_position = top | map_caption = Location in Pennsylvania | relief = 1 | module = [[List of Pennsylvania state parks|Pennsylvania State Parks]] }} }} '''Laurel Summit State Park''' is a {{convert|6|acre|adj=on}} [[List of Pennsylvania state parks|Pennsylvania state park]] in [[Cook Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania|Cook Township]], [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania|Westmoreland County]], [[Pennsylvania]] in the United States. It is also a [[picnic]] area with a scenic view of Linn Run on the [[Summit (topography)|summit]] of [[Laurel Hill (Pennsylvania)|Laurel Mountain]]. The temperatures at Laurel Summit State Park are generally several degrees cooler than the surrounding towns in the valleys. The elevation of the park is {{convert|2739|ft}} above [[sea level]].<ref name="lssp">{{cite web |url=https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/laurel-summit-state-park |title=Laurel Summit State Park |publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources |access-date=2026-01-07}}</ref>
The area in and surrounding Laurel Summit State Park is now a thriving [[Secondary forest|second growth forest]]. One hundred years ago it was generally described as a "waste land". The ridges of the Laurel Mountain had once been covered with [[old-growth forest]]. These forests were [[clearcutting|clear cut]] during the lumber era that swept over most of the mountains and forests of Pennsylvania during the mid-to-late 19th century and very early 20th century. The lumbermen stripped the mountains. They took the logs to the [[sawmill]] where they were cut into [[lumber]]. Smaller logs were used to reinforce the [[shaft mining|mine shaft]]s of the many [[coal mine]]s throughout southwestern Pennsylvania and [[West Virginia]]. The bark of the [[tsuga|hemlock]] tree was used as a source of [[tannin]] at the [[Tanning (leather)|tanneries]] of the area. The only thing the lumbermen left behind was the treetops. These tree tops were left to dry. The passing [[steam locomotive]]s of the [[Pittsburgh, Westmoreland and Somerset Railroad]] would ignite this dry brush causing massive [[wildfire]]s that swept through the mountains and valleys. In 1909, after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had purchased the land from the lumbermen, [[Forester]] John R. Williams reported, "I should say that fully three-fifths (60%) of the reserve had been burned since the lumbering was done. The fires did great damage to the young growth. Some places were covered with nothing but [[fern]]s and [[blackberry bush]]es." Scars from these fires can still be seen today in the Laurel Summit vicinity.<ref name="lssp"/>
Most of the [[wildlife]] in the area was devastated due to the destruction of their [[habitat]] or over hunting. [[White-tailed deer]] were imported from [[Michigan]] and [[New York (state)|New York]] to reestablish what had once been a thriving population of deer. These deer were released throughout Pennsylvania. The current population of deer in Pennsylvania are descended from the original stock that was introduced in 1910 after the lumbermen had moved out of the area.<ref name="lssp"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} {{portal|Pennsylvania}} *[https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/laurel-summit-state-park Laurel Summit State Park] Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources * {{cite web|url=http://elibrary.dcnr.pa.gov/GetDocument?docId=1737543&DocName=LASU_ParkMap.pdf |title=Laurel Summit State Park — Official map }} {{small|(301 KB)}}
{{Protected Areas of Pennsylvania}} {{Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania}}
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[[Category:State parks of Pennsylvania]] [[Category:State parks of the Appalachians]] [[Category:Parks in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Laurel Highlands]] [[Category:Protected areas of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]] [[Category:Protected areas established in 1964]] [[Category:1964 establishments in Pennsylvania]]