The perfect summer night at Glendorn? Sipping on drinks and toasting s’mores at the lake side cabin. All photos courtesy of the Lodge at Glendorn.
Once you stumble across the Lodge at Glendorn in Northwest Pennsylvania, we guarantee you will want it to be your second home. The hideaway is the perfect mix of comfort and luxury, with a homey feeling and charm with its original, kitschy furnishings, fine dining and cozy vibe. The 12-cabin lodge founded in 1929, is an idyllic getaway anytime of the year (calling the Allegheny National Forest area home, it’s a nature-lovers paradise in the fall and winter), but even more so during the last few weeks of summer. We round up five reasons why (but honestly there are so many more) you need to make the short trip down to Glendorn this summer.
The cozy rooms and cabins at the lodge.
1. Spa Weekend, Anyone?
The spa may be small at the Glendorn Lodge, but it is definitely mighty when it comes to relaxation and the treatments. The cozy atmosphere comes with a fireplace where you can sip tea on over-sized couches and chairs before and after your treatment (did we mention they also use ingredients from their own property like honey, lemongrass, lavender and berries in their soothing treatments?). And you can go wrong with this special summer treatment they have right now. A hair and scalp treatment made with hibiscus and honeysuckle that will restore shine and silkiness to your hair while moisturizing your scalp and fix those split ends.
Try your hand a fly-fishing on the lake.
2. Lake Life
While northern Ontario comes with plenty of lakes, they also come with plenty of tourists during the summer months. Glendorn Lodge has a slew of stunning lakes just waiting to be explored, minus all the bustle. Cast your line for fishing, paddle a canoe or kayak out across the still waters, or get your ab workout in with some stand-up paddle boarding. The best fact is that you won’t be jostling for space and will feel like you’re on your own private lake.
A clam lake on a still summer night.
3. Laziness Not Required
You don’t have to just relax when you get onto the Glendorn Lodge property (although that IS perfectly acceptable). Aside from the many water and lake activities you can do, you can also have a healthy active stay too with 18 miles of hiking trails through the hills and mountains. Strap on your shoes and go for an adventure, or grab one of the on-site bikes to get a speedy workout in. There’s also time for a good old tennis match, a dip in the pool, or a round of Bocce Ball (post leisurely breakfast and spa treatment, of course).
Dining outside is just one of the extra pleasures you get at the lodge in the summer.
4. Blackberry Season
If there’s one thing that gets us excited when we travel, it’s the food. Local food at the peak of its season means that you’ll undoubtedly have many meal memories. At Glendorn in late summer, it’s the height of blackberry season. Plump juicy dark berries are just waiting to be picked and Executive Chef Joe Schafer puts them to good use. Head out with Chef Schafer and pick your own berries to make jam, and then spread the goodness on your toast in the morning (and don’t forget to get some to take back home with you too).
5. It’s Just a Three Hour Drive
You can’t beat this. It’s just a three-hour drive from downtown Toronto and a quick jaunt across the border to get to this nature oasis. An added bonus, you miss out on all the traffic heading north to the city’s most popular country getaway, Muskoka. And the drive into western Pennsylvania is also a beauty as you hit up the winding roads that lead you into the tucked away lodge.
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