Falling Waters

[SeaDawg]

I've wanted to see this Frank LLoyd Wright house for a very long time.... and finally got the opportunity on our last trip. We backtracked about 20 miles from Laurel Hill State Park in southern Pennsylvania along some very pretty but sometimes steep little roads (very short stretches of 11 and 13%... no problem with the Oliver in tow... It's more easily accessed from the PA Thruway, but we enjoyed the backroads this trip.

 

The house on the falls

 

Our Oliver in the parking lot

 

Bear Run... the stream that runs through the property and creates the falls

 

The view from the overlook.

 

All tours are guided, and about an hour long. If you don't have reservations, go early. We waited about an hour for our tour, exploring the gift shop, the art museum, and the grounds. We got lucky. Reservations are highly recommended, especially on the weekends.

 

The house is amazing. I've seen many photo albums of Falling Waters, but wasn't prepared for just how unique, integrated, and organic the house is. It truly is part of the landscape, just as Wright and the Kaufmann's wanted it to be. No photos were allowed inside, but it was a great experience. Unlike many house/museum tours, it was very intimate. I felt that any minute one of the Kaufmann's house guests might peek around a corner.... Because of its integration into the landscape, it was amazingly cool on a sunny day... the house opens to the woods and the falls below.

 

Camping in this area is great, too. The Pennsylvania park system is outstanding... we found the best free shower house of the whole trip at Laurel Ridge SP. Campsites offered a choice of landscape... secluded in the woods, on the meadow, or in between... we opted for a spot by the meadow, well shaded, with a view of the hills beyond. There are three or four parks in the Laurel Recreation area. We'll be back to explore more. Note: Unfortunately, no pets were allowed in this park. Our dog was at home with our daughter. $16 or $18, with hookups, much less with "geezer pass"...

Sherrry

[mountainborn]

Great report. Thanks.

[dougi]

I went to a travel web site to look up Fallingwaters, Mill Run, PA.

 

Out of seventeen reviews, only one review was for less than 5 stars (it was for 4 stars). The place must be really worth seeing. Most reviewers said to go for the expanded tour, where photography is allowed inside. All said to get reservations or go early, preferably the first tour of the day.

 

Thanks for posting. Maybe Geneva and I can get up there to take a tour this Fall, after we pick up our new Oliver in late September. It depends somewhat on the price of fuel at that time.

 

Doug