Bedford County is blessed with 14 covered bridges. Few places have covered bridges set in more picturesque settings and with more variety than in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. These structures were built approximately 100 years ago by craftsmen who worked almost entirely by hand, making structures that would withstand the rain, snow and hard use of the travelling public.

The county's bridges range in length from the 136 foot Herline Bridge near Manns Choice, PA to the Palo Alto bridge south of Hyndman. It is only 56 feet long. Twelve of the spans are Burr-truss bridges, so named after their designer, Theodore Burr. These bridges are held in place by a set of trusses that interact with an arch that spans the length on each side. The simpler Kingpost truss bridges can't span the great lengths achieved by the Burr truss arch system.

A lot of people ask, "Why did they cover the bridges?". One answer is that wooden bridges with exposed superstructures can rot ... covering and roofing them protects them from the weather so they'll last longer.

Here's a list of all 14 Covered Bridges in Bedford County. Click on the name of the bridge for a photgraph and for a description, including length of span, when it was built, etc.
1	Jackson's Mill Covered Bridge
2	Felten's Mill Covered Bridge
3	Hewitt Covered Bridge
4	Palo Alto Covered Bridge
5	Herline Covered Bridge
6	Turner's Covered Bridge
7	Colvin Covered Bridge
8	Cuppett's Covered Bridge
9	Ryot Covered Bridge
10	Dr. Knisely Covered Bridge
11	Snook's Covered Bridge
12	Bowser/Osterburg Covered Bridge
13	Claycomb Covered Bridge
14	Hall's Mill Covered Bridge

Exploring the county's covered bridges can be a pleasant peek into the past. Several are located within a short distance of each other ... others are more isolated. But each, true treasures in their own way, are worth the hunt.

Begin your driving tour at the Old Bedford Village, on Business Rt. 220, just north of Bedford. Here, you'll see the Claycomb Covered Bridge, which was moved from Reynoldsdale to this location in 1975. Continue north on route 220 for about 4 miles and turn onto Rt. 56 west. Drive 6.5 miles on Rt. 56, through the the town of Fishertown. Immediately before you come to the Chestnut Ridge Market, you'll see a sign for the "Snooks Bridge". Turn right and drive about 1/2 mile. Here is the 1883 Snooks Bridge.

Return to the intersection of Rt. 56. Cross over Rt. 56 and drive 1/10th mile. The 1880's Dr. Knisely Bridge is on your right. Continue in the same direction 2.4 miles to the Ryot Bridge (1880's). Drive across this beautiful span and travel 1/2 mile to the intersection of Rt. 96. Turn left on Rt. 96. After driving 2 miles, you'll come upon the Cuppett Bridge on your left. Continue South on Rt. 96, thru the town of New Paris.

(If you are in an RV or perhaps hauling a trailer, you may want to skip Gravity Hill, which is coming up next. Turning may be a problem).

About 1/2 mile south of New Paris, you'll cross a small metal bridge (the road surface is paved, the sides of the bridge are metal). Turn right immediately after this bridge onto Bethel Hollow Road. This is the road to the often talked about, but seldom found, Gravity Hill. After turning onto this road, drive .6 miles ... bear left at the "Y" in the road. (Stay on the "main" road). After another 1 1/2 miles, you'll come to an intersection that has a stop sign (for on-coming traffic only). Bear right onto this road and drive 2 tenths of a mile and look for the letters "GH" spray painted on the road. Go past the first "GH" about .1 mile and stop before you get to the second spray painted "GH". This is it.

As you strain your ears to hear the laws of physics breaking, put your car in neutral (after checking behind you for oncoming traffic, of course) and take your foot off the brake. Your car will roll, uphill. There is a second, unmarked Gravity Hill, just .1 mile past the second, spray painted, "GH". Look for the telephone pole with the number "69". Stop beside this pole and defy gravity once again. When you and your loved ones have been sufficiently awestruck, you can head for a small turn around area just .1 mile further (it'll be on your left). You should return, back the way you came, to route 96. Turn right (south) onto Rt. 96 and drive 3-4 miles to the town of Schellsburg. At the route 30 intersection (stop light), turn right and drive for one block. Take your first left, at the Colvin Bridge Sign. This structure is about 1/2 mile down this road. When you return to route 30, you can turn left to see the bison farm. (see ad on page 9) It is along route 30, a couple miles outside of Schellsburg.

To return to Bedford, Everett or Breezewood, turn east onto route 30. We hope you've enjoyed this little tour. We welcome your comments or questions at the Visitors Bureau, 141 South Juliana Street in Downtown Bedford.

We have a brochure, complete with information on our covered bridges, listing construction dates, locations, etc. Call us at (800)765-3331 and we'll send you a free copy. Or ... e-mail us by clicking on the "Contact Us" button below.

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