If you visit in mid-June, take a moment to appreciate the mountain laurel! Growing on the hillsides, near Will's Creek, you will see the beautiful blossoms!

Mountain laurel was designated as Pennsylvania's official state flower in 1933. Mountain laurel is an evergreen shrub that is native to the eastern United States (from southern Maine to northern Florida and west to Indiana and Louisiana).

Mountain laurel is also known as ivybush, calico bush, sheep laurel, lambkill, clamoun, and spoonwood (native Americans used to make spoons from the wood). 

The mountain laurel is one of the most beautiful of native American shrubs and the fragrant star-shaped white and pink flowers have attracted travelers since early colonial days (first recorded in America in 1624).

The Pennsylvania state flower is actually an evergreen shrub that’s related to the rhododendron. It grows in openings of spruce-fir forests and generally reaches between 6-10 feet tall. 

Mountain Laurel does particularly well in the Appalachian Mountains and can be found in much of the eastern United States.

Clusters of delicate blooms open in umbrella-like fashion in red, pink or white. Because a single bush can produce many flowers, a hillside of blooming mountain laurel looks spectacular. Each year, nature lovers from Allentown to Waterford head to the mountains to catch the Pennsylvania state flower in bloom.