The Laurel Highlands are a region of southwestern Pennsylvania about 55 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, home to about 600,000 people across Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties and parts of Cambria and Bedford counties. Its mountains are the highest in Pennsylvania, so the weather is cooler and wetter than in most of the state. The region is popular for camping, hiking, whitewater kayaking, trout fishing, golf and downhill and cross country skiing. Seven Springs, an all season resort, sits in a borough of 26 residents in 2020 that straddles the Pittsburgh and Johnstown metro areas. In summer the area is a retreat for other Pennsylvanians, with highs about 10 degrees cooler than Pittsburgh. Hidden Valley sits nearby. Laurel Mountain lies inside a state park in Westmoreland County, and the Pittsburgh Ski Club used a cabin there as its mountain headquarters from 1954. Somerset County had 74,129 residents in 2020. Blue Knob in Bedford County is the highest elevation ski slope in Pennsylvania. Boyce Park, east of downtown Pittsburgh, is the only Allegheny County park with downhill skiing.