Walking the Back Trails of Fallingwater

About an hour plus southeast from Pittsburgh, you'll find a unique house in the middle of rural nowhere Pennsylvania (actually Mill Run is the name of the town).  This house is known as Fallingwater and was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the famous architect who has built incredibly beautiful structures all over the US - however, Fallingwater is usually considered among his best work.

Unless you live somewhat in the area, this is not the easiest place to get to.  I first learned of Fallingwater several years ago when reading about it in 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, USA/Canada edition.  However, when researching its location on Google Maps, it's really out of the way from anywhere.  So on a cross-country trip, we made it a midday stopover between a long drive from central PA to Cincinnati, and we were happy we had a chance to see this place with our own eyes.

The drive was really out in the sticks, going down a long local highway through forests and rural neighborhoods, but when we arrived, the place had a decent sized parking lot with a visitors center, gift shop and short hiking trails down to see the house.  We were provided a map and paid an $8 grounds fee that allowed us to freely roam the trails around the house.  To go inside, you'd have to pay for a guided tour, but with only a few hours to spend, we felt we'd be better off just exploring on our own.

After about a 5-10 minute hike down the trails, we found the house where the main structure sits at the top of a cliff with calming, beautiful waterfalls flowing from the base of the house and down multi-tiered levels of rock.  It seemed likely that the water area directly below the stairs was used as a swimming area, allowing the owners to take a dip to cool off on a warm summer night.  The house structure was made of stone and painted concrete throughout.  Apparently, only two color tones were used to give it a more organic feel, which helped it fit in nicely with the surrounding natural environment.

Trails through the grounds

We crossed over a small bridge and walked through the trails that brought us to the side of the house, giving us an opportunity to come up and touch the building with our bare hands.  Peeking into its windows, we saw several people wandering around inside on a guided tour.  Much of the structure was embedded into the surrounding rock, making it very much a part of the mountain.  Around the bend and up the hill, we came across the second structure which actually was the garage and guest house area.  Not as majestic as the main house with waterfalls but certainly matching in color, structure and uniqueness as it sat on the top of the hill.

For the rest of our time here, we strolled through the relaxing trails that covered the grounds, many providing different angles and interesting views of Fallingwater.  Our favorite was the view from the lower edge below the front of the main house, where we could see the multiple waterfalls and the unique architecture blended into the surrounding forest - all in one frame.  The area was peaceful, and we could imagine why the original residents, the Kaufmann family, would ask Wright to build this amazing home for them here in PA.  One should be so lucky to have a beautiful private estate built for your family.

View from below waterfalls

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Set in the romantic backwoods of PA, it's hard to compare our visit to another experience.  While we didn't have time to do the guided tour, the easy hike through the trails and the few hours visit to see this house with our own eyes will be something we'll always remember.