The image of a hunting and fishing lodge is generally one of a log building in the wilderness surrounded by mountains and lakes with little else to do but hunt and fish. But Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is different. While the fishing is as good as Eastern fly fishing can be and the waters of southwest Pennsylvania are loaded with trout, Nemacolin is a true family resort with something for everyone.

Anyone who has spent time in the Appalachian chain can easily understand the beauty of the Laurel Highlands region in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, where the Keystone State tucks itself into the corner of West Virginia. Set on 3,000 acres, Nemacolin offers a staggering number of activities including golf, off-road driving, fishing, shooting, wildlife viewing, skiing, and even a beach and marina. There are stores, art galleries, a 200-seat lecture hall, meeting facilities, and an airstrip. The list of activities is more than enough to keep a very large family busy every hour of every day. There are archery ranges, ropes courses, biking, tennis, and an equestrian center.

It is no wonder that dining is such a large part of the Nemocolin experience. Two of the numerous restaurants are 4-Diamond rated. Lautrec, in the Chateau Lafayette, is Nemacolin’s most acclaimed restaurant, the “Grande Dame” of fine dining in western Pennsylvania. The Aqueous is an upscale steakhouse with a menu focused on locally-raised beef, lamb, pork, and chicken created with progressive thought, set against the harmony of the natural surroundings of the Laurel Highlands and inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Waters. The cuisine and décor of other taverns and restaurants are equally enjoyable, if not quite as formal.

Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is also home to the largest wine cellar in the state of Pennsylvania. With a capacity of more than 17,000 bottles, the cellar is an amazing study of wines from around the world. Nemacolin’s resident Sommelier Brian Henderson invites guests for a tasting of world-class wines from around the globe in the Academie du Vin.

But as busy as this sounds, there is escape. The surrounding countryside is beautiful, and the waters of Nemacolin offer quiet solitude for the angler in the mountain streams and rivers surrounding the resort. For hunters, the Shooting Academy where they can hone their shooting skills is four miles from the resort and spread across a 140-acre complex. It features thirty sporting clays shooting stations, European pheasant flush fields, towers, fun stations, and five stand pavilions.

Nemacolin is not your ordinary hunting or fishing lodge by any means, but it does offer hunters and anglers the chance to do what they love most while the rest of the family is having a wonderful time as well. It is the best of all worlds.