Gravity Hill: Where the Strange and Unusual Meet

On 13August2020
By Heather

Have you been anywhere where it defied gravity? Where you saw something, and it goes against everything you knew? Gravity Hill in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, is that place. Take a road trip to Gravity Hill, and it will blow your mind with objects behaving the opposite to every physics law known to man.

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Table of Contents

What is Gravity Hill?

Gravity Hill in Bedford County is a fun place to visit and try to figure out how things work so differently on this particular road. When you put your car in neutral and take your foot off the brake, your car will roll uphill and not down. If you pour water on the road, it will flow uphill. Try moving a ball on the roadway, and it will roll steadily upward. This strange and unusual behavior is so fascinating to try to debunk.

Where is Gravity Hill?

This is the only map that I have found on trying to find this area. Kayla and I stopped into the Bedford Visitors Center to pick this up. The funny thing is that even with this map, we had trouble finding the road. If you have GPS, you can locate the road at N 40°06’39 – W 078°41’31. Have fun finding the road! Look for the spray-painted GH on the road to start seeing some strange phenomena.

Gravity Hill Etiquette

There are a few rules that you should follow when you are visiting Gravity Hill:

Check for and yield to oncoming traffic before doing the hill
Never turn around in the local folk’s yard!
Let folks pass if they’re trying to get around you. Remember that people live out beyond this road.
Wave and smile when people pass you by.

Always remember to use common courtesy when visiting someplace new.

Gravity Hill Explained

If you don’t want to know why this road defies the laws of Physics, skip this section. Sometimes it takes the fun out of things knowing the reason, but for those who do want to learn, here is the explanation. Some people believe there is a magnetic force or supernatural cause for the way objects behave here. In actuality, the layout of the road and the surrounding area provide an optical illusion. What looks like an uphill slope is actually sloping at a slight downward slope. The reason that this works so well is that the horizon is obstructed. Without giving you something to reference, it is easy to trick the eye to believe that your car is drifting up the hill.

Where to Stay and Things to Do

We stayed in Pittsburgh, which is a little over 100 miles from Bedford County (<2 hours). This is a great base city, and Bedford County makes a great day trip. If you need a place to stay in Pittsburgh, check out these options at Booking.com. And here are things to do in Pittsburgh when you are not out exploring other areas of Pennsylvania.

Summary

Have you visited a Gravity Hill before? I found out there are several in the United States and even around the world. If you are planning on taking a road trip through Bedford County, Pennsylvania, don’t forget to find all of the fantastic covered bridges that are in this county. Let me know if you find any other interesting places to road trip to.

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