Things to Do in Cumberland

The Pittsburgh Tour Company's guides cart guests around on classic red double-decker buses straight out of London. These experienced guides divulge interesting factoids along the tour's 21 stops, which include a fish market, Heinz Field, and the city’s depository of old chewing gum that has been scraped off school desks. The company's fleet of four buses offers up the chance to view the city from the second story of closed or open bus tops.

Dedicated to celebrating the ghosts of musical theater past and present, the Pittsburgh CLO proudly remains a nonprofit cultural institution that lauds distinguished musical-theater folk while launching the careers of another generation of skilled performers.

Rolling over the naturally hilly landscape, the bright-green turf of Statler’s Fun Center’s miniature-golf course winds around the center’s 1,528-foot go-kart track. Engines roar as racers 10 or older zip through the over-and-under bridge’s tight turns or give their lead foot free rein on the straightaways.

The soundtrack of purring motors underscores high-stakes games of miniature golf as players putt their way through deviously landscaped greens, expertly maneuvering the cave with a hidden waterfall and defeating the final hole guarded by squatting gophers. An air-conditioned snack shop provides respite from summer heat with cool drinks and an arcade full of excuses to hang out indoors, such as the classic air-hockey table and skee-ball.

Each year, hundreds of spirit connoisseurs gather around the ample sampling tables of the Pittsburgh Whiskey and Fine Spirits Festival. Seasoned tasters and curious beginners alike sip not only whiskies and scotches from the likes of Balvenie, Laphroaig, and Knob Creek, but also sample gin, vodka, tequila, and other spirits crafted by distilleries from throughout the globe. Attendees can make a beeline for their favorite firewater or take an opportunity to try a pour of pricier brands reserved only for movie stars who need it to support their barley-based DNA structure as gourmet appetizers and live music add to the cocktail-party atmosphere. Meanwhile, guests can browse and bid on a silent auction that benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s western-Pennsylvania chapter.

Rising six floors above the historic Strip District, the Senator John Heinz History Center's handsome, redbrick exterior houses 275,000 square feet of exhibits and materials devoted to Western Pennsylvania. Long-term exhibits include From Slavery to Freedom, which traces the quest for equality from the antislavery movement to the modern struggles for Civil Rights, using indenture, manumission, and freedom papers from the Allegheny County recorder of deeds as starting points. Pittsburgh: A History of Innovation highlights the land's original inhabitants, the journey of Lewis and Clark, and the modern superhighways, whereas the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum delves into the history and lore of local athletics, from the Steelers’ Immaculate Reception to Bill Mazeroski's title-clinching home run in game seven of the 1960 World Series. The museum also hosts nationally renowned traveling exhibits; its current offering is 1968: The Year That Rocked America which explores this decade-defining year using evocative objects, multimedia displays, and more than 100 artifacts related to 1968’s seminal moments.

Segway in Paradise's gliding tour guides are expert multitaskers, effortlessly sharing historical tidbits with fleets of tourists while leading them through the streets of Pittsburgh atop smooth-rolling segways. The fun and educational tours, which helped the company earn praise from publications such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, run as frequently as three to five times a day, and escort two-wheelers past such locations as PNC Park and the River Walk fountain. The tour routinely stops for photo opportunities in front of the city's picturesque skyline. When groups cross where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet, they can toss coins into the water and wish that their segways might one day earn a pair of metallic wings.