If your travels take you through Pennsylvania this summer (or anytime), try to make your route go through Centralia.It’s a small, almost abandoned Pennsylvania town with a big problem. A mine fire has been burning underneath the town for 45 years - and it can’t be put out!
The main highway through the town (route 61) has been rerouted around the worst of the fire. Some daring (and obviously crazy) people have parked their car and walked down the abandoned part of the highway.
That would be at your own risk as it’s highly dangerous. I would advise just looking from that point and not going any further. The sign posted there says it all.The scariest sight - one of the cemeteries on the hill that has smoke rising out of the ground all through it. That’s right along the well-travelled highway. Again, just look - don’t wander in.
Believe it or not, it’s not a complete ghost town. There’s still a handful of residents who refuse to leave their houses. While nobody is allowed to move into the area, the state has been unable to evict the residents who were already there. Sadly, the constant exposure to the gases will probably get to them soon and they’ll finally leave (on their own or not).
Check out Offroaders.com for more info and lots of awesome pictures of Centralia. And if you visit and must stop, park only alongside the official highway (there are a couple of parking areas) and don’t go far from it!
Here's the mapquest link to get there from Buffalo.
