Sylvan Hills, PA

Five miles south of Altoona, Sylvan Hills occupies the northwest part of Frankstown Township in Blair County, directly beside Hollidaysburg. It is a census-designated place within the township, so its local shape is read through roads, the Hollidaysburg Area School District, and the county-seat services next door. Frankstown Township’s older history reaches back to a trading post at the junction of the Juniata and Kittanning trails; by 1820, Frankstown had a tannery, sawmill, gristmill, distilleries, and a turnpike trade.

The name Sylvan Hills is also attached to a long-running local institution. Sylvan Hills Golf Course opened in 1922 as Blairmont Golf Club and has hosted community tournaments from its early years. In nearby Hollidaysburg, Canal Basin Park offers an amphitheater, playground, trails, and fishing, while Chimney Rocks Park adds trails, picnic areas, and restrooms. Those places give the CDP a clear orientation: recreation and county-seat services are close at the Hollidaysburg–Altoona edge, with Frankstown Township’s older road network behind them.