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Historically, bridges were covered to protect their wooden surfaces from the weather. Today, covered bridges are viewed as charming but rare artifacts of our past. Pennsylvania, the site of the first covered bridge in the United States (over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia), is the state with the most surviving structures. Benjamin and June Evans visited every bridge for this updated edition, taking new photographs and noting changes since the writing of their 1991 first edition. The builder's name, truss type and number of spans, the condition, length, and width, current owner, and waterway it crosses, specific location, and precise travel directions to each structure are all outlined for each of the 220 bridges documented in this new edition. The Latrobe Bulletin noted of the first edition: "Even if the reader has never had an urge to visit a covered bridge, this book provides a pleasurable armchair excursion. For those who enjoy actually traveling off the beaten path, it provides a valuable resource into a unique part of Pennsylvania history."

“A first-class guidebook. . . . This glove compartment-sized book categorizes the bridges by county, then alphabetically. Each entry is accompanied by a photo and construction data.—Pittsburgh History

“Criss-crossing the length and breadth of Pennsylvania, the authors visited every one of the 221 remaining covered bridges in the summer of 2000, taking new photographs and noting changes that had taken place since 1993, the year they published their guidebook’s first edition. An indispensable guide for anyone wanting to tour these historical structures, Pennsylvania’s Covered Bridges is superbly illustrated with color photographs of each bridge, while the text provides location and historical data.”—James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief, The Midwest Book Review