Joe’s Bar

After a rough dinner, Joe’s was the perfect place to unwind for a great few beers! I did not expect them to have anything craft beer wise, but was pleasantly surprised to see Troegs, Erie and Victory bottles available. The taxidermy is always great to see! This little dive bar is always a fun place to go for a few cheap beers! The bartender was funny and very personable! My wife and I will return to this establishment every trip here!

As a stand alone bar, it’s a 1.5 star– being generous!
It’s bare open bar area with smoke caked into every aspect of the building. Beer is cheap– 2 beers off tap ran $ 5 and change!
However this is not just a bar!!!
This place has more taxidermy than some museums!!! And not just typical animals… Many that are now endangered and probably would never see in real life. A rhino, giraffe, elephant, polar bear, lions, sea lion, snakes, bald eagle… On and on. Be sure you walk up the spiral staircase and see the THREE additional full rooms upstairs!!!
The display is so magnificent that I felt in awe and horrified all at once. Eventually, I reasoned that these animals are already deceased, so my looking at them is actually honoring their sacrifice… maybe i just over thought it. but hey! it was 9pm on a Friday in nowhere PA and I did NOT expect to see this…
If you happen to be nearby– GO and visit!!!
Please thumb up/​comment if you liked this review and I would count it a privilege if you chose to follow me as I review places I travel and visit. Thank you for taking the time to read! ~mp

Pros: cheap beer
Cons: cheap beer. No selection outside of the swill consumed in mass quantities. The front bar is all wood paneling, and the back is a menagerie of taxidermy. It smelled like stale cheap beer and cigarette smoke. Very very hillbilly. The only thing missing was a rebel flag and Boss Hog. Sorry, but there was nothing I enjoyed about this place.

If you are out in the middle of nowhere PA this is the best place to be! You must stop in, play some tunes on the juke box and admire the taxidermy. Must admire the taxidermy!

You gotta love Joes. Clean and safe .The place is filled with locals. The best reason to stop here is the animals. Must see to believe. It’s better than anything you will see at a Cabelas.

I looked forward to Joe’s Bar as the national attraction it is. It lived up to all the hype but was one of those things I wished I’d never seen. If you want to be inspired while completing your dissertation on the art of complex taxidermy or the evils of gratuitous hunting, by all means, make the trip to Ligonier. If you prefer pretty things, visit Linn Run instead.

So my Uncle Chris took me out for a western PA outskirts style bar crawl and this was one of the stops. We walk in. 75 cent beers, $ 1.50 glass of wine. Our total bill was the cost of a drink anywhere else. They had some old school bowling skee ball game, and then my uncle tell’s me there’s something i have to see in the back. So we step back to see all these huge stuffed (dead) animals. I’m not talking like deer heads and a set of antlers, maybe a courtesy nittany lion, seriously, he had a whole elephant. Not to mention zebra’s, polar bears, and wild bucks from africa. I was astounded. Not to mention there is a whole 2^nd floor that covers the whole span of the bar with more animals. I had seen extinct animals i’ve never even seen before. It was incredible, and creepy, and that show was free. incredible. if it’s still open, you need to see it.
I found this excerpt on Joe’s:
Ligonier, Pennsylvania — Joe’s Bar — Taxidermy Heaven
At first, Joe’s looks like any other small-​town bar. But walk beyond the pool table, and you begin to realize there is something unusual at Joe’s. Sealed in museum-​like glass cases you will find amazing accomplishments of taxidermy — a giraffe, an elephant’s head, rhinocerous, ibex, skunks, tigers, lions, and almost every creature you could possibly shoot to kill. Joe’s collection probably exceeds a hundred different species, and you can view them all; no admission or drink purchase necessary. [Carolyn Kegler, 10/​22/​2001]
nailed that one on the head.