The American Summer Vacation is indomitable. Unprecedented gas prices, ever more inventive airline fees and a biblical plague of locusts combined can't keep mom, dad and the kids from packing off to somewhere for six days of blissful escape in these sunny months.

The vacation has evolved into the "staycation," and it relies on a single tank of gas and a considerable amount of ingenuity.

The county tourism departments of Western Pennsylvania know this better than anyone by now, and many of them have sunk considerable resources into attracting these backyard tourists.

Their primary medium is the Internet, but not all tourism Web sites are created equal.

In a kind of online arms race, tourism sites are offering more content and features than ever.

Butler County spends around $15,000 a year on its Web site, which boasts a slew of useful features, including online hotel booking.

The expense is well worth it, said Jack Cohen, executive director of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau.

Most visitors to Butler come from and an hour to an 1 1/2 hours away, he said, and in 2006 tourism outpaced agriculture as the No. 1 industry in the county.

In the Laurel Highlands, comprising mostly Fayette, Westmoreland and Somerset counties, tourism is the No. 2 industry, said Annie Urban, executive director of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau.

She said the bureau spent about $30,000 to update its Web site last year. It now features an interactive trip planner and fully searchable restaurant, hotel and attraction listings.

"It's a major part of our advertising," Ms. Urban said of the Web site, which logs about half a million visitors a year.

Ms. Urban also said she thinks her Web site as well as others are bringing in more staycationers than ever.

"Our primary markets have always been from up to a three to five hours' drive away," she said. "My thoughts are that 'Yes we are definitely attracting people who maybe aren't going on a big long vacations but are taking more shorter trips.' "

Before you fire up your browser in search of the perfect staycation, here's a rundown of all the features you'll find, plus the ones you won't, on Western Pennsylvania's tourist Web sites:

Site: www.VisitButlerCounty.com
Online hotel booking? Yes.
Coupons? Yes.
Restaurant listings? Yes.
Events calendar? Yes.
Maps? Yes.
Outdoors info? Yes.

This is by far the best tourism Web site in the region. It has a great set of features and a lot of additional information about hotels, restaurants and attractions beyond just listings.

The site has a clean design and is easy to navigate. Even though nearly everything is assessable from the home page, the site isn't cluttered or disorganized.

The big feature on the site is online booking, which is available for about a dozen relatively large hotels but not for B&Bs.

Extra features: Handy restaurant and hotel comparison charts in pdf format. Also, an interactive visitors guide that can be browsed like a magazine.

(Fayette, Westmoreland and Somerset counties)

Site: www.LaurelHighlands.org
Online hotel booking? No.
Coupons? Yes.
Restaurant listings? Yes.
Events calendar? Yes.
Maps? Yes.
Outdoors info? Yes.

This site offers a lot of information about the wealth of outdoor activities in the area. The search functions are great at narrowing down numerous listings according to clear categories.

Especially useful is the trip planner, which brings together accommodations, dining and attractions on a single, customizable list.

This site's only shortcoming is its lack of an online hotel booking feature.

Extra features: The trip planner function can plot any set of accommodations, restaurants and attractions on a printable map. It also has several hotel packages that include admission to Fallingwater and other houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Site: www.VisitErie.com
Online hotel booking? No.
Coupons? Yes.
Restaurant listings? Yes.
Events calendar? Yes.
Maps? Yes.
Outdoors info? Yes.

Erie's site specifically targets staycationers by encouraging visitors to "Be a tourist in your own back yard." Accordingly, the site lists numerous hotel packages designed for long weekends. This site doesn't offer online booking, but it has all the information needed to get a sense of the area and plan a trip.

Drop-down menus provide access to all major areas of the site, but the home page does little to highlight upcoming events or important information.

Extra features: 360-degree virtual tours of Presque Isle State Park and other attractions. Also a variety of hotel packages with special room rates that include meals and tickets to theme parks, concerts and shows.

Site: www.VisitBeaverCounty.com
Online hotel booking? No.
Coupons? No.
Restaurant listings? Yes.
Events calendar? Yes.
Maps? No.
Outdoors info? Yes.

This site has all the basics and is presented in an organized, easily navigable way. However, it succumbs to a common tourism site pitfall and does little more than provide long lists of hotels, restaurants and attractions.

All the essential features are tabbed conveniently at the top of the home page, but the calendar of events is a hard-to-read pdf download.

Extra features: Photo galleries from around the county.

Site: www.WashWow.com
Online hotel booking? Yes.
Coupons? Yes.
Restaurant listings? Yes.
Events calendar? Yes.
Maps? Yes.
Outdoors info? Yes.

This site also has a basic listing of things to do and places to stay, but despite offering online hotel booking, it lacks a solid design that brings it all together.

The home page features a listing of upcoming events, but it requires a lot of clicking on the left-side menus to get to other important information.

While the events calendar looks up to date, the home page touts the county's covered bridge festival -- from 2007.

Extra features: Comprehensive list of all the county's historic covered bridges, with photos and driving directions.

Site: www.ClarionPa.com
Online hotel booking? No.
Coupons? No.
Restaurant listings? Yes.
Events calendar? Yes.
Maps? Yes.
Outdoors info? No.

The offerings on this site are pretty limited. A small events calendar lists a few happenings but offers little in the way of additional information or driving directions.

The site is administered through the local chamber of commerce, and despite a bare-bones design, the business directory is comprehensive.

Although the site links to the sites of individual hotels and restaurants when they exist, there are no descriptions, prices, menus or related facts on the site itself.

Extra features: The site is sparse, but it does provide a wealth of information and a petition encouraging visitors to oppose tolls on Interstate 80.

Site: www.GreeneCountyTourism.org
Online hotel booking? No.
Coupons? Yes.
Restaurant listings? Yes.
Events calendar? Yes.
Maps? Yes.
Outdoors info? No.

Even though this site has been around since last year, it still seems to be a work in progress. It does list hotels and restaurants but not under a clear heading, and the link to download a visitors guide doesn't work.

The events calendar is hard to navigate and the interactive map isn't a useful geographic reference for driving or even locating area attractions.

Extra features: Downloadable bike trip map in pdf format.