Pennsylvania runs nearly 300 miles from the Delaware River to the Ohio line, and its two big cities sit at opposite ends, about five hours apart by car. Most of the best things to do in Pennsylvania are scattered between and beyond them: Amish farm roads an hour west of Philadelphia, a Frank Lloyd Wright house cantilevered over a waterfall 90 minutes from Pittsburgh, and a 1,450-foot-deep gorge in the northern forests that nobody passes on the way to anywhere else. Below are 101 of them, sorted into eleven regions, each with what it costs, when to go, the nearest city and how long you’ll need.
Quick answer: With a week, split your time between Philadelphia (Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Reading Terminal Market), Lancaster County and Hershey, Gettysburg, and Pittsburgh with a day out to Fallingwater. With a long weekend, pick one region and go deep instead of driving the Turnpike end to end. If you’re here for nature, head north to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, Ricketts Glen and Cherry Springs, which has some of the darkest skies in the East.
Last updated September 24, 2026. Prices, hours, fees and closures were checked that day against the National Park Service, Pennsylvania DCNR and each attraction’s own website.
- State parks are free: Pennsylvania charges no entrance or parking fee at any state park. You pay only for camping, cabins and rentals, and a few town-run lots near parks charge.
- Book these ahead: Independence Hall (free timed tickets with a $1 booking fee each), Fallingwater, Longwood Gardens, the Martin Guitar factory tour and Lost River Caverns all need advance reservations.
- Closing soon: the Kinzua Bridge Skywalk is open only through October 31, 2026, then shuts for repairs until fall 2027.
- Changed at Hersheypark: Tidal Force closed for good in September 2026, and the sooperdooperLooper is closed until summer 2027.
- New names: the Kamin Science Center (formerly the Carnegie Science Center), the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, and Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena (formerly the Wells Fargo Center).
On this page: Regions at a glance | Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | Poconos | Lancaster County | Hershey and Harrisburg | Gettysburg | Laurel Highlands | PA Wilds | Lake Erie | Lehigh Valley | Northeast and Central | By interest | Where to stay | What’s changed | FAQ
Things to Do in Pennsylvania, Region by Region
Pennsylvania’s official tourism regions don’t line up neatly with how people actually travel, so we’ve grouped the state into the eleven areas visitors plan around. Drive times are free-flow estimates from the three cities most trips start from; add time on summer and October weekends.
| Region | Base | From Philadelphia | From Pittsburgh | From Harrisburg | Best time | Picks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia and the Countryside | Philadelphia | n/a | 5 hours | 2 hours | April to June, September to October | 1-19 |
| Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | 5 hours | n/a | 3.5 hours | May to October | 20-31 |
| The Poconos | Mount Pocono area | 2 hours | 5 hours | 2 hours | June to October; winter for snow | 32-40 |
| Lancaster County and Dutch Country | Lancaster or Strasburg | 1.5 hours | 4 hours | 50 minutes | April to October | 41-49 |
| Hershey and Harrisburg | Hershey | 1 hour 45 minutes | 3.5 hours | 20 minutes | May to September; November to December | 50-57 |
| Gettysburg | Gettysburg | 2.5 hours | 3 hours 15 minutes | 50 minutes | April to June, September to October | 58-63 |
| Laurel Highlands | Ohiopyle or Ligonier | 4 hours 45 minutes | 1.5 hours | 3 hours 15 minutes | May to October | 64-73 |
| Pennsylvania Wilds | Wellsboro | 4 hours 15 minutes | 4.5 hours | 2 hours 45 minutes | May to October | 74-82 |
| Lake Erie | Erie | 6 hours 45 minutes | 2 hours | 5 hours | June to September | 83-87 |
| Lehigh Valley | Bethlehem | 1 hour 15 minutes | 4 hours 45 minutes | 1.5 hours | Year-round; December for Christmas | 88-94 |
| Northeast and Central | Scranton or State College | 2 hours / 3 hours 15 minutes | 4 hours 45 minutes / 2.5 hours | 2 hours / 1.5 hours | May to October | 95-101 |
The numbers run region by region, from Philadelphia west to Pittsburgh and then around the rest of the state, so they aren’t a single ranking of the things to do in Pennsylvania. Within each region, the strongest picks come first. Every entry gives its cost (free or paid), best season and nearest city up front, and ends with the practical details and who it suits best.
Philadelphia and the Countryside (1-19)
Start here if you’re flying in. Philadelphia fits the founding sites, two great food markets and a run of first-rate museums into a grid you can walk, and SEPTA Metro’s L (formerly the Market-Frankford Line) and B (formerly the Broad Street Line) cover most of the rest. Downtown parking is expensive, so skip the car until you head for the countryside, where Valley Forge, Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine Valley and Bucks County’s river towns are all within an hour. Our guide to the 75 best things to do in Philadelphia covers the Parkway museums, parks and neighborhoods beyond the historic core, with walking times from City Hall.
1. Liberty Bell Center
Free, no ticket; year-round; Philadelphia. The bell is smaller than most people expect, and the crack is the whole point. Don’t rush the exhibit hall on the way in: it explains how abolitionists, not the Revolution, gave the bell its name and its fame, which is a better story than the one most visitors arrive with.
Plan it: 6th and Market Streets on Independence Mall. SEPTA Metro L to 5th St/Independence Hall. There’s no ticket, but everyone passes through security screening, so arrive at opening or in late afternoon, and check the NPS page for short closures. Allow 30 minutes. Best for: history, families.
2. Independence Hall
Free with a timed ticket; year-round; Philadelphia. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were both debated in the Assembly Room here, and a park ranger leads you through on a short guided tour. Tickets are free on Recreation.gov but carry a $1 fee each. Early risers can skip the booking entirely: the ticket-free open house runs from 9 to 10:30am.
Plan it: Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th. Ticketed tours leave every 20 minutes from 10:40am, according to the park’s Independence Hall page (updated September 20, 2026). Book as soon as your dates are set and leave time for security. Allow an hour. Best for: history.
3. Museum of the American Revolution
Paid; year-round; Old City. The best place in the city to understand the war rather than the buildings. Its centerpiece is George Washington’s own field tent, revealed in a short theater presentation, and the galleries tell the war through soldiers, women, enslaved people and Native nations, not just generals.
Plan it: 101 S. 3rd Street at Chestnut, two blocks from Independence Hall. Buy timed tickets online for weekends. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: history, teens and adults.
4. National Constitution Center
Paid; year-round; Independence Mall. More interactive than the name suggests, and a smart choice with teenagers who’ve had enough of old rooms. The finale is Signers’ Hall, where life-size bronze statues of the delegates fill the room and everyone takes the same photo with Ben Franklin.
Plan it: 525 Arch Street, at the north end of the mall. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. Best for: history, families.
5. Reading Terminal Market
Free to enter; year-round; Center City. A covered market under the old Reading Railroad train shed since 1893, packed with lunch counters, bakeries, butchers and Pennsylvania Dutch stands. Come hungry and share plates: a roast pork sandwich with sharp provolone and greens is the order many locals rate above any cheesesteak.
Plan it: 12th and Arch Streets, beside the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Open daily 8am to 6pm as of September 2026, with some holiday closures. SEPTA’s Jefferson Station connects to the market. Weekday mornings are calm; weekday lunch and Saturdays are elbow to elbow. Allow an hour. Best for: food.
6. Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rocky Steps
Steps free, museum paid; year-round; Fairmount. Run the 72 steps, take the photo with the Rocky statue at the bottom, then actually go inside: the collection runs from medieval armor and a full Indian temple hall to one of the world’s great Duchamp holdings. (A short-lived 2025 rebrand was dropped in February 2026, so the old name stands.) The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in March 2026 that a foundation grant would bring back pay-what-you-wish Friday evenings.
Plan it: 2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a 25-minute walk from City Hall up the Parkway, or ride the seasonal PHLASH loop bus ($5 day pass), which runs weekends in fall. Check philamuseum.org for the Friday-evening schedule. Allow 3 hours. Best for: art, couples.
7. The Barnes Foundation
Paid, timed tickets; year-round; Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Albert Barnes hung his Renoirs, Cézannes, Matisses and Picassos wall to wall among door hinges, keys and folk art, and the museum still keeps his arrangements exactly as he left them. The result is one of the strangest and best rooms of art in America. Weekend slots sell out, so book ahead.
Plan it: 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a 10-minute walk from the art museum. Allow 2 hours. Best for: art, couples.
8. Eastern State Penitentiary
Paid; year-round; Fairmount. Opened in 1829 to reform prisoners through solitary confinement, it now stands as a cracked, echoing ruin, with Al Capone’s surprisingly comfortable cell restored inside. The daytime tour takes today’s prisons seriously too. Halloween Nights, with five haunted houses, runs on select nights from October 2 to November 7, 2026.
Plan it: 2027 Fairmount Avenue. Buy Halloween Nights tickets ahead; entry is timed by the half hour. Allow 2 hours by day. Best for: history, adults.
9. Mütter Museum
Paid; year-round; Rittenhouse. The College of Physicians’ collection of skulls, specimens and medical oddities is not for everyone, and it doesn’t pretend to be. It has also grown more careful, adopting formal policies on human remains in 2025. Photography is banned in the galleries; the lobby and the medicinal plant garden are fine.
Plan it: 19 S. 22nd Street. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours. Best for: adults, the curious.
10. The Franklin Institute
Paid; year-round; Logan Square. Philadelphia’s big science museum is where generations of local kids have walked through the Giant Heart, and its rotunda holds the marble Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. With children under 6, the Please Touch Museum in Fairmount Park is the better fit.
Plan it: 222 N. 20th Street. Weekends and school holidays are busiest. Allow 3 hours. Best for: families, rainy days.
11. Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens
Paid, timed tickets; year-round; South Street. Artist Isaiah Zagar covered half a block in mirrors, bottles, tile and bicycle wheels, and you wander through it like a sculpture you’re standing inside. Afterward, walk the surrounding blocks to find his mosaics on other buildings for free.
Plan it: 1020 South Street. Weekend slots sell out. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: art, couples.
12. The Italian Market
Free; mornings, Tuesday to Sunday; South Philadelphia. Awnings, cheese shops, butchers, fish stands and taquerias run by the neighborhood’s Mexican community line South 9th Street. At the south end, Pat’s and Geno’s still face off across 9th and Passyunk under their neon. Go for the spectacle, then ask a local where they’d actually get a cheesesteak.
Plan it: South 9th Street between Fitzwater and Wharton. Many shops close on Mondays. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: food.
13. Elfreth’s Alley and Old City
Free; year-round; Old City. A cobbled lane of 18th-century rowhouses that calls itself the nation’s oldest continuously inhabited residential street. People still live here, so keep your voice down. It pairs well with Christ Church, where Franklin worshipped, and the Betsy Ross House a few blocks away.
Plan it: Off N. 2nd Street between Arch and Race. SEPTA Metro L to 2nd Street. Allow 30 minutes. Best for: history, couples.
14. Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill River Trail
Free; spring to fall; Fairmount Park. The rowing clubs’ Victorian boathouses along the Schuylkill are outlined in lights after dark, and the paved trail beside them runs north past practicing crews toward Manayunk. Rent an Indego bike-share bike near the art museum and ride for an hour; it’s the easiest way to see how green this city is.
Plan it: Kelly Drive, starting behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: outdoors, couples.
15. Philadelphia Zoo
Paid; spring to fall; West Fairmount Park. America’s first zoo, chartered in 1859, is compact enough to cover in a morning. Its Zoo360 trails let big cats, primates and lemurs travel through mesh tunnels over the paths, so the animals move around you instead of just sitting behind glass.
Plan it: 3400 W. Girard Avenue. Parking is paid on site. Allow half a day. Best for: families.
16. Valley Forge National Historical Park
Free; spring to fall; King of Prussia, 35 minutes from Center City. No battle was fought here. The story is the winter of 1777-78, when Washington’s army camped, drilled and endured, and the rolling fields are better for a long walk or a bike ride than a history lesson makes them sound. The park charges no entrance fee; the partner-run trolley tours cost extra.
Plan it: Start at the visitor center, watch the film, then drive or bike the encampment tour road out to Washington’s Headquarters. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: history, outdoors.
17. Longwood Gardens
Paid, timed tickets; year-round, best in spring and at Christmas; Kennett Square, 50 minutes from Philadelphia. Pierre du Pont’s former estate is one of the great gardens in the country, and it got bigger: the 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory, part of a $250 million rebuild, opened in November 2024. Summer brings fountain shows, and December brings the Christmas display, whose weekends sell out.
Plan it: 1001 Longwood Road, Kennett Square. Buy timed tickets on longwoodgardens.org before you go. Allow 3 to 4 hours. Best for: couples, families.
18. Brandywine Museum of Art
Paid; year-round; Chadds Ford, 40 minutes from Philadelphia. Three generations of Wyeths (N.C., Andrew and Jamie) hang in a converted 19th-century gristmill with glass walls looking out over the Brandywine. Seasonal tours of N.C. Wyeth’s house and studio and of Andrew Wyeth’s studio are booked separately and worth the extra hour.
Plan it: 1 Hoffman’s Mill Road, Chadds Ford, on US 1. Allow 2 hours. Best for: art, couples.
19. New Hope and Washington Crossing
Free to wander; spring to fall; Bucks County, 50 minutes from Philadelphia. New Hope is a gallery-and-bar river town joined to Lambertville, New Jersey, by a walkable bridge, and it stays lively well past dinner on weekends. A few miles downriver, Washington Crossing Historic Park marks the Christmas night 1776 crossing of the Delaware, which is reenacted on the river every December 25.
Plan it: New Hope’s parking is metered and tight on summer weekends, so arrive before noon. Washington Crossing Historic Park is at 1112 River Road. Allow half a day. Best for: couples, history.
Pittsburgh (20-31)
Pittsburgh is steeper and more compact than visitors expect, and its best views are free from the overlooks or a small fare away on the inclines. The sights cluster in four areas: Downtown and the Point, the North Shore (the Warhol, the stadiums and the Kamin Science Center), the Strip District, and Oakland’s museum-and-university district. Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) runs the buses, the T light rail and the Monongahela Incline, and the airport’s new terminal opened in November 2025. For 70 picks by neighborhood, with closed days and the free T, see our full list of things to do in Pittsburgh.
20. Duquesne Incline and Mount Washington
Small cash fare; year-round, best at dusk; Pittsburgh. The Duquesne Incline has been hauling riders up Mount Washington since 1877, and the deck at the top looks straight down on the Point, where the Allegheny and Monongahela meet to form the Ohio. Walk Grandview Avenue east along the overlooks to the Monongahela Incline, and ride that one down to Station Square to make a loop.
Plan it: Lower station and parking at 1197 W. Carson Street. It runs every day, 6:30am to 12:30am, as of September 2026, with no reservations; pay cash or use a ConnectCard. The Mon Incline often closes without notice, so check PRT alerts first. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours. Best for: couples, first-timers.
21. Point State Park
Free; spring to fall; Downtown. The tip of Downtown, where the rivers meet, is a lawn-and-riverbank park with a big fountain at the point and the 1764 Fort Pitt Block House, the oldest building in the city. It’s also where the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail ends its 150-mile run from Maryland.
Plan it: 601 Commonwealth Place. Like every Pennsylvania state park, it’s free. The fountain runs in the warm months. Allow an hour. Best for: outdoors, families.
22. The Andy Warhol Museum
Paid; year-round; North Shore. Warhol was born in Pittsburgh in 1928, and this seven-floor museum calls itself the largest in North America devoted to a single artist. Start at the top and work down. The room of floating silver pillows gets every age laughing, and the hands-on Factory studio, open limited hours, lets you try silkscreening.
Plan it: 117 Sandusky Street, a short walk across the Andy Warhol Bridge from Downtown. Check warhol.org for days and hours. Allow 2 hours. Best for: art, couples.
23. Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History
Paid; year-round; Oakland. Two museums share one building and one ticket. The natural history side has one of the best dinosaur halls anywhere, including the first Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever described to science. The art side adds strong Impressionist and modern galleries and a hall of full-size plaster casts of European architecture.
Plan it: 4400 Forbes Avenue. PRT buses run from Downtown along Fifth and Forbes Avenues. Allow 3 hours or more. Best for: families, art.
24. Cathedral of Learning and the Nationality Rooms
Free to look; year-round; Oakland. The University of Pittsburgh’s 42-story Gothic tower has a vaulted Commons Room that feels like a cathedral nave, and around it are the Nationality Rooms, classrooms designed by the city’s immigrant communities. They’re working classrooms, so check with the university’s Nationality Rooms office for tour times. In December they’re decorated for the holidays.
Plan it: 4200 Fifth Avenue, across from the Carnegie Museums. Allow an hour. Best for: history, architecture.
25. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Paid; year-round; Schenley Park. A Victorian glasshouse from 1893 with seasonal flower shows, a tropical forest room and some of the greenest new buildings in the country beside it. The winter holiday show and the spring show are the peaks.
Plan it: 1 Schenley Drive, a 10-minute walk from the Carnegie Museums. Buy timed tickets ahead for holiday weekends. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. Best for: couples, families.
26. The Strip District
Free to browse; year-round, best on Saturday mornings; along Penn Avenue. A half-mile of wholesalers, fish markets, Italian grocers, bakeries and Steelers-jersey stalls, with some of the city’s most talked-about restaurants on the side streets. The famous local sandwich, stuffed with fries and coleslaw, started here at Primanti Bros.
Plan it: Penn Avenue and Smallman Street, roughly from 16th to 23rd Streets. Street parking fills early on Saturdays. Allow 2 hours. Best for: food.
27. Heinz History Center
Paid; year-round; Strip District. A Smithsonian affiliate in a converted ice warehouse, with the original set of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the stories of steel, glass and ketchup, and the Franco Harris Sports Museum (the former Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, renamed in 2026). It’s the best rainy-day stop in Pittsburgh for mixed ages.
Plan it: 1212 Smallman Street. The sports museum is included. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: history, families.
28. Kamin Science Center
Paid; year-round; North Shore. The former Carnegie Science Center has a new name and a new lobby, but the favorites stayed: the Miniature Railroad & Village, the planetarium, and the USS Requin, a World War II-era submarine moored outside.
Plan it: 1 Allegheny Avenue, next to Acrisure Stadium. Allow 3 hours. Best for: families.
29. Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
Paid; spring to fall; Highland Park. A hillside zoo with a full aquarium on site, known by its current name since 2023, after its old sponsor dropped out. The paths climb, so bring the stroller with good wheels and plan a slow morning rather than a sprint.
Plan it: In Highland Park on the city’s east side. Entrances have shifted during construction, so follow the signs on arrival. Allow half a day. Best for: families.
30. National Aviary
Paid; year-round; North Side. The country’s bird zoo, as it bills itself, with walk-through habitats where free-flying birds share the room with you. The African penguins are the children’s favorite, and the building makes a good escape on a cold day.
Plan it: 700 Arch Street in Allegheny Commons Park. Allow 2 hours. Best for: families.
31. Kennywood
Paid; spring to fall; West Mifflin. A trolley park from 1898 and a National Historic Landmark, with three classic wooden coasters (the Jack Rabbit, the Racer and the Thunderbolt) and the Phantom’s Revenge diving into a ravine. Herschend Family Entertainment, the Dollywood company, bought it in 2025, and Kennywood Junction replaced the old Thomas Town kids’ area.
Plan it: 4800 Kennywood Boulevard, West Mifflin, southeast of Downtown. Parking costs extra. Check kennywood.com for fall and holiday dates. Allow a full day. Best for: families, thrill-seekers.
The Poconos (32-40)
The Poconos built their name on honeymoon resorts and small ski hills, and they’re still the easiest mountain escape from Philadelphia and New York. Come for waterfalls and river towns in the warm months, color in October and indoor water parks in winter. Two closures to know: Dingmans Falls is shut for National Park Service construction, and Camelback’s outdoor Camelbeach water park did not open in 2026. NASCAR fans should note that Pocono Raceway now hosts one Cup race a year, in June.
32. Bushkill Falls
Paid; spring to late fall; Pike County, 2 hours 15 minutes from Philadelphia. A private park that bills itself as “the Niagara of Pennsylvania,” which is marketing, but the main falls are genuinely tall and the boardwalks and stairs get you close to the spray. Color-coded trails range from a short walk to the main falls to a longer loop past all eight waterfalls.
Plan it: Off US 209 near Bushkill. Open for the season as of late September 2026; check the schedule for the fall closing date. Expect a lot of stairs. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. Best for: families, outdoors.
33. Delaware Water Gap and Raymondskill Falls
Free; spring to fall; Monroe and Pike counties, 2.5 hours from Philadelphia. The Delaware River slices between Mount Minsi on the Pennsylvania side and Mount Tammany in New Jersey, and the national recreation area follows the river north for miles of paddling, swimming and hiking. With Dingmans Falls closed for construction, go to Raymondskill Falls instead, which the Park Service calls the tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania.
Plan it: The Raymondskill Falls trailhead is off US 209 south of Milford; the trail is short but steep, with stairs. Check the NPS current conditions page before you go. Allow 2 hours. Best for: outdoors.
34. Jim Thorpe and the Asa Packer Mansion
Town free, mansion tours paid; spring to fall, peak in October; Carbon County, 1.5 hours from Philadelphia. A Victorian coal-and-railroad town wedged into the Lehigh Gorge, renamed in 1954 for the Olympian, who is buried here. Tour Asa Packer’s mansion, then the Old Jail Museum and its story of the Molly Maguires. The 2026 Fall Foliage Festival fills the town on October 3-4, 10-11 and 17-18.
Plan it: Park early near the train station; on October weekends the town adds extra lots, shuttles and reserved parking. Allow a full day. Best for: couples, history.
35. Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway and the Lehigh Gorge Trail
Paid; best in fall; Jim Thorpe. Vintage coaches roll up the Lehigh Gorge from the Jim Thorpe station. The Autumn Leaf season runs daily from September 26 to November 15, 2026, with 45-minute round trips; standard coach costs $25 for adults and $9 for kids 3 to 12, and the open-air car $28 and $10, as of September 2026. To see the gorge under your own power, rent a bike in town and ride the rail trail through Lehigh Gorge State Park.
Plan it: Presales cover departures until 3pm; trains at 4pm and later are sold the same day at the Jim Thorpe window, first come, first served. Allow 1.5 hours with boarding, or half a day on the bike trail. Best for: families, couples.
36. Hickory Run State Park’s Boulder Field
Free; spring to fall; Carbon County, 1 hour 45 minutes from Philadelphia. A flat, treeless field of boulders left behind by the last ice age, so big that it looks unreal from the edge, and a National Natural Landmark. Kids treat it as a giant jungle gym. Adults should mind their ankles, and nobody should try it in the rain.
Plan it: Hickory Run State Park, just off I-80 near White Haven; the Boulder Field is at the end of a park road. Free, like all state parks. Wear real shoes. Allow an hour. Best for: families, outdoors.
37. Big Pocono State Park
Free; spring to fall; Monroe County, 2 hours from Philadelphia. A summit road loops the top of Camelback Mountain, with views into three states and picnic tables where you can watch the sun go down. It’s the quickest big view in the Poconos, and it doesn’t take a hike.
Plan it: Off Camelback Road above Tannersville. Allow an hour; clear fall afternoons are best. Best for: couples, outdoors.
38. Lake Wallenpaupack
Free to see, rentals paid; summer; Wayne and Pike counties, 2 hours 45 minutes from Philadelphia. A long hydroelectric lake dammed in the 1920s and ringed by marinas, beaches and summer houses. Rent a pontoon or kayak, swim, eat ice cream in Hawley, repeat. The honest caveat: summer weekends bring heavy boat traffic and full lots.
Plan it: Base in Hawley, at the lake’s north end. Allow a day. Best for: families, couples.
39. Indoor water parks: Kalahari, Great Wolf and Aquatopia
Paid; year-round; Mount Pocono area, 2 hours from Philadelphia. The Poconos have a cluster of big indoor water parks: Kalahari Resorts in Pocono Manor, Great Wolf Lodge in Scotrun and Aquatopia at Camelback Lodge all keep the slides running in January. Day passes are limited, and most families book a room.
Plan it: Midweek stays cost less than weekends and school holidays. Allow a full day. Best for: families, rainy days.
40. A Pocono couples resort
Paid; year-round; Lake Wallenpaupack or Mount Pocono. The heart-shaped tub was born in the Poconos in the 1960s, and the couples-only resorts that made it famous still run: Cove Haven on Lake Wallenpaupack and Paradise Stream in Mount Pocono, under Cove Pocono Resorts. Pocono Palace has closed. It’s kitsch you’re in on, and that’s the fun.
Plan it: Rates swing widely by suite and season, so compare packages. Adults only. Allow two nights. Best for: couples.
Lancaster County and Dutch Country (41-49)
Lancaster County is farm country an hour and a quarter west of Philadelphia, home to one of the largest Amish communities in the country, plus a steam railroad, a big-stage theater and some of the state’s best markets. The Old Order families who farm here generally don’t want to be photographed, so point your camera at the landscape rather than the people, and give buggies plenty of room on Route 340 and the back roads. Many Amish-run stands and shops close on Sundays.
41. Strasburg Rail Road
Paid; year-round, best spring to fall; Strasburg, 1 hour 15 minutes from Philadelphia. Steam trains on what the railroad calls America’s oldest short line, rolling through Amish farmland at a pace that suits the view. Pick the open-air car in good weather or the dining car for lunch. It’s the best family day in the county.
Plan it: On Route 741 east of Strasburg. Book weekend and holiday trains ahead on strasburgrailroad.com. Allow 2 hours. Best for: families.
42. Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Paid; year-round; across Route 741 from the Strasburg Rail Road. A hangar-size hall of historic locomotives and railcars, run by the state, where you can climb into cabs and compare a century of engines side by side. It’s the natural pairing with the train ride, and it works in any weather.
Plan it: Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. Best for: families, history.
43. Sight & Sound Theatres
Paid; year-round; Ronks, near Strasburg. Big-budget Bible stories staged with live animals and sets that wrap around the audience, drawing church groups and theater fans alike. The 2027 production is JONAH, running March 11 to December 31, 2027. Book weekend seats weeks ahead.
Plan it: 300 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks. Allow about 3 hours. Best for: families, groups.
44. Lancaster Central Market
Free to browse; Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays year-round; downtown Lancaster. The market calls itself the oldest continuously operated public farmers market in America, dating to 1730, and its brick 1889 market house is full of Amish and Mennonite stands selling whoopie pies, chow-chow, sausage and shoofly pie. Come early for the best choice.
Plan it: 23 N. Market Street, off Penn Square. Open Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, 6am to 3pm, as of September 2026. Park in a downtown garage. Allow an hour. Best for: food.
45. Amish farmland by buggy or bike
Paid rides, free drives; spring to fall; Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. Farms are best seen slowly. Several buggy-ride operators work along Route 340, and the better rides leave the highway for farm lanes. Or rent a bike and ride the quiet roads south of Route 340, where it’s mostly you, the fields and the clop of a passing horse.
Plan it: Many operators close on Sundays. Ride single file and give buggies room. Allow 2 hours. Best for: families, couples.
46. Intercourse and Kitchen Kettle Village
Free to browse; spring to fall; 1 hour 15 minutes from Philadelphia. The crossroads village with the famous name has a cluster of shops at Kitchen Kettle Village where cooks make jams, relishes and fudge in front of you. It’s touristy and knows it; an hour is plenty.
Plan it: Route 340 at Route 772. Weekday mornings are calmest. Allow an hour. Best for: food, families.
47. Lititz
Free to wander; year-round; 50 minutes from Harrisburg. A Moravian-founded town with a tidy main street, the springs park that gives it its green heart and the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, which dates to 1861 and calls itself America’s first commercial pretzel bakery. Its short tours end with you twisting your own pretzel.
Plan it: Main and Broad Streets. Allow 2 to 3 hours with lunch. Best for: couples, food.
48. Lancaster County’s covered bridges
Free; spring to fall; around Lancaster. The county has more than two dozen covered bridges, many still carrying traffic over creeks on back roads. Hunsecker’s Mill Bridge, the county’s longest single-span covered bridge, is a good anchor for a loop.
Plan it: They’re working bridges, so pull fully off the road before taking photos. Allow 2 hours for a loop. Best for: couples, photographers.
49. Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire
Paid; weekends through October 25, 2026; Manheim, 40 minutes from Harrisburg. Jousting, turkey legs and a different theme every weekend on the grounds of Mount Hope Estate & Winery, running Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 8pm this season. Costumes are optional; enthusiasm isn’t.
Plan it: Mount Hope Estate & Winery on Route 72. Tickets are sold online only, not at the gate. Allow a full day. Best for: families, couples.
Hershey and Harrisburg (50-57)
Milton Hershey built a factory town with streetlights shaped like Kisses, and it grew into a resort with a theme park, gardens, a museum and a grand hotel. Harrisburg, the state capital, is 20 minutes away. Give Hersheypark a full day, the chocolate side a morning and Harrisburg an afternoon.
50. Hersheypark
Paid; spring to fall, plus Halloween and Christmas Candylane; Hershey, 1 hour 45 minutes from Philadelphia. The state’s biggest coaster park, with Skyrush, Candymonium and Wildcat’s Revenge among the headliners, a summer water park and ZooAmerica next door. Know what’s changed: Tidal Force closed for good after September 7, 2026, and the sooperdooperLooper closed after Labor Day for a new station and returns in summer 2027 for its 50th anniversary. The park lists Twizzlers Twisted Gravity, a 137-foot swing, as its newest ride.
Plan it: 100 W. Hersheypark Drive. Parking costs extra; buy dated tickets online. Allow a full day. Best for: families, thrill-seekers.
51. Hershey’s Chocolate World
Free entry and free ride; year-round; next to Hersheypark. The Hershey’s Chocolate Tour is a free simulated factory ride, not the real plant, and it ends with a sample. Everything else here, from Create Your Own Candy Bar to the tastings, costs extra, so decide in advance what’s worth it. On a wet day it’s the best free hour in Dauphin County.
Plan it: 101 Chocolate World Way. Weekday mornings are calmest. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: families, food.
52. Hershey Gardens and The Hershey Story
Paid; gardens spring to fall, museum year-round; Hershey. Hershey Gardens has themed gardens and an indoor butterfly atrium, and The Hershey Story tells how Milton Hershey built a chocolate company and a school for orphans, with a Chocolate Lab where you make your own bar.
Plan it: Hershey Gardens is at 170 Hotel Road; The Hershey Story is at 63 W. Chocolate Avenue. Allow 2 to 3 hours for both. Best for: couples, families.
53. Indian Echo Caverns
Paid; year-round; Hummelstown, 20 minutes from Harrisburg. A guided walk through a limestone cave that stays cool all year, with the story of Amos Wilson, the “Pennsylvania Hermit” who lived in it for 19 years. Add gemstone mining for younger kids.
Plan it: 368 Middletown Road, Hummelstown. Bring a layer. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: families, rainy days.
54. Pennsylvania State Capitol
Free; year-round, weekdays best; Harrisburg. Theodore Roosevelt called it “the handsomest building I ever saw” at its 1906 dedication, and the rotunda, murals and Henry Mercer’s tile floor still back him up. Guided tours last 30 to 45 minutes and are capped at 40 people.
Plan it: Enter at the East Wing welcome center. Book a guided tour at pacapitol.com; self-guided visits aren’t allowed on weekends and holidays. Allow an hour. Best for: history, architecture.
55. National Civil War Museum
Paid; year-round; Reservoir Park, Harrisburg. The whole war in one building, both sides and the causes, slavery included, told with a breadth that Gettysburg’s battle focus can’t match. See it before you drive to Gettysburg, 50 minutes south.
Plan it: One Lincoln Circle at Reservoir Park. Allow 2 hours. Best for: history.
56. The Pennsylvania Farm Show
Free admission, paid parking; January; Harrisburg. The Farm Show describes itself as the country’s largest indoor agricultural event, and for about a week each January it fills its complex with livestock, a butter sculpture and a food court famous for fried mushrooms and milkshakes. Check farmshow.pa.gov for the 2027 dates.
Plan it: Farm Show Complex, 2300 N. Cameron Street. Weekdays are less crowded. Allow half a day. Best for: families, food.
57. Harrisburg’s riverfront and City Island
Free; spring to fall; Harrisburg. Riverfront Park runs along Front Street above the wide, shallow Susquehanna, and the pedestrian Walnut Street Bridge leads to City Island, home of the minor-league Harrisburg Senators and a riverside path. It’s the city’s best free evening.
Plan it: Start at Front and Walnut Streets. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: families, couples.
Gettysburg (58-63)
Over three days in July 1863, about 51,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, captured or missing in the fields around this small town, and four months later Lincoln came to dedicate a cemetery. The national military park surrounds a walkable town center. Give it at least a full day, start at the visitor center, and treat the battlefield as the burial ground that parts of it are.
58. The Gettysburg battlefield auto tour
Free; year-round, best April to June and September to October; Gettysburg, 50 minutes from Harrisburg. The park’s self-guided auto tour follows the battle in order, from the first day’s fighting west and north of town to Little Round Top and the field of Pickett’s Charge. Little Round Top reopened in June 2024 after a 22-month rehabilitation that rebuilt its parking and trails.
Plan it: Pick up a map at the Museum and Visitor Center. Battlefield roads are open from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Allow 3 hours. Best for: history.
59. Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center
Visitor center free, museum ticket paid; year-round; Gettysburg. Start here. The film A New Birth of Freedom, narrated by Morgan Freeman, sets up the battle; then you step into the Cyclorama, Paul Philippoteaux’s 1880s painting of Pickett’s Charge, which wraps all the way around you. One ticket covers the film, the Cyclorama and the museum.
Plan it: 1195 Baltimore Pike. Tickets cost $20.75 for adults, $19.75 for seniors and veterans and $15.75 for ages 6 to 12, as of September 2026; kids under 6 and active military are free. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: history.
60. A Licensed Battlefield Guide
Paid; year-round, book ahead in spring and fall; Gettysburg. The single best way to understand the battle. A tested, licensed guide rides in your own car for a two-hour tour and shapes it around your interests, from a home-state regiment to the full sweep of the three days.
Plan it: Reserve through the Museum and Visitor Center. Allow 2 hours. Best for: history.
61. Soldiers’ National Cemetery
Free; year-round; Gettysburg. Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address here on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the cemetery for the Union dead. The graves are laid out in curved rows by state. Walk it slowly and quietly.
Plan it: Between Taneytown Road and Baltimore Street, a short walk from the visitor center. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: history.
62. Eisenhower National Historic Site
Free entry; check days; Gettysburg. Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower’s farm, the only home they ever owned, where the president recovered from his 1955 heart attack and hosted world leaders, including Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. The house is kept much as they left it.
Plan it: There’s no entrance fee; ask at the Museum and Visitor Center information desk how to get there and which days it’s open. Allow 2 hours. Best for: history.
63. Adams County’s fruit belt
Free to drive; late summer to fall; north and west of Gettysburg. The hills toward Biglerville and Arendtsville are apple country, with farm markets, cider and pick-your-own orchards from late summer into October. It’s the antidote to a day of monuments: pie, fresh cider and long views of orchards below South Mountain.
Plan it: Head north on Route 34 toward Biglerville. Call orchards before you drive out, since pick-your-own days depend on the crop. Allow half a day. Best for: food, families.
The Laurel Highlands (64-73)
An hour to 90 minutes southeast of Pittsburgh, the Laurel Highlands are long ridges, whitewater and two Frank Lloyd Wright houses, with a national memorial at the eastern edge. Stay in Ohiopyle for the river, Ligonier for small-town comfort, or at one of the mountain resorts. The Turnpike runs right through, and it’s cashless: bring E-ZPass or expect a Toll By Plate bill, which costs more.
64. Fallingwater
Paid, advance tickets; year-round except Wednesdays; Mill Run, 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh. Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1935 design for the Kaufmann family sits right on top of Bear Run’s waterfall, with terraces cantilevered over the water. The guided tour shows how the family actually lived in it, and the short path to the classic downstream view is the photo stop afterward. Summer and October dates go weeks ahead.
Plan it: 1491 Mill Run Road, Mill Run. Closed Wednesdays and major holidays and open the rest of the year, winter included. Advance tickets are required, and the tour involves stairs and uneven paths. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: architecture, couples.
65. Kentuck Knob
Paid; best spring to fall; Chalk Hill, 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh. Wright’s later, smaller house, finished in the 1950s for the Hagan family and built of local sandstone and cypress into a hilltop, with a sculpture meadow below. It’s quieter and more personal than Fallingwater, and the two are close enough to see in one day.
Plan it: 723 Kentuck Road, Chalk Hill. Book a timed tour, and check winter hours before you go. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours. Best for: architecture.
66. Ohiopyle State Park
Free, outfitters paid; spring to fall; Fayette County, 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh. The Youghiogheny River pours over Ohiopyle Falls right beside the village, and the park around it holds what DCNR calls the deepest gorge in Pennsylvania, best seen from Baughman Rocks. Walk the Ferncliff Peninsula, find Cucumber Falls, and book a Lower Yough rafting trip with an outfitter in town if you want the whitewater.
Plan it: The borough of Ohiopyle on PA 381. State park lots are free; some borough lots charge. Summer weekends crowd up by late morning. Allow a full day. Best for: outdoors, families.
67. The Great Allegheny Passage
Free; spring to fall; Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland. A 150-mile rail trail over viaducts and through tunnels, ending in Cumberland, where the C&O Canal towpath continues to Washington, D.C. For a day, rent a bike in Ohiopyle and ride the river section toward Confluence, which is flat, shaded and at its best in October.
Plan it: Trailheads include Point State Park, Connellsville, Ohiopyle, Confluence and Meyersdale. Allow half a day for a sample. Best for: outdoors.
68. Flight 93 National Memorial
Free; year-round; near Shanksville, 1 hour 45 minutes from Pittsburgh. The field where United Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001, after its passengers and crew fought back. The visitor center looks down the flight path to the crash site, the Wall of Names lines the edge of the field, and the 93-foot Tower of Voices holds 40 wind chimes, one for each person aboard. It’s a grave site, and visitors fall quiet here without being asked.
Plan it: 6424 Lincoln Highway, Stoystown. No entrance fee. Allow 2 hours. Best for: history.
69. Idlewild & SoakZone
Paid; summer; Ligonier, about an hour from Pittsburgh. A shady, low-key park that opened in 1878 and is aimed squarely at younger kids, with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, a water park and gentle rides under old trees. Herschend Family Entertainment owns it along with Kennywood. Parents of 3- to 9-year-olds tend to love it as much as the kids do.
Plan it: On US 30 just west of Ligonier. Allow a full day. Best for: families.
70. Laurel Caverns
Paid; open for the 2026 season; near Farmington, 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania’s largest cave, with more than four miles of passages, and an odd one: it’s sandstone, so there are no stalactites, and the passages tilt steeply downhill. It now sits inside Laurel Caverns State Park, and the cave tours carry on as before.
Plan it: Tickets are sold on arrival and no reservations are needed; call 724-438-3003 for tour times. Bring a jacket. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: families, rainy days.
71. Johnstown and its flood story
Memorial free, museum paid; year-round; Cambria County, 1.5 hours from Pittsburgh. In 1889 the South Fork Dam failed, and a wall of water killed more than 2,200 people downstream in Johnstown. The Johnstown Flood National Memorial at the old dam site is free and sobering; downtown, the Johnstown Flood Museum fills in the story, and the Inclined Plane, built after the flood as an escape route up the hillside, looks down on the valley.
Plan it: The national memorial is at 733 Lake Road, South Fork, northeast of the city, with no entrance fee. Allow half a day for the memorial and museum. Best for: history.
72. Ligonier and Fort Ligonier
Town free, fort paid; spring to fall; about an hour from Pittsburgh. A small town built around a green square the locals call the Diamond, with a bandstand, cafes and shops, plus a full-size reconstruction of the 1758 British fort from the French and Indian War. It’s the most comfortable base in the Laurel Highlands.
Plan it: Fort Ligonier is at 200 S. Market Street. Allow 2 to 3 hours with lunch. Best for: history, couples.
73. Mount Davis
Free; spring to fall; Forbes State Forest, Somerset County. The highest point in Pennsylvania, at 3,213 feet, is a gentle wooded hilltop rather than a peak, which surprises people. Climb the observation tower for the view over the ridges and check off a state high point on the easiest terms you’ll find.
Plan it: Southwest of Meyersdale in Forbes State Forest. Free. Allow 45 minutes, or pair it with a ride on the Great Allegheny Passage from Meyersdale. Best for: outdoors.
The Pennsylvania Wilds (74-82)
North-central Pennsylvania is state forest, game lands and small towns, with more elk than traffic lights and some of the darkest night skies in the East. Cell service drops out and gas stations are far apart, so fill up and download maps before you go. Base in Wellsboro for the Grand Canyon and Cherry Springs, or in Benezette or Ridgway for the elk and the Kinzua Bridge.
74. Pine Creek Gorge, the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon
Free; May to October, peak color in early to mid-October; near Wellsboro. The gorge runs about 47 miles and reaches 1,450 feet deep near its southern end. The easy views are at Leonard Harrison State Park on the east rim and Colton Point State Park on the west, and the Turkey Path drops steeply from Leonard Harrison to the creek for anyone with good knees.
Plan it: Leonard Harrison State Park, 4797 Route 660, 10 miles west of Wellsboro. The main overlook is a short walk from the lot. Allow 2 hours, more if you hike. Best for: outdoors, couples.
75. Pine Creek Rail Trail
Free; spring to fall; Wellsboro Junction to Jersey Shore. DCNR named this 62-mile rail trail Pennsylvania’s 2026 Trail of the Year, and its northern miles run along the floor of the gorge, flat and wide, with cliffs rising on both sides. Rent a bike, arrange a shuttle and ride one way.
Plan it: Trailheads include Wellsboro Junction, Darling Run near Ansonia, and Blackwell; the 3.2-mile Marsh Creek Greenway now links the trail to downtown Wellsboro. Allow half a day. Best for: outdoors, families.
76. Cherry Springs State Park
Free; April to October on moonless nights; Potter County, 3.5 hours from Harrisburg. One of the darkest skies in the eastern United States, where the Milky Way is plain to the naked eye on clear summer nights. Use the Night Sky Public Viewing Area for short visits, keep your lights red and switch white lights off. A 2024 renovation moved the entrance so headlights don’t sweep the field.
Plan it: On PA 44 in Potter County. Free. Check the moon phase, the cloud forecast and DCNR’s stargazing page, and bring warm layers even in July. Allow 2 to 3 hours after dark. Best for: couples, outdoors.
77. Kinzua Bridge State Park
Free; Skywalk open only through October 31, 2026; McKean County, 3 hours 15 minutes from Pittsburgh. The Kinzua Viaduct stood 301 feet over the valley until a 2003 tornado threw part of it down. The 2011 Skywalk runs 600 feet out on the surviving towers to a partly glass-floored platform over the wreckage. It’s open this fall only, from September 1 to October 31, 2026, and then closes for repairs until fall 2027.
Plan it: Near Mount Jewett, off US 6. The Skywalk and the Kinzua Creek Trail close in snow, ice, storms and high winds. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: families, outdoors.
78. Elk Country Visitor Center
Free; best in the September and October rut; Benezette, 2 hours 45 minutes from Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania’s wild elk roam the fields around Benezette, and during the fall rut the bulls bugle at dawn and dusk. The visitor center has exhibits, viewing areas and staff who know where the herd has been. Stay in your car or at the viewing areas, and never approach the animals.
Plan it: 134 Homestead Drive, Benezette. In September and October it opens daily from 8am to dusk. October weekends jam the narrow roads, so go midweek if you can. Allow half a day around dawn or dusk. Best for: outdoors, families.
79. Hyner View State Park
Free; spring to fall; Clinton County. A tiny overlook park on a mountaintop, used as a hang-gliding launch, looking straight down the West Branch of the Susquehanna. The drive up is narrow and steep, and the view is the entire reason to make it.
Plan it: From PA 120 at Hyner, take Hyner Run Road about two miles, then Old View Road up. Allow 45 minutes. Best for: couples, outdoors.
80. Cook Forest State Park
Free; spring to fall; Clarion County, 2 hours from Pittsburgh. The Forest Cathedral is a stand of old-growth white pine and hemlock and a National Natural Landmark. Climb the 80-foot Fire Tower #9 for a view of 15 to 20 miles on a clear day, and in summer float the Clarion River with one of the local canoe liveries.
Plan it: Park office in Cooksburg on PA 36. Allow half a day. Best for: outdoors, families.
81. Kinzua Dam and the Allegheny National Forest
Free to drive; summer to fall; Warren County, about 3 hours from Pittsburgh. The Allegheny Reservoir behind Kinzua Dam reaches north into New York, surrounded by more than half a million acres of national forest. The overlooks at Rimrock and Jakes Rocks, off the Longhouse National Scenic Byway, are the easy views; boating, beaches and campgrounds cover the rest.
Plan it: Kinzua Dam is east of Warren on PA 59. Allow a day. Best for: outdoors.
82. Wellsboro
Free to wander; year-round; Tioga County, 2 hours 45 minutes from Harrisburg. A county seat with gas-lit streetlamps along Main Street, a leafy green with the Wynken, Blynken and Nod fountain, and just enough restaurants and inns to base a Grand Canyon trip. Its quiet evenings are the reward after a day in the gorge.
Plan it: Main Street. Leonard Harrison State Park is 10 miles west. Allow an evening. Best for: couples.
Lake Erie (83-87)
Erie is two hours north of Pittsburgh and a summer town at heart: sandy beaches, sunsets over open water and a grape belt running east along the shore. The swimming season is short, but fall color on the peninsula and the grape harvest in September and October make it a strong shoulder-season trip.
83. Presque Isle State Park
Free; June to August for swimming, year-round for walks; Erie, 2 hours from Pittsburgh. A curving sand peninsula that arches into Lake Erie four miles west of downtown, with swimming beaches on the lake side, a lighthouse from 1873 and, according to DCNR, more of Pennsylvania’s endangered, threatened and rare species than any other place its size. Stay for sunset over the lake.
Plan it: 301 Peninsula Drive, Erie. Free, and open year-round for day use. Summer weekends fill the beach lots, so arrive by late morning. Allow a full day. Best for: families, outdoors.
84. Presque Isle by bike or kayak
Free trail, rentals paid; summer to fall; Erie. A paved multi-use trail runs much of the peninsula’s length, and the calm bay side and lagoons are made for kayaks. Paddle or pedal to the Perry Monument on Misery Bay, where Oliver Hazard Perry’s fleet spent the winter after the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.
Plan it: Bike and boat rentals operate in summer near the entrance and inside the park. Allow half a day. Best for: outdoors, couples.
85. Tom Ridge Environmental Center
Free; year-round; Presque Isle entrance. The park’s big visitor center has exhibits on the peninsula’s dunes, wetlands and birds, plus an observation tower looking over the park and the bay. It’s the right first stop and a useful rainy-day hour.
Plan it: At the park entrance on Peninsula Drive. Allow an hour. Best for: families, rainy days.
86. Waldameer Park & Water World
Free admission and parking, rides paid; summer; Erie. A family-run park at the entrance to Presque Isle, with two wooden coasters, including the well-regarded Ravine Flyer II, and a water park. Admission and parking are free, so grandparents can come along and watch without paying.
Plan it: On Peninsula Drive near the park entrance. The season is summer, so check the calendar before planning around it. Allow a full day with the water park. Best for: families.
87. Lake Erie Wine Country
Tastings paid; late summer to fall; North East, 2 hours 15 minutes from Pittsburgh. East of Erie, the lake’s moderating effect creates a narrow grape belt, planted mostly in Concord grapes for juice, with wineries along Route 20 and Route 5 near North East. September and October harvest weekends are the time to go.
Plan it: Pick a designated driver or book a tour. Allow half a day. Best for: couples, food.
The Lehigh Valley (88-94)
Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton sit an hour and a quarter north of Philadelphia, close enough for a day trip and full enough for a weekend. Bethlehem is the headliner, with a Moravian old town on the UNESCO World Heritage List and a steel mill turned arts campus; Easton has the crayons and Nazareth the guitars. Hawk Mountain, just over the line in Berks County, is the region’s great fall outing.
88. Historic Moravian Bethlehem
Free to walk, museums paid; year-round, peak in December; Bethlehem, 1 hour 15 minutes from Philadelphia. Moravian settlers founded Bethlehem in 1741 and named it on Christmas Eve, and in 2024 the old settlement joined the UNESCO World Heritage List alongside Moravian towns in Denmark, Germany and Northern Ireland. Walk the stone buildings along Church Street, then come back in December, when the Christkindlmarkt and Moravian stars turn it into the Christmas City it calls itself.
Plan it: Start at Main and Church Streets. December weekends are packed, so book rooms early. Allow half a day. Best for: history, couples.
89. SteelStacks
Free campus, concerts paid; year-round, peak in August; South Bethlehem. The rusting blast furnaces of Bethlehem Steel tower over an arts campus, and the elevated Hoover-Mason Trestle walkway takes you right alongside them for free. In August, Musikfest fills Bethlehem with music on free and paid stages.
Plan it: 101 Founders Way. The furnaces are lit in color after dark. Allow 1 to 2 hours. Best for: couples, history.
90. Crayola Experience
Paid; year-round; Easton, 1.5 hours from Philadelphia. A downtown building of hands-on stations where kids name and wrap their own crayon, melt wax into shapes and draw on almost everything. As of September 2026, a Color Card with unlimited visits through December 31 costs $35.99 online, and an adults-only Crayola After Dark: Halloween Edition runs on October 16.
Plan it: 30 Centre Square, Easton. Allow 3 to 4 hours. Best for: families, rainy days.
91. Martin Guitar factory tour
Paid, $10 as of September 2026; weekdays; Nazareth, 1.5 hours from Philadelphia. C.F. Martin & Co. has made guitars since 1833, and its one-hour guided tour walks the factory floor while craftspeople bend sides, carve necks and fit braces by hand. Headphones are included so you can hear the guide over the machines, and the Martin Museum in the visitor center is worth a lingering look.
Plan it: 510 Sycamore Street, Nazareth. Tours leave Monday to Friday between 10am and 2pm. Register online in advance; no tickets are sold at the factory. Kids, seniors, students, military and veterans pay $7.50. Allow 1.5 hours with the museum. Best for: couples, music fans.
92. Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
Paid; late spring to fall; Allentown, 1 hour 15 minutes from Philadelphia. A big coaster-and-water park that stays with Six Flags after the company sold six other parks in 2026. Come for the coasters and, on hot days, the water park; fall operating days are limited, so check the calendar.
Plan it: 3830 Dorney Park Road, Allentown. Parking costs extra. Allow a full day. Best for: families, thrill-seekers.
93. Lost River Caverns
Paid, from $17.50 as of September 2026; year-round; Hellertown, 1 hour 15 minutes from Philadelphia. A compact cave with a 30- to 45-minute guided walk past crystal formations and the underground stream that gives it its name, plus a gem and mineral museum. Tours for kids 3 to 11 cost $12.50, and reservations are required.
Plan it: 726 Durham Street, Hellertown. Allow an hour. Best for: families, rainy days.
94. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
Trail fee, $10 for adults as of September 2026; August to December; Kempton, 1.5 hours from Philadelphia. A ridge-top sanctuary that calls itself the world’s first refuge for birds of prey, where counters tally the fall migration from the North Lookout every day from August 15 to December 15. Mid-September brings the big broad-winged hawk flights, and late fall brings golden eagles.
Plan it: 1700 Hawk Mountain Road, Kempton. Trail fees are $7 for seniors and $5 for ages 6 to 12. The South Lookout is a short, easy walk; the North Lookout is a rocky climb. Bring binoculars and a cushion. Allow half a day. Best for: outdoors, couples.
Northeast and Central Pennsylvania (95-101)
The middle of the state is where Pennsylvania’s industrial past shows most clearly, in Scranton’s rail yards and coal mines, and it’s also home to the state’s best waterfall hike and its favorite old-fashioned amusement park. Farther west in Jefferson County, Punxsutawney holds Groundhog Day on Tuesday, February 2, 2027, with Phil’s new habitat at Gobbler’s Knob and no alcohol allowed on the grounds.
95. Steamtown National Historic Site
Free; year-round, train rides seasonal; Scranton, 2 hours from Philadelphia. A working rail yard with a roundhouse, a turntable and steam locomotives, where the museum halls explain how railroads built towns like this one. The site charges no entrance fee; short train rides and excursions cost extra.
Plan it: 350 Cliff Street, Scranton. The Electric City Trolley Museum shares the complex. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: families, history.
96. Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour
Paid; spring through November; Scranton. A mine car carries you down a steep slope into an anthracite mine, where guides walk you through the working life of the men and boys who dug coal here. Lackawanna County lists a 2026 season from April 2 to November 30, with tours Friday through Monday. Bring a jacket; it’s cold underground all year.
Plan it: McDade Park, Scranton. The county’s schedule lists the first tour at 10:45am and the last at 2:45pm. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: history, families.
97. Ricketts Glen State Park
Free; May to October; Benton, 2.5 hours from Harrisburg. The best waterfall hike in the state: 22 named falls, with Ganoga the tallest at 94 feet. A 3.2-mile loop through Ganoga Glen and Glen Leigh passes most of them, and the full loop runs 7.2 miles. The rock is steep and slick, so wear boots with real grip.
Plan it: 695 State Route 487, Benton, about 3 hours from Philadelphia. The Lake Rose trailhead lot fills early on fall weekends. Allow 3 to 4 hours. Best for: outdoors.
98. Knoebels Amusement Resort
Free admission and parking, pay per ride; summer; Elysburg, 1 hour 15 minutes from Harrisburg. A family-owned park in the woods that turned 100 in 2026, with free admission, free parking and free entertainment; you buy ride tickets as you go, or a Ride All Day pass on weekdays and select weekends. The wooden Phoenix coaster and the Flying Turns are the rides to try, and potato cakes and pierogies are the lunch.
Plan it: 391 Knoebels Boulevard, Elysburg. Check knoebels.com for pass days. Allow a full day. Best for: families, food.
99. Penn’s Cave & Wildlife Park
Paid; best spring to fall; Centre Hall, 1 hour 15 minutes from Harrisburg. The whole cave tour happens by boat, gliding through flooded limestone passages, and the park adds a farm-and-wildlife tour on the land above. Pick up a Central PA Cave Passport to add Woodward Cave and Lincoln Caverns to the trip.
Plan it: 222 Penns Cave Road, Centre Hall. Allow 1.5 hours for the cave, more with the wildlife tour. Best for: families.
100. State College and the Berkey Creamery
Free to wander, ice cream paid; year-round; Centre County, 1.5 hours from Harrisburg. Penn State’s college town, where the Berkey Creamery scoops ice cream made on campus. Walk the campus, climb Mount Nittany for the valley view, and avoid home football weekends unless you’re here for the game, because rooms sell out and prices jump.
Plan it: The Creamery is in the Food Science Building on campus. Allow 2 to 3 hours. Best for: food, families.
101. Horseshoe Curve
Paid; spring to fall; Altoona, 2 hours from Pittsburgh. Since 1854, trains have climbed the Allegheny Front here by bending around a giant horseshoe of track, and the trackside park puts you a few yards from the freight trains grinding past. Amtrak’s Pennsylvanian rounds the curve once a day in each direction, and a second daily round trip is due to start in mid-November 2026.
Plan it: 2400 Veterans Memorial Highway, Altoona. The Railroaders Memorial Museum runs it and posts hours on Facebook and Google; admission stops 45 minutes before closing. Allow 1.5 hours. Best for: families, rail fans.
The Best Things to Do in Pennsylvania by Interest
If you’re sorting the things to do in Pennsylvania by the kind of day you want, start with these. The numbers match the list above.
| If you love | Start with | Then add |
|---|---|---|
| History | Independence Hall (2), the Gettysburg battlefield (58), Flight 93 National Memorial (68) | Valley Forge (16), Eastern State Penitentiary (8), Steamtown (95) |
| Families | Hersheypark (50), Knoebels (98), Crayola Experience (90) | Strasburg Rail Road (41), Kennywood (31), the Franklin Institute (10) |
| Couples | Fallingwater (64), Longwood Gardens (17), Historic Moravian Bethlehem (88) | Jim Thorpe (34), Cherry Springs (76), Lake Erie Wine Country (87) |
| Outdoors | Ohiopyle (66), Ricketts Glen (97), Pine Creek Gorge (74) | Great Allegheny Passage (67), Hawk Mountain (94), Presque Isle (83) |
| Food | Reading Terminal Market (5), Lancaster Central Market (44), the Strip District (26) | The Italian Market (12), Hershey’s Chocolate World (51), the Berkey Creamery (100) |
| Free | Liberty Bell (1), Valley Forge (16), any state park | Gettysburg battlefield (58), Flight 93 (68), Steamtown (95), Hershey’s Chocolate Tour (51) |
| Rainy days | The Franklin Institute (10), Heinz History Center (27), Crayola Experience (90) | Indoor water parks (39), Indian Echo Caverns (53), Lost River Caverns (93) |
Two patterns stand out. The free list is long because Pennsylvania’s state parks and most of its national park sites charge nothing to enter, and the paid headliners (Hersheypark, Fallingwater, Longwood) are the ones that sell out, so book those first and fill the gaps with free stops.
Where Should You Base Yourself?
Pennsylvania rewards two or three bases rather than a new hotel every night. These are the ones that cover the most ground with the least driving.
| Base | Best for | Covers | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center City or Old City, Philadelphia | First-timers without a car | 1-19, plus day trips to Lancaster County and the Lehigh Valley | Philadelphia hotel bills add 15.5% in hotel taxes (8.5% city plus 7% state and local). |
| Lancaster or Strasburg | Families and food lovers | 41-57 | Farm stays and inns fill on summer and fall weekends. |
| Hershey | Theme-park trips | 50-57, plus Lancaster County and Gettysburg | Resort rates peak on summer weekends and during Christmas Candylane. |
| Gettysburg | History | 58-63 | The town is walkable, and the battlefield starts at its edge. |
| Pittsburgh | City breaks with day trips | 20-31, plus 64-73 | Fallingwater and Ohiopyle are 1.5 hours away. |
| Ohiopyle or Ligonier | Outdoor trips | 64-73 | Ohiopyle has the river; Ligonier has the restaurants. |
| Wellsboro | The Pennsylvania Wilds | 74-82 | Book ahead for October weekends. |
| Jim Thorpe or the Mount Pocono area | The Poconos | 32-40 | Jim Thorpe suits couples; the Mount Pocono area suits water-park families. |
| Bethlehem | The Lehigh Valley | 88-94, plus Jim Thorpe | December is its high season. |
| Erie | Lake Erie | 83-87 | Summer weekends fill first. |
Getting around: you’ll want a car for everything outside the two big cities. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is cashless, so use E-ZPass or expect a Toll By Plate invoice at a higher rate; highway-speed Open Road Tolling runs east of Reading and expands west in January 2027. Amtrak’s Keystone Service links Philadelphia with Lancaster and Harrisburg, and the Pennsylvanian continues west through Altoona to Pittsburgh. Sales tax is 6% statewide, 8% in Philadelphia and 7% in Allegheny County.
What’s Changed in 2026, and What to Skip
Old blog posts and outdated listings are the biggest trap in Pennsylvania trip planning. These are the changes most likely to catch you out:
- Hersheypark: Tidal Force closed permanently after September 7, 2026, and the sooperdooperLooper is closed for a new station until summer 2027.
- Kinzua Bridge Skywalk: open only from September 1 to October 31, 2026, then closed for repairs until fall 2027.
- Dingmans Falls: the access road, visitor center and trail are closed for bridge replacement and trail work, according to the NPS conditions page checked September 24, 2026. Go to Raymondskill Falls instead.
- Glen Onoko Falls: the trail stays closed while DCNR rebuilds it, with no reopening date. Don’t hike it.
- Camelbeach: Camelback’s outdoor water park was closed for the 2026 season; the indoor Aquatopia is open.
- Pocono Palace has closed; Cove Haven and Paradise Stream still operate.
- Harley-Davidson in York: public factory tours are temporarily closed, with no reopening date.
- Ownership and names: Herschend now owns Kennywood, Idlewild and Sandcastle; the Kamin Science Center and the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium have new names; Laurel Caverns now sits inside a state park.
- Philadelphia: the One Liberty Observation Deck is permanently closed, and the new park capping I-95 at Penn’s Landing isn’t expected to open until around 2030.
Skip Centralia. The Graffiti Highway was buried under dirt in 2020, much of the land is private, and there’s little left to see. Skip Roadside America, the miniature village in Shartlesville that closed in 2020; old listings online are wrong. Skip the two-city weekend. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are five hours apart, so pick one city and its countryside. And skip October Saturdays in Jim Thorpe unless you arrive early or use the festival shuttles; a weekday visit is a different, better town.
Things to Do in Pennsylvania: FAQ
What is the most famous attraction in Pennsylvania?
The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated, are the state’s best-known landmarks, and both are free, though Independence Hall needs a timed ticket with a $1 booking fee. Hersheypark, Gettysburg and Fallingwater are the other names most visitors know before they arrive.
What are the best things to do in Pennsylvania with kids?
Hersheypark and Hershey’s free Chocolate Tour, Knoebels (free admission, pay per ride), the Crayola Experience in Easton, the Strasburg Rail Road and Kennywood top most family lists. For outdoor days, Hickory Run’s Boulder Field and Presque Isle’s beaches are free, and caves such as Indian Echo and Penn’s Cave make good rainy-day backups.
What are the most romantic things to do in Pennsylvania for couples?
Tour Fallingwater, stroll Longwood Gardens, spend a December evening in Bethlehem, stargaze at Cherry Springs, or book a night in Jim Thorpe or New Hope. The Poconos’ couples resorts, with their heart-shaped tubs, are pure kitsch and proud of it, and Lake Erie Wine Country suits a slow fall afternoon.
What can you do in Pennsylvania for free?
A lot. Every state park is free to enter and park in, including Ricketts Glen, Ohiopyle and the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. The Liberty Bell, Valley Forge, the Gettysburg battlefield, Flight 93 National Memorial and Steamtown charge no entrance fee, and Hershey’s Chocolate Tour and Knoebels’ admission cost nothing either.
What is there to do in Pennsylvania in October?
Chase the color in the northern forests: the Grand Canyon, Ricketts Glen and the Kinzua Bridge, whose Skywalk closes after October 31, 2026. Ride the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, watch the hawk migration at Hawk Mountain and listen for bugling elk in Benezette. Book October weekends early, and expect crowds in Jim Thorpe on festival weekends.
How many days do you need to see Pennsylvania?
A week covers the highlights: two days in Philadelphia, a day each in Lancaster County, Hershey and Gettysburg, and two in Pittsburgh with Fallingwater. Add three or four days for the northern forests or Lake Erie. With only a weekend, choose one region, since crossing the state takes about five hours by car.
What is there to do in Pennsylvania on a rainy day?
Head for the big museums in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (the Franklin Institute, the Carnegie Museums, the Heinz History Center), the Crayola Experience, Hershey’s Chocolate World or an indoor water park in the Poconos. Caves such as Indian Echo, Penn’s Cave and Lost River stay the same temperature all year, so the weather above doesn’t matter.
Is Philadelphia or Pittsburgh better for a first visit?
Philadelphia, if history is the draw: the founding sites, markets and museums sit close together, and SEPTA covers the rest. Pittsburgh wins on views and on having the Laurel Highlands next door, with Fallingwater and Ohiopyle 90 minutes away. They’re about five hours apart, so choose one per trip.
Sources and How We Checked
We checked the prices, hours, fees and closures on this page on September 24, 2026, against the official sources below, and compiled the list from them rather than from first-hand visits. Drive times are free-flow estimates from OpenStreetMap data using the Valhalla routing engine, rounded to the nearest 15 minutes, so add time for summer and October weekend traffic.
- National Park Service: Independence Hall, plus the NPS fee pages for Gettysburg, Valley Forge, Flight 93, Steamtown, Johnstown Flood and Eisenhower
- Pennsylvania DCNR: state parks
- Fallingwater: visitor information
- Lancaster Central Market
- Martin Guitar: factory tours
- Duquesne Incline
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Moravian Church Settlements
We also used the official sites of Reading Terminal Market, Longwood Gardens, Hersheypark and Hershey’s Chocolate World, Knoebels, Kennywood, the Crayola Experience, Lost River Caverns, Laurel Caverns, Bushkill Falls, Penn’s Cave, Waldameer, the Railroaders Memorial Museum, the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, the Pennsylvania Capitol, Lackawanna County, the Keystone Elk Country Alliance, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, plus reporting by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Pennsylvania Tourism Guide is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with the National Park Service, Pennsylvania DCNR, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Herschend Family Entertainment, Six Flags or any attraction named here, and no one paid to be included.
Photo Credits
- Downtown Pittsburgh from the Duquesne Incline: photo by Dllu, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Independence Hall, Philadelphia: photo by Foolish Productions Photography, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Asa Packer Mansion, Jim Thorpe: photo by Chris18240 (talk), via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
- Strasburg Rail Road locomotive No. 89: photo by jpmueller99 from Shenandoah Valley of VA, USA, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
- Hersheypark from above: photo by Gusc554, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Devil's Den from Little Round Top, Gettysburg: photo by Bubba73, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Fallingwater, Mill Run: photo by Carol M. Highsmith, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
- Kinzua Viaduct wreckage, Kinzua Bridge State Park: photo by Cap'n Refsmmat, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
- Presque Isle Lighthouse, Erie: photo by Ruhrfisch, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
- Central Moravian Church, Bethlehem: photo by w_lemay, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)