If variety appeals to you, head north to Pennsylvania. The Keystone State, from its bustling cities to its rural farmland, is rich with enough American history, celebrated art, family festivities, award-winning dining, and nature excursions to suit any visitor’s tastes. In our September issue, we tell you where to go and what to do in some of our favorite PA destinations. Check out those stories below.
Philadelphia | Pittsburgh | New Hope & Lambertville | The Laurel Highlands | York | Mountain Resorts
Guide Deborah Spagnolo waits by the entrance to the Lancaster City Welcome Center in Penn Square. Around her, people swirl about, sipping coffee and striding by with their dogs. It’s the city’s busiest intersection and a gathering place for locals and students from Franklin & Marshall College and Millersville University.
In the center of Penn Square stands the Soldiers and Sailors Monument honoring Pennsylvania troops killed in the Civil War and ensuing military conflicts. The impressive 43-foot granite pillar was erected in 1874 on the same spot where the Continental Congress met 247 years ago.
Drive time from Dulles: 3.5+ hours
The first stop on Spagnolo’s Red Rose Walking Food Tour is Lancaster Central Market. Opened in 1730, it’s the oldest continuously operating public farmers market in the country. The stalls are chock-full of produce, charcuterie, and sweets of every kind. The group samples pickles, sweet bologna, and aged sharp cheddar. Everything comes from family-run vendors, including a delectable strawberry turnover with an all-butter crust.
Lancaster City has 50 properties listed in the National Register, and among the well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings is Gallery Row, a lively arts neighborhood where you can buy handcrafted treasures by regional and national talent. Cindy Schlosser’s beechwood bowls at Gallery on Market and the red umbrella paintings at Liz Hess Gallery are standouts. After perusing the boutiques on North Queen Street, relax at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse, a distillery/restaurant/movie theater where people go for open mic nights, art films, and curated cocktails.
Spagnolo leads her tour to landmarks that illuminate stories of Lancaster’s preeminent residents. She shows her group Rep. Thaddeus Stevens’ home, a stop on the Underground Railroad. Stevens was a leader in the antislavery movement who collaborated with his confidant, abolitionist Lydia Hamilton Smith, to provide shelter to freedom seekers. There’s a shop where chocolatier Milton Hershey began his career in candy making and the gravesite of President James Buchanan’s fiancée, Ann Caroline Coleman.
Buchanan’s ancestral home, Wheatland, is on the Lancaster Campus of History. The 15th president is best known for enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act and allowing Southern states to secede from the Union.
Buchanan was a lifelong bachelor who brought his niece Harriet Lane to serve as White House hostess. Lane acted as first lady, and like subsequent first ladies, promoted social causes. Upon her death, Lane bequeathed her art collection to the Smithsonian to establish the National Gallery of Art (now known as the Smithsonian American Art Museum) and helped found St. Albans School, both in Washington, DC.
Lancaster’s countryside is the “yin” to Lancaster City’s “yang.” The satellite villages of Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse are within agricultural areas where members of the Amish community live. The Amish trace their roots to the 16th century Protestant Reformation and settled in America to practice religious freedoms. They are generally reluctant to adopt modern conveniences like technology and cars. While you navigate the area, you’ll encounter Amish farmers and craftspeople traveling by horse and carriage on rural country roads.
To learn about this culture, hop aboard Aaron & Jessica’s Buggy Rides or visit the Old Windmill Farm to feed the calves, baby goats, and pet the miniature hens.
There’s more kid-friendly entertainment behind the gates of Dutch Wonderland, a vintage amusement park with rides, puppet shows, and friendly characters. The attractions cater to families of younger children, with seasonal events like Happy Hauntings and Dutch Winter Wonderland.
Another quaint activity is the Strasburg Rail Road, an open-air steam engine that traverses Lancaster’s pastoral countryside. On the narrated ride, conductors explain the history of the region, pointing out tobacco barns and covered bridges. Families will appreciate taking a trip on Thomas the Tank Engine or a holiday ride with Santa Claus.
Lancaster County borders miles of shoreline on the wide Susquehanna River, and the riverfront town of Columbia has walking and biking trails, antique shopping, and water activities. Visit the Zimmerman Center for Heritage to take a cruise down the Susquehanna on Chief Uncas, a circa-1912 electric boat.
Lancaster offers visitors an eclectic mix of urban and country experiences, from art and history to family fun and recreation to a tasty introduction to it all on a food tour.
Antiques Central
Lancaster is considered one of the Northeast’s top spots for antique shopping. Home to dozens of galleries, markets, and antique malls, the only challenge is how to begin. A great place to start is Adamstown where the Mad Hatter, Time Matters, and famous Shupp’s Grove sell an array of heritage furniture and collectibles.
Cackleberry Farm Antique Mall in Paradise has 125 dealers plus an ice cream parlor and hardware store. The town of Columbia has 15 antique and thrift shops, including the eye-catching Burning Bridge Antiques Market, housed in an 1800s brick warehouse, and Bootleg Antiques where you can replenish your shopping energy at the in-house café. Even if you’re not an antique fan, it’s fun to sift through old-world dinnerware, classic toys, estate jewelry, vinyl records, and clothing from yesteryear. True aficionados should check out the Antiques Extravaganza events in late September.
Where to Stay
Lancaster Arts Hotel is an urban retreat near shops, galleries, and dining. Housed in a 19th-century tobacco warehouse, the vintage brick walls are decorated with works by area artists. Rooms are spacious, some with whirlpools, sleeper sofas, and kitchenettes. There’s a free shuttle to Lancaster’s historic district, plus complimentary parking, bikes, and continental breakfast. (Rooms from $179 per night.) Watch the carriages roll by from your room in Amish Country at Hershey Farm Resort in Ronks. The rustic buildings are surrounded by farmland, a playground, a pond filled with swans, an outdoor pool, and a petting farm. The hotel’s popular restaurant is well known for its Pennsylvania Dutch smorgasbord buffet and bakery. (Rooms from $129 per night.)
Couples can luxuriate at The Inn at Leola Village, a AAA Four Diamond, Historic Hotel of America. Once an Amish tobacco farm in rural Lancaster, the architectural design of the restored farmhouses mimics the romance of a Tuscan villa. (Rooms from $161 per night.) Families can stay adjacent to Dutch Wonderland at the Cartoon Network Hotel with its indoor and outdoor pools, playground, arcade, and bunk rooms. (Rooms from $179 per night.)
Where to Eat
Throughout Lancaster County are dining spots where you can try Pennsylvania Dutch comfort food like soft pretzels and shoo-fly pie (a molasses confection). Start with breakfast at Tomato Pie Cafe, known for its signature pretzel sandwiches and tomato pie (tomatoes and cheese in a pie shell). Pick up hot drinks and confections at Lancaster Pie & Coffee or try Pennsylvania-style stroopwafels and ice cream at Lancaster Sweet Shoppe.
Big appetite? Experience smorgasbord dining at Hershey Farm Resort, an all-you-can-eat buffet of Amish favorites, including fried chicken, buttered noodles, baked ham, and whoopie pies. At Passerine, the dining room highlights seasonal, local ingredients, and there’s a bottle shop where you can stock up on East Coast wines. Prefer your cocktails with a view? Lancaster Marriott Penn Square is a hotel located on the site of a former department store with a rooftop lounge called The Exchange that serves wood-fired pizzas and sharable plates. Short on time? Lancaster Central Market is the place to sample Pennsylvania favorites under one roof.
Related stories:
- Find Where to Eat, Shop, and Stay on a Trip to Philadelphia
- Mark Your Calendars for These 8 Fall Pennsylvania Festivals
- New Hope and Lambertville Offer an Artsy Pennsylvania Getaway
- Explore Pittsburgh’s Art, Dining, and Breweries with a Weekend Trip
- The Laurel Highlands: Where Nature and Architecture Meet
- Pennsylvania Resorts for Your Family Getaway
Feature image courtesy Discover Lancaster
This story originally ran in our September issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
