Harrisburg · York · Lancaster — 171 sourced places

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Harrisburg · York · Lancaster

Hershey, Amish country & the road to Gettysburg

Harrisburg & the West Shore 30 places · area 1 of 7

Midtown, Camp Hill, Mechanicsburg

Photo: Acroterion · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

1 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Pennsylvania State Capitol

Joseph Huston's 1906 Beaux-Arts capitol, its dome modeled on St. Peter's — Theodore Roosevelt called it the handsomest he'd seen. Moravian tile floors by Henry Mercer, Violet Oakley and Edwin Austin Abbey murals; free 30-minute guided tours every half hour on weekdays.
501 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17120

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Photo: Reading Tom · CC BY 2.0 · Flickr (resized)

2 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore

National Civil War Museum

Hilltop museum in Reservoir Park that tells the whole war — causes, both armies, the home front and aftermath — evenhandedly, without picking sides; one of the largest Civil War collections in the country.
1 Lincoln Cir, Harrisburg, PA 17103

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Photo: Kirkpatrick · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

3 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Walnut Street Bridge & City Island

The 1890 'People's Bridge,' a wrought-iron truss now open only to walkers and cyclists, carries you from Riverfront Park across the Susquehanna to City Island — home of the Senators' ballpark, a riverboat, beach and the best skyline view of the Capitol dome.
Walnut St at Front St, Harrisburg, PA 17101

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4 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore

The Millworks

Midtown Harrisburg's 'Art. Food. Music.' hub since 2015, built from the reclaimed timber of the old Stokes Millwork: a farm-to-table restaurant, brewery and rooftop biergarten over two floors of working artist studios. Named to OpenTable's Top 100 Hot Spot Restaurants in America. Order: Farm-to-table plates and house-brewed beer in the rooftop biergarten.
340 Verbeke St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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5 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore · Coffee & cafés

Little Amps Coffee Roasters

Harrisburg's home-grown roaster (2010, founded by a rock drummer) — Uptown flagship plus downtown State St and Strawberry Square outposts; its barista won a national best-espresso contest. Order: House-roasted espresso (Best Espresso in America contest winner, 2018).
1836 Green St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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6 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Raising the Bar Bakery

Scratch bakery that grew up inside the Broad Street Market and now bakes croissants and breads in Midtown's old Carpets and Draperies building. Order: Seasonal croissants, rustic breads and dessert bars.
1507 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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7 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Isabelle's Southern Cuisine

Kim Ross's Midtown soul-food restaurant cooking her grandmother Isabelle's recipes — Visit PA's pick for Harrisburg Sunday brunch. Order: Isabelle's chicken & waffles, fried fish & grits.
306 Reily St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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Photo: Meredith · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

8 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore · Markets

Broad Street Market

Founded in 1860 (it fed Union soldiers at Camp Curtin) and among the oldest continuously operating market houses in the US; on the National Register since 1974. Midtown Harrisburg's anchor, run by the non-profit Broad Street Market Alliance. Thu–Sat only. Order: Pennsylvania Dutch stands alongside the city's international food counters — eat your way through both brick and stone market houses.
1233 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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9 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore · Italian & pizza

Pizza Boy Brewing Co.

West Shore brewery grown out of Al's of Hampden pizza shop — industrial setting, but routinely named the region's best beer, with around 100 drafts. Order: Barrel-aged and one-off beers from 100-ish taps, with pies from Al's of Hampden.
2240 Millennium Way, Enola, PA 17025

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10 Must see within Harrisburg & the West Shore

The Jackson House

Midtown burger counter making what FOX43 calls arguably the city's best burger and cheesesteak since 1982 — a Visit Hershey & Harrisburg 'uniquely Harrisburg' pick. Order: Charbroiled half-pound burger with house Jackson Sauce; cheesesteaks.
1004 N 6th St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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Photo: Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

11 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

State Museum of Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth's own museum beside the Capitol, run by the PA Historical and Museum Commission: four floors from mastodons and Native Pennsylvania to Peter Rothermel's huge 'Battle of Gettysburg: Pickett's Charge' painting, plus a 70-seat digital planetarium.
300 North St, Harrisburg, PA 17120

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Photo: Smallbones · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

12 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Fort Hunter Mansion and Park

A Federal-style stone mansion (1814) on the site of a French and Indian War fort, in a 40-acre Dauphin County riverside park with a covered bridge, gardens and a tavern museum six miles up the Susquehanna from downtown.
5300 N Front St, Harrisburg, PA 17110

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Photo: Don Kasak from St. Louis, MO, US · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

13 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Rockville Bridge

The longest stone-masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built: 48 arches and 3,820 feet across the Susquehanna, completed by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1902 and still carrying Norfolk Southern freights and Amtrak's Pennsylvanian. Best seen from the Marysville or Fort Hunter river banks.
Susquehanna River between Rockville and Marysville, PA

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Photo: Pubdog · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

14 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

John Harris–Simon Cameron Mansion

Built in 1766 by city founder John Harris Jr. and later the home of Lincoln's first Secretary of War, Simon Cameron — one of Harrisburg's oldest buildings and a National Historic Landmark, run as a museum by the Historical Society of Dauphin County.
219 S Front St, Harrisburg, PA 17104

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15 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Dauphin Narrows Statue of Liberty

A 25-foot Lady Liberty on a river piling — a 1986 patriotic prank, blown down in 1992 and replaced in metal by helicopter in 1997.
Susquehanna River, Dauphin Narrows (visible from US-22/322), Dauphin, PA 17018

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16 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex

24-acre home of the nation's largest indoor agricultural exposition each January — half a million visitors, a butter sculpture and 20,000 Dairymen's milkshakes a day.
2300 N Cameron St, Harrisburg, PA 17110

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17 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore · Italian & pizza

Alvaro Bread and Pastry Shoppe

Midtown Italian bakery run since 2005 by Sal and Lina Alvaro, immigrants from Italy — FOX43's pick for the area's best Italian food. Order: Cannoli, sfogliatelle, Italian breads and lunch plates.
236 Peffer St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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Photo: Fuzheado · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

18 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Susquehanna Art Museum

Midtown's contemporary art museum, opened in its purpose-built home (wrapped around a 1916 bank vault) in 2015, with rotating exhibitions — steps from Broad Street Market.
1401 N 3rd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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Photo: DrivingtheNortheast · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

19 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts

Downtown Harrisburg's science center, Sunoco Performance Theater and digital cinema under one roof — the region's go-to hands-on museum for families.
222 Market St, Harrisburg, PA 17101

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Photo: Samuel Sonne · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

20 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Riverfront Park & Holocaust Memorial

Harrisburg's 1912 City Beautiful riverfront — miles of Susquehanna promenade, steps and gardens along Front Street — named one of America's Great Public Spaces by the American Planning Association; the Holocaust Memorial for the Commonwealth (1994) stands at Sayford Street.
Front St & Sayford St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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21 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

1700 Degrees Steakhouse

Downtown steakhouse in the Hilton Harrisburg, named the best steakhouse in Pennsylvania by Mashed (2025), weighing reviews, accolades and recommendations. Order: New York strip and truffle-lobster mac 'n' cheese.
1 N 2nd St (Hilton Harrisburg), Harrisburg, PA 17101

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22 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Ever Grain Brewing Co.

Camp Hill warehouse brewery (2016) known for hazy IPAs and stouts, board games and a window into the kitchen next door. Order: Joose juicy IPA and Dark Necessity imperial stout.
4444 Carlisle Pike, Camp Hill, PA 17011

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23 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore · Coffee & cafés

Elementary Coffee Co.

Andrea Grove-Musselman's roaster, born at the Broad Street Market in 2014, now a café in a renovated Capitol-district building (and back at the market after the 2023 fire). Order: Small-batch roasts sweetened only with natural sweeteners and spices.
256 North St, Harrisburg, PA 17101

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24 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Note Bistro & Wine Bar

Midtown neighbourhood bistro in a repurposed 1910 Victorian home, with sidewalk tables on Second Street. Order: European-inspired bistro plates and an Old World wine list.
1530 N 2nd St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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25 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore · Diners & breakfast

Valley Bistro

West Shore bistro that has won Cumberland Valley's Meal Madness bracket twice and was a 2026 reader-vote finalist for best breakfast/brunch. Order: Brunch and bistro plates.

4520 Valley Rd, Enola, PA 17025

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26 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Greystone Public House

Colonial Park gastropub in a historic stone building, recommended by PA Eats and the Hershey–Harrisburg visitor bureau. Order: Gastropub plates and craft beer in a stone building.

2120 Colonial Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17112

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27 Worth the detour within Harrisburg & the West Shore

The Watershed Pub

First pub in Camp Hill since Prohibition (The Sentinel), in a renovated 1830s building with a wraparound front porch. Order: Pub fare and local drafts on the wraparound porch.

2129 Market St, Camp Hill, PA 17011

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28 Deep cut within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Pennsylvania Governor's Residence

The governor's riverfront home — free guided tours Tue/Thu in spring and fall, self-guided in December, and a fixture of the Candlelight House Tour since 1980.

2035 N Front St, Harrisburg, PA 17102

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29 Deep cut within Harrisburg & the West Shore

Wildwood Park

90 acres of trails, wetlands and a free nature center around Wildwood Lake, inside the city limits.

100 Wildwood Way, Harrisburg, PA 17110

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30 Deep cut within Harrisburg & the West Shore · Italian & pizza

Bacco Pizzeria & Wine Bar

Restaurant Row pizzeria-wine bar built for downtown's grown-up crowd (TheBurg); a Visit Hershey & Harrisburg cocktail pick. Order: Rustic pizzas with a deep wine list and cocktails.

20 N 2nd St, Harrisburg, PA 17101

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Hershey & Derry Township 20 places · area 2 of 7

Hummelstown, Middletown, Palmyra

Photo: The Hershey Story · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

1 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township

The museum of Milton Hershey's town and company on Chocolate Avenue (opened 2009) — and its Chocolate Lab, where you temper, pour and decorate your own bar; the tasting of world drinking chocolates is the sleeper hit.

63 W Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

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2 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township

Indian Echo Caverns

Show cave on the Swatara Creek bluff between Hershey and Hummelstown, open to visitors since 1929; the 45-minute tour passes the Indian Ballroom and tells of William Wilson, the 'Pennsylvania Hermit' who lived here for 19 years.

368 Middletown Rd, Hummelstown, PA 17036

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3 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township · Diners & breakfast

The Hershey Pantry

Tiny scratch kitchen on Chocolate Avenue voted Central Pennsylvania's best breakfast by Harrisburg Magazine readers for some two decades running; no reservations, so lines form early. Order: Stuffed French toast, baked oatmeal and giant cinnamon rolls from the scratch bakery.

801 E Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

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4 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township

Tröegs Independent Brewing

The Trogner brothers' brewery, moved from Harrisburg to a 90,000-sq-ft Hershey plant in 2011; its one-hour tour (with tastings) was voted the No. 1 brewery tour in America by USA Today readers. Big tasting room and beer garden with a full view of the brewhouse. Order: Troegenator Double Bock, Perpetual IPA and the cult holiday Mad Elf, on tap where they're brewed.

200 Hersheypark Dr, Hershey, PA 17033

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park view from the Ferris wheel, Wild Mouse coaster — Photo: Deron Meranda · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

5 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township

Hersheypark

Milton Hershey's 1906 employee picnic ground grown into one of the country's great amusement parks — 15 roller coasters including Candymonium, plus ZooAmerica and The Boardwalk water park — with the scent of the chocolate plant drifting over the midway.

100 W Hersheypark Dr, Hershey, PA 17033

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6 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township

Hershey's Chocolate World

The Hershey Company's free visitor center: a simulated factory-tour ride from cocoa bean to wrapped bar (with a sample), plus paid extras — design-your-own candy bar, the HERSHEY'S Unwrapped tasting show — and the world's largest Hershey store.

101 Chocolate World Way, Hershey, PA 17033

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7 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township

The Jigger Shop

Mount Gretna's seasonal ice-cream parlor, a Chautauqua tradition since 1895; its spring opening day is local news. Order: Sundaes and hand-dipped ice cream at Mount Gretna's 1895 parlor.

202 Gettysburg Ave, Mount Gretna, PA 17064

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8 Must see within Hershey & Derry Township · Italian & pizza

Fenicci's of Hershey

Hershey's oldest free-standing restaurant (since 1935) and the first in town to serve pizza (1947) — old family sauce recipes on Chocolate Avenue. Order: House meatballs, lasagna and the upside-down pizza.

102 W Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

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9 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park

An 11-acre walk-through zoo of 200 animals from five regions of North America — black bears, wolves, bald eagles — begun in 1910 as Milton Hershey's private animal collection; entry included with Hersheypark.

30 Park Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

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10 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

Mount Gretna

A wooded 1890s Chautauqua and camp-meeting colony of tiny cottages on a lake between Hershey and Lancaster — summer theater at the Gretna Playhouse, a famous outdoor art show, music in the Tabernacle, and the 1895 Jigger Shop.

Mount Gretna, PA 17064

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11 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

Union Canal Tunnel Park

The oldest existing transportation tunnel in the United States: 729 feet hand-cut through slate in 1825–27 for the Union Canal linking Middletown to Reading; walk through it, or ride summer boat tours, off the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.

Union Canal Tunnel Park, Lebanon, PA 17046

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12 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

The Hotel Hershey

Milton Hershey's Depression-era (1933) Mediterranean-style grand hotel on Pat's Hill above the chocolate factory — famous for its circular dining room, built so no guest would be seated in a corner ('if you don't tip well, they put you in a corner'). A Historic Hotels of America member.

100 Hotel Rd, Hershey, PA 17033

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13 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township · Italian & pizza

Alfred's Victorian

Pellegrini family's restaurant in a restored brownstone mansion in Middletown, serving since 1970 — reviewed by WITF's Phantom Diner. Order: Italian classics and seafood, or Saturday Victorian tea.

Look for Dinner Fri–Sat; Saturday luncheon/tea.

38 N Union St, Middletown, PA 17057

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14 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

Mount Gretna Hideaway

Rustic Mount Gretna tavern with a forest-view deck; its lobster bisque placed second in the Lebanon Valley Food Critics' soup contest. Order: Lobster bisque (#2 in LebTown's Soup Wars) and wings on the deck.

40 Boulevard Ave, Mount Gretna, PA 17064

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Pond in Hershey Gardens — Photo: Kris Bradley · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

15 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

Hershey Gardens & Butterfly Atrium

Milton Hershey's 1937 rose garden grown to 23 acres of themed gardens on the hill by The Hotel Hershey, plus one of the country's few indoor tropical butterfly atriums, with 500-plus butterflies year-round.

170 Hotel Rd, Hershey, PA 17033

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16 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

AACA Museum

A Smithsonian affiliate with three floors of cars, buses and motorcycles from the 1890s to the 1980s set in period dioramas, plus the Tucker automobile collection — Hershey is the antique-car world's capital each October.

161 Museum Dr, Hershey, PA 17033

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furnace building — Photo: Wherring · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

17 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

Cornwall Iron Furnace

A complete charcoal-era ironworks — furnace stack, blast machinery and ironmaster's village — that made iron from 1742 to 1883, including cannon for the Revolution; a PHMC-run National Historic Landmark.

Rexmont Rd & Boyd St, Cornwall, PA 17016

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18 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

The Chocolate Avenue Grill

Unpretentious, broad-menu grill in downtown Hershey that a local guide and the visitor bureau both send people to — burgers to lobster, with chocolate desserts to finish. Order: Burgers, Reubens and chocolate desserts.

114 W Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

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19 Worth the detour within Hershey & Derry Township

Desserts Etc.

The Hershey Pantry's sister bakery-café on East Chocolate Avenue, one of Tasting Table's six must-try Chocolate Avenue eateries. Order: Cupcakes, cookies and quiche from the Pantry's bakery.

840 E Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

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20 Deep cut within Hershey & Derry Township

Hershey Social Restaurant + Bar

Downtown Hershey's newest bar-restaurant (replacing Houlihan's, 2026) with darts and trivia — on Tasting Table's Chocolate Avenue list. Order: Smash burgers, signature-sauce wings and cocktails.

27 W Chocolate Ave, Hershey, PA 17033

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Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley 14 places · area 3 of 7

Boiling Springs, Shippensburg

1 Must see within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Carlisle Fairgrounds (Carlisle Events car shows)

Home of Carlisle Events and the largest collector-car shows in the country — Spring and Fall Carlisle swap meets with 8,000-plus vendor spaces and a 2,000-car corral, plus the Ford, GM, Chrysler, Truck, Import and Corvette Nationals through the summer.

1000 Bryn Mawr Rd, Carlisle, PA 17013

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Laurel Lake in the park — Photo: Emilyk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

2 Must see within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Pine Grove Furnace State Park

A 696-acre DCNR park around the ruins of an 18th-century iron furnace in the Mountain Creek valley — the Appalachian Trail's symbolic halfway point, with Fuller and Laurel lakes for swimming and paddling, the AT Museum and the half-gallon ice cream challenge store.

1100 Pine Grove Rd, Gardners, PA 17324

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3 Must see within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center

The Army's own history museum beside the Army War College: the Soldier Experience Gallery runs from the Revolution to Afghanistan, and the outdoor Army Heritage Trail has a WWI trench, Civil War cabins and Cold War vehicles. Free.

950 Soldiers Dr, Carlisle, PA 17013

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4 Must see within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Appalachian Trail Museum

The first museum devoted to hiking, in a 200-year-old gristmill at Pine Grove Furnace State Park — near the AT's symbolic halfway point, where thru-hikers sign in and celebrate.

1120 Pine Grove Rd, Gardners, PA 17324

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5 Must see within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley · Diners & breakfast

Hamilton Restaurant

Downtown Carlisle diner on the old 'Greek Row,' widely regarded as the town's oldest continuously operating restaurant; Greek immigrant Charles Kollas created the Hot-Chee Dog here in 1938, and it now has its own historical marker. Winner of the 2023 Cumberland Valley Meal Madness bracket. Order: The Hot-Chee Dog — grilled dog, American cheese, house chili, yellow mustard and diced onions, served since 1938.

55 W High St, Carlisle, PA 17013

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6 Must see within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Desperate Times Brewery

Award-winning Carlisle brewery (US Open Beer Championship and Great American Beer Festival medals) — 12 taps, full kitchen and outdoor biergarten on the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail. Order: Prohibition-themed medal-winning beers with a full menu in the biergarten.

1201 Carlisle Springs Rd, Carlisle, PA 17013

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7 Worth the detour within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Carlisle Indian School Cemetery

The Carlisle Barracks post cemetery where at least 180 Native American students of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (1879–1918), the federal boarding school that became the model for forced assimilation, are buried; the Army has returned dozens of children's remains to their tribes since 2017. A place of reflection, on an active Army post.

530 E North St, Carlisle, PA 17013

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8 Worth the detour within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Kings Gap Environmental Education Center

A 2,531-acre DCNR forest on South Mountain crowned by the 32-room Italian-villa Cameron-Masland Mansion, with 25-plus miles of trails and a mountaintop view over the Cumberland Valley.

500 Kings Gap Rd, Carlisle, PA 17015

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Old West hall — Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

9 Worth the detour within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Dickinson College & The Trout Gallery

Chartered in 1783 by Benjamin Rush — the first college founded after U.S. independence; its Trout Gallery art museum hosts rotating exhibits.

240 W High St, Carlisle, PA 17013

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10 Worth the detour within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley · Diners & breakfast

Fay's Country Kitchen

Carlisle breakfast staple for 30+ years with a pancake for everyone; a perennial reader-vote runner-up for best breakfast. Order: Pancakes — Hawaiian, peanut-butter cup, peach buckwheat.

Look for Cash only.

203 S Hanover St, Carlisle, PA 17013

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11 Worth the detour within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley · BBQ & smokehouse

Redd's Smokehouse BBQ

Southern-style smokehouse in downtown Carlisle — voted Best BBQ in The Sentinel's 2026 Best of Cumberland County. Order: Loaded beef brisket sandwich with peppers, onions and pepper-jack.

109 N Hanover St, Carlisle, PA 17013

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12 Worth the detour within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Molly Pitcher Brewing Company

Downtown Carlisle brewpub named for the Revolutionary heroine buried in town — 20 taps and a full menu. Order: Black Currant Wheat from 20 rotating taps.

139 W High St, Carlisle, PA 17013

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13 Deep cut within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley

Pitt Street Station

Downtown Carlisle bar-restaurant featured among readers' best restaurants in The Sentinel's 2025 Best of Cumberland County. Order: Pub fare in a converted Carlisle station.

10 N Pitt St, Carlisle, PA 17013

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14 Deep cut within Carlisle & the Cumberland Valley · Coffee & cafés

Caffe 101

Table-service café in the heart of Boiling Springs, across from Children's Lake on the Appalachian Trail — a Sentinel Discerning Diner pick. Order: Café breakfasts and a Mexican-leaning menu facing Children's Lake.

101 Front St, Boiling Springs, PA 17007

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York & York County 23 places · area 4 of 7

Hanover, the factory-tour trail

1 Must see within York & York County

Brown's Orchards & Farm Market

Family farm market since 1948 — 41,000 trees, a 29,000-sq-ft market with full bakery, café and hand-dipped Hershey's ice cream; ranked among the nation's best apple orchards (abc27). Order: Apple dumplings, cider donuts, award-winning cider and fresh pies.

8892 Susquehanna Trail S, Loganville, PA 17342

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2 Must see within York & York County

Colonial Complex & Colonial Courthouse (York County History Center)

Where the Continental Congress, fleeing British-occupied Philadelphia, met in the winter of 1777–78 and adopted the Articles of Confederation — making York, by local reckoning, America's first capital. A bicentennial replica courthouse holds an original printing of the Articles, beside the 1741 Golden Plough Tavern and the General Gates House.

157 W Market St, York, PA 17401

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3 Must see within York & York County

Haines Shoe House

A 25-foot-tall, 48-foot-long house shaped like a work boot, built in 1948 by 'Shoe Wizard' Mahlon Haines to advertise his shoe stores — a Route 30 roadside icon with a PA historical marker; tours and ice cream in season.

197 Shoe House Rd, York, PA 17406

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4 Must see within York & York County · Italian & pizza

Tutoni's

Downtown York's Old-World Italian dining room — house-made pasta, soups and sauces, a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence (2025) and a speakeasy tapas bar upstairs. Order: Made-from-scratch pasta (short-rib gnocchi) and the upstairs speakeasy tapas bar.

108 N George St, York, PA 17401

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5 Must see within York & York County

John Wright Restaurant

Riverside restaurant in an old Wrightsville warehouse across from Columbia — 60–70% of ingredients from local farms, with a patio over the Susquehanna. Order: Farm-sourced comfort food and house-made ice cream on the Susquehanna patio.

234 N Front St, Wrightsville, PA 17368

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Exterior of Central Market, Philadelphia and Beaver Sts, York (2010) — Photo: Smallbones · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

6 Must see within York & York County · Markets

Central Market York

Downtown York's 1888 John Dempwolf market house, a Romanesque Revival landmark on the National Register since 1978, in continuous operation since it opened; 50-plus vendors, some trading here for more than 70 years. Order: Generations-old stands — Henry's Ham, J. L. Miller Meats, Hartman's Fruit Farm — plus a food-hall's worth of lunch counters.

34 W Philadelphia St, York, PA 17401

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7 Must see within York & York County

Utz Snacks Factory Tour & Outlet

The glass-walled observation gallery above Utz's Hanover plant shows potatoes going from truck to fryer to bag, then deposits you in the factory outlet — the signature stop in the 'Snack Food Capital of the World.' Order: Fresh-off-the-line Utz potato chips after the free self-guided Chip Trip.

900 High St, Hanover, PA 17331

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8 Must see within York & York County · Asian

Viet Thai Cafe

Two-decade family kitchen in a York strip mall cooking Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese food — one of only three Pennsylvania restaurants on USA Today's 2024 Restaurants of the Year list. Order: Pho, house noodle soup and beef massaman curry.

Look for Closed Sundays.

2535 E Market St, York, PA 17402

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9 Must see within York & York County · Asian

Hamir's Indian Fusion

Self-taught chef's downtown York dining room — named to USA Today's Restaurants of the Year list, the York Daily Record's pick for York's best. Order: Signature curries with fusion twists and plated desserts.

24 S George St, York, PA 17401

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10 Must see within York & York County · Italian & pizza

Wyndridge Farm

Working farm south of York with a cidery, brewery and seasonal farm-sourced restaurant — brick-oven pizzas and house-made ice cream. Order: Hard ciders, house beer and brick-oven pizza on the farm.

885 S Pleasant Ave, Dallastown, PA 17313

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11 Must see within York & York County

Perrydell Farm Dairy

Century family dairy farm that bottles its own hormone-free milk and churns it into ice cream at the farm store — 30 flavours in the case at a time. Order: Farm-made ice cream from its own herd's milk (250 rotating flavours).

90 Indian Rock Dam Rd, York, PA 17403

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12 Worth the detour within York & York County

Codorus State Park & Lake Marburg

3,500-acre DCNR park around 1,275-acre Lake Marburg — the reservoir that drowned the village of Marburg in 1966 — with kayaking, sailing, fishing and trails near Hanover.

2600 Smith Station Rd, Hanover, PA 17331

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Howard Tunnel on trail — Photo: Onore Baka Sama · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

13 Worth the detour within York & York County

York County Heritage Rail Trail

A 21-mile National Recreation Trail on the Northern Central Railway corridor from downtown York to the Mason–Dixon line, passing Hanover Junction station, where Lincoln changed trains on the way to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

Trailhead at Colonial Courthouse, W Market St, York, PA 17401

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14 Worth the detour within York & York County

Samuel S. Lewis State Park (Mount Pisgah)

An 85-acre hilltop park on 885-foot Mount Pisgah near Wrightsville, with a sweeping overlook of the Susquehanna winding toward the Chesapeake — a favorite kite-flying and stargazing spot.

6000 Mount Pisgah Rd, York, PA 17406

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Indian Steps Cabin, Front with walkway — Photo: Adampricestudios · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

15 Worth the detour within York & York County

Indian Steps Museum

Judge John Vandersloot's 1908–12 Arts-and-Crafts cabin above the Susquehanna, built as a memorial and museum to Native American culture, with thousands of artifacts set into its walls.

205 Indian Steps Rd, Airville, PA 17302

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bridge from SW (HAER 1997) — Photo: Joseph E. B. Elliot · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

16 Worth the detour within York & York County

Columbia–Wrightsville Bridge & Zimmerman Center

Where Union militia burned the mile-long covered bridge on June 28, 1863 to stop Confederates crossing the Susquehanna — the farthest east Lee's army reached. Today's 1930 concrete-arch bridge is an ASCE landmark; the riverside Zimmerman Center is the visitor station for the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail.

Zimmerman Center, 1706 Long Level Rd, Wrightsville, PA 17368

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17 Worth the detour within York & York County

Collusion Tap Works

Brewery-restaurant hidden on a back alley in York's Royal Square, run by the Barnes family; eclectic, ever-changing tap list. Order: Rotating farmhouse ales and stouts (650+ recipes since 2016).

105 S Howard St, York, PA 17401

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Muddy Creek Forks HD, Lower Chanceford twp, York Co PA — Photo: Smallbones · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

18 Worth the detour within York & York County

Ma & Pa Railroad Heritage Village

The preserved railroad hamlet of Muddy Creek Forks on the old Maryland & Pennsylvania ('Ma & Pa') line — general store, mill and grain elevator, with seasonal motor-car and train rides through the Muddy Creek valley.

Muddy Creek Forks, Airville, PA 17302

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19 Worth the detour within York & York County

Hanover Junction Railroad Station

The restored junction depot on the Heritage Rail Trail where Lincoln changed trains en route to deliver the Gettysburg Address in November 1863; small museum of Civil War images and station history.

PA Route 616, Hanover Junction (North Codorus Twp), PA 17362

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20 Worth the detour within York & York County

Martin's Potato Chips

York County family chipmaker in Thomasville since the 1940s; free 45-minute tours run Tuesday mornings by reservation — pair it with Utz and Snyder's in nearby Hanover for the full 'Snack Food Capital' circuit. Order: Kettle-style Martin's potato chips, fresh from the free Tuesday factory tour.

5847 Lincoln Hwy W, Thomasville, PA 17364

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21 Worth the detour within York & York County

Mudhook Brewing Company

Downtown York brewpub that Uncovering PA singles out as much for its food as its beer; on Explore York's Beer Lovers Guide. Order: House beers with a full kitchen menu.

34 N Cherry Ln, York, PA 17401

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22 Deep cut within York & York County

Liquid Hero Brewery

York craft brewery with superhero-named beers, on Explore York's Beer Lovers Guide and Uncovering PA's downtown itinerary. Order: Comic-book-themed craft beers.

50 E North St, York, PA 17401

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23 Deep cut within York & York County

Gifford Pinchot State Park

2,338-acre northern York County park around 340-acre Pinchot Lake — hiking, boating and disc golf.

2200 Rosstown Rd, Lewisberry, PA 17339

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Lancaster city 29 places · area 5 of 7

Central Market, Penn Square, the Gallery Row

1 Must see within Lancaster city

Wheatland (James Buchanan House)

The 1828 Federal-style home of James Buchanan, the 15th president, who ran his 1856 campaign from its library; guided tours from the adjacent LancasterHistory campus.

1120 Marietta Ave, Lancaster, PA 17603

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2 Must see within Lancaster city

Fulton Theatre

Built in 1852 on the foundations of the jail where the Conestoga were massacred in 1763, the 'Grand Old Lady of Prince Street' is among the oldest continuously operating theaters in the US and a National Historic Landmark; Mark Twain lectured here.

12 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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3 Must see within Lancaster city · Markets

Lancaster Central Market

Recognized as the oldest continuously operating public farmers market in the US (est. 1730), in an 1889 Romanesque Revival market house off Penn Square. 60-plus standholders; open Tue, Fri and Sat mornings only — go early. Order: Stall-hop the PA Dutch canon — shoofly and whoopie pies, sweet bologna, chow-chow — plus pierogi, empanadas and soul food.

23 N Market St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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4 Must see within Lancaster city

Horse Inn

Lancaster city's oldest continuously operating restaurant: a mid-1800s carriage house whose loft became a 1920s speakeasy. Horse stalls are dining nooks, wagon wheels the chandeliers, and the original entrance still hides down an unnamed alley. Order: Tenderloin tips on toast — the Shaub family's Prohibition-era speakeasy dish, still on the menu.

540 E Fulton St, Lancaster, PA 17602

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5 Must see within Lancaster city

Passerine

French-inspired New American spot (opened 2024) cooking the county's farm bounty; named to the New York Times' 50 favorite restaurants in America and Craig LaBan's 2026 Lancaster list. Order: Seasonal small plates — seared scallops with summer corn, the 25-layer zucchini–goat ricotta crêpe cake.

114 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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6 Must see within Lancaster city

Chellas Arepa Kitchen

Food truck turned downtown restaurant (2025) — Lancaster County Magazine's #1 food truck, then #1 new restaurant, and on Craig LaBan's 2026 Lancaster list. Order: Arepas and Peruvian–Venezuelan plates.

325 N Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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7 Must see within Lancaster city · Asian

Issei Noodle & Hi-Fi Izakaya

Donna and André Pham's family noodle house (Japanese, Thai and Laotian roots) — André trained in Tokyo and makes noodles in-house on an imported machine; moved in 2024 to a bigger Orange Street space with the attached Hi-Fi Izakaya bar. LNP calls its gyoza the best in the county. Order: House-made ramen noodles, handmade gyoza and mochi doughnuts.

W Orange St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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8 Must see within Lancaster city · Coffee & cafés

Passenger Coffee

Lancaster roaster named Pennsylvania's best coffee shop by Food & Wine in 2018, 2019 and 2022 — the Inquirer's first stop on a Lancaster weekend. Order: Pour-overs and espresso from its own roastery.

7 W King St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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9 Must see within Lancaster city

The Belvedere Inn

Victorian-mansion dining room voted #1 dinner restaurant in Lancaster County Magazine's Best of Lancaster 2025; on OpenTable's Top 100 romantic restaurants. Order: Fine dining downstairs, rooftop patio and piano bar.

402 N Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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10 Must see within Lancaster city · Markets

Southern Market

The 1888 Southern Market building, reinvented in 2022 as a food hall of independent, internationally minded stalls a block from Penn Square. Order: International stalls — Latin, Moroccan, Vietnamese and more — under one 1888 roof.

100 S Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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11 Must see within Lancaster city · Italian & pizza

Luca

Chef Nathan Flaim's acclaimed Italian restaurant, a 2026 James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic — the city's highest national culinary honor in years. Order: Wood-fired Neapolitan-leaning pizzas and handmade pasta from local Lancaster County produce.

436 W James St, Lancaster, PA 17603

12 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Demuth Museum

The home and studio of Precisionist painter Charles Demuth (1883–1935), with the world's largest Demuth collection, his mother's garden, and the family's 1770 tobacco shop next door — America's oldest.

120 E King St, Lancaster, PA 17602

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13 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Historic Rock Ford

The 1794 Georgian mansion of Gen. Edward Hand, Washington's adjutant general, on the Conestoga River in Lancaster County Central Park — remarkably intact, with original woodwork and period furnishings.

881 Rock Ford Rd, Lancaster, PA 17602

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14 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Cabalar Meat Co.

Chef Steve and pastry chef Lianne Cabalar's whole-animal butcher shop and lunch counter (2018), breaking down local pasture-raised animals in front of you on North Queen Street. Order: Whole-animal-butcher burgers and sandwiches — Lancaster County Magazine readers' favorite burger.

501 W Lemon St (West End Market), Lancaster, PA 17603

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15 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Lancaster Brewing Company

Opened in 1995 in the National Register-listed McGovern tobacco warehouse at Plum and Walnut — the first brewery to operate in Lancaster in some 40 years, in a county that brewed 7% of America's beer in 1810. Order: House beers from a brewery that has made 200-plus styles since 1995, with a full brewpub menu.

302 N Plum St, Lancaster, PA 17602

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16 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Josephine's Downtown

Old-Hollywood supper club (blue-velvet banquettes) cooking continental French-American food; on OpenTable's 2025 Top 100 Romantic Restaurants in America. Order: Seared scallops, duck breast and prime beef tenderloin.

50 W Grant St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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17 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Lancaster Science Factory

Hands-on science center with 70-plus interactive exhibits aimed at kids 6 to 14 — build, test and tinker; a reliable rainy-day stop in the city.

454 New Holland Ave, Lancaster, PA 17602

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18 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

North Museum of Nature and Science

Franklin & Marshall-linked natural-science museum — 360,000 specimens, planetarium shows and a live-animal room on three floors.

400 College Ave, Lancaster, PA 17603

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19 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Spring House Brewing Company

Lancaster's inventive brewery, best known for its dessert stouts and pumpkin ales; the taproom is just outside downtown with a second tasting room on West King Street. Order: Award-winning chocolate peanut-butter stout and the brewery's pumpkin ale.

209 Hazel St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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20 Worth the detour within Lancaster city · Italian & pizza

Pizzeria LUCA

Casual wood-fired pizza offshoot of James Beard-nominated LUCA — #2 pizza in Lancaster County Magazine's Best of Lancaster 2025 and on Craig LaBan's 2026 list.

1200 Christopher Pl, Lancaster, PA 17601

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21 Worth the detour within Lancaster city · Asian

Himalayan Curry & Grill

Tiny downtown Nepalese–Indian locals' favourite (reserve — few tables), reviewed by LNP's IncognEATo. Order: Nepalese momos and curries.

22 E Orange St, Lancaster, PA 17602

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22 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Proof

Speakeasy-style cocktail bar down a metal stair below street level — stone walls, live jazz, and food LNP rates worth the trip on its own. Order: Craft cocktails and upscale small plates with live jazz.

30 N Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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23 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Tellus360

Irish-rooted multi-level pub and music venue off Penn Square whose summer rooftop garden is a Lancaster institution; host of the VeloCity cocktail contest. Order: Pints and cocktails on the garden rooftop.

24 E King St, Lancaster, PA 17602

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24 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Annie Bailey's Irish Public House

Downtown Irish pub with one of the city's best decks (Discover Lancaster) and an LNP readers' pick for cocktails — the Conway Social Club speakeasy hides behind a green unmarked door inside. Order: Irish pub fare on the deck; cocktails at the hidden Conway Social Club.

28 E King St, Lancaster, PA 17602

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25 Worth the detour within Lancaster city

Thistle Finch Distillery

Lancaster's oldest operating distillery, in a historic tobacco warehouse — spirits from local grain, tasting room and the Burley Bar restaurant. Order: Straight Rye and Market Alley Gin; cocktails at the Burley Bar.

417 W Grant St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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26 Worth the detour within Lancaster city · Italian & pizza

Lombardo's

Family-run Italian restaurant opened in 1946, reopened after a $2M renovation in 2020 and expanded with an $8M deli and bistro next door. Order: Old-school Italian since 1946; the new deli & bistro next door.

216 Harrisburg Ave, Lancaster, PA 17603

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27 Deep cut within Lancaster city

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

The oldest church still in use in Lancaster city (congregation 1729, built 1761–66); its Washington-era steeple was once the tallest point west of Philadelphia. Sanctuary tours with First Friday lectures.

31 S Duke St, Lancaster, PA 17602

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28 Deep cut within Lancaster city

Penn Medicine Park (Clipper Magazine Stadium)

Home of the Lancaster Stormers since 2005 (renamed from Clipper Magazine Stadium in 2025) — fans' pick for best independent ballpark of the year.

650 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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29 Deep cut within Lancaster city · Coffee & cafés

Prince Street Cafe

The downtown hub café on Prince Street, pouring Passenger Coffee with a soup-and-sandwich menu. Order: African peanut soup with bottomless Passenger house brew.

15 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603

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Lancaster County Amish country 34 places · area 6 of 7

Intercourse, Bird-in-Hand, Strasburg, Ephrata, Lititz

1 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum

A 100-acre living-history crossroads village of Pennsylvania German rural life, founded on the Landis brothers' collection; costumed interpreters, heirloom-seed gardens and 18th–19th-century trades.

2451 Kissel Hill Rd, Lancaster, PA 17601

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2 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Chickies Rock Overlook

A 1-mile out-and-back on an old trolley grade to a quartzite cliff 200 feet above the Susquehanna — the classic river panorama of Lancaster County, in a 400-acre county park.

Chickies Rock County Park, PA-441, Columbia, PA 17512

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3 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area

A 6,000-acre Game Commission refuge on the Lancaster–Lebanon line where, each February–March, tens to hundreds of thousands of snow geese and tundra swans stop on their way back to the Arctic — one of the great wildlife spectacles in the East. Check the PGC migration update before you go.

100 Museum Rd, Stevens, PA 17578

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Sight & Sound theatre building — Photo: Idawriter · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

4 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Sight & Sound Theatres

The 2,000-seat home of Bible epics staged on a 300-foot wraparound stage with four-story sets, live animals and animatronics — Lancaster County's biggest draw by attendance, with more than a million visitors a year across its two theaters.

300 Hartman Bridge Rd, Ronks, PA 17572

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5 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Downtown Lititz & Moravian Church Square

Budget Travel readers' 'Coolest Small Town in America' (2013): a 1756 Moravian settlement whose Church Square ensemble — the white-belfried church, Brothers' and Sisters' Houses, God's Acre cemetery — anchors a Main Street of cafés and shops, plus Lititz Springs Park and the Sturgis pretzel bakery.

8 Church Square, Lititz, PA 17543

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6 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Dutch Haven Shoo-Fly Pie Bakery

Lancaster County's first tourist attraction (1946) and 'the place that made shoo-fly pie famous' — it began serving the molasses-and-crumb pie to Route 30 travelers and shipping it nationwide in the 1950s; TIME once called it America's best. Also a sprawling Amish-country gift shop under the landmark windmill. Order: Wet-bottom shoofly pie from the original 1946 recipe, served warm with whipped cream.

2857A Lincoln Hwy E, Ronks, PA 17572

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7 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Shady Maple Smorgasbord

The largest buffet in North America: 200 feet of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking serving some 1.2 million diners a year, voted best buffet in the US by USA Today 10Best readers (2024). A pilgrimage in itself — go hungry, go early. Order: PA Dutch smorgasbord — chicken pot pie, schnitz un knepp, carved ham, buttered noodles and a dessert bar of shoofly and whoopie pies.

129 Toddy Dr, East Earl, PA 17519

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8 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Miller's Smorgasbord

A Lancaster County institution since 1929, when it began as a chicken-and-waffles stop for Route 30 motorists; placed third in USA Today 10Best's readers' poll for best buffet. The more traditional, sit-and-linger smorgasbord counterpart to Shady Maple's scale. Order: Chicken & waffles (the dish that started it in 1929) and the traditional PA Dutch smorgasbord with shoofly pie.

2811 Lincoln Hwy E, Ronks, PA 17572

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9 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery

America's first commercial pretzel bakery, opened in 1861 in an 18th-century Lititz house; the original ovens are still here and every tour ends with you twisting your own. The birthplace of the hard pretzel in the US. Order: Hand-twisted soft and hard pretzels — and a hands-on twisting lesson.

219 E Main St, Lititz, PA 17543

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10 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Bird-in-Hand Bakery & Cafe

The Smucker family's scratch bakery in the village of Bird-in-Hand; its shoofly pie (a light-syrup, never-bitter take on the molasses classic) starred in Al Roker's 'Family Style' episode on the history of American pie. Whoopie-pie samplers by the dozen. Order: Grandma Smucker's wet-bottom shoofly pie and jumbo whoopie pies, baked from scratch.

2715 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand, PA 17505

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11 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Bube's Brewery & Catacombs

Alois Bube's 1876 brewery in Mount Joy — on the National Register and believed to be the only intact 19th-century lager-era brewery in the US; eat in the stone aging cellars, the biergarten or the Victorian hotel bar. Order: House-brewed beer and fine dining 43 feet underground in the lager-aging Catacombs.

102 N Market St, Mount Joy, PA 17552

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12 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Hershey Farm Restaurant

Strasburg-area PA Dutch smorgasbord and bakery, home of Lancaster's Whoopie Pie Festival; its whoopie pies topped LNP's blind taste test of county favorites. Order: Whoopie pies from the on-site bakery (top of LNP's county taste test) and the Grand Smorgasbord.

240 Hartman Bridge Rd, Ronks, PA 17572

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13 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country · Italian & pizza

Cavolo Pizzeria Bar

Chef Max Fanton's wood-fired pizzeria bar off Lititz's square (2024), already on Craig LaBan's 2026 list of Lancaster County's best. Order: Wood-fired pizzas and small plates with Italian wines.

54 N Broad St, Lititz, PA 17543

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14 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Plain & Fancy Farm

Lancaster County's original family-style restaurant: big bowls passed round the table like at an Amish gathering. Order: Amish Farm Feast — fried chicken, PA Dutch chicken pot pie with homemade noodles, chow-chow, pepper cabbage.

3121 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bird-in-Hand, PA 17505

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East Strasburg station — Photo: Dough4872 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

15 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Strasburg Rail Road

America's oldest continuously operating short-line railroad (chartered 1832): steam trains pull restored wooden coaches 45 minutes through Amish farmland to Paradise and back — the classic Lancaster County ride.

301 Gap Rd, Ronks, PA 17572

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16 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth's railroad museum, across the road from the Strasburg Rail Road: more than 100 historic locomotives and cars, many from the Pennsylvania Railroad, under one vast roof.

300 Gap Rd, Ronks, PA 17572

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17 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Ephrata Cloister

The medieval-looking 1730s timber buildings of Conrad Beissel's celibate German Seventh Day Baptist community — famous for its a cappella music, Fraktur calligraphy and printing press. Now a PHMC historic site and National Historic Landmark.

632 W Main St, Ephrata, PA 17522

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Exterior of the Green Dragon Farmers Market, Ephrata (May 2007) — Photo: Andrew Bossi · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

18 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country · Markets

Green Dragon Farmers Market & Auction

A 60-acre Friday institution since 1932 — one of the largest and oldest farmers markets on the East Coast, with 400-plus vendors, a livestock and hay auction, and Amish and Mennonite stands. Voted the No. 2 farmers market in the US by USA Today readers (2021). Order: Friday-only feast: PA Dutch baked goods, sweet bologna and fresh-cut fries across 400 stands and an auction.

955 N State St, Ephrata, PA 17522

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19 Must see within Lancaster County Amish country

Stoll & Wolfe Distillery

Revival of Lancaster County rye distilling, founded 2016 with Dick Stoll, last distiller of the old Michter's plant; tasting room a block off Main Street, Lititz. On Craig LaBan's 2026 Lancaster list. Order: Pennsylvania rye whiskey (Wine Enthusiast 94 — the highest-scoring PA whiskey).

35 N Cedar St, Lititz, PA 17543

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20 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

1719 Hans Herr House

Built in 1719 of sandstone in medieval Germanic style, the oldest dwelling in Lancaster County and the oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in America; museum of Mennonite settler life with a Native American longhouse on the grounds.

1849 Hans Herr Dr, Willow Street, PA 17584

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21 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Wolf Sanctuary of PA

Non-profit refuge for 50-plus rescued gray wolves and wolf-dogs, founded by the Darlington family four decades ago; see them only on a reserved guided tour — the monthly Full Moon Tours are the ones to book.

465 Speedwell Forge Rd, Lititz, PA 17543

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22 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Pinnacle Overlook

A bluff nearly 400 feet above the Susquehanna just north of Holtwood Dam — the river gorge's grandest view, with bald eagles riding the thermals; since 2022 part of Susquehannock State Park, with 2.5 miles of trails.

127 Pinnacle Rd W, Holtwood, PA 17532

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23 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Choo Choo Barn

A 1,700-sq-ft model railroad of Lancaster County in miniature — 22 operating trains and 150-plus hand-built animations, including tiny Dutch Wonderland and Strasburg Rail Road — grown from the Groff family's 1945 Christmas layout and open to the public since 1961.

226 Gap Rd, Strasburg, PA 17579

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24 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Kitchen Kettle Village

A 65-year-old village of 40-plus shops and eateries in Intercourse grown around its Jam & Relish Kitchen — sample pepper jam, watch fudge being rolled, shop local quilts and pottery. Closed Sundays.

3529 Old Philadelphia Pike, Intercourse, PA 17534

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25 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge

At 180 feet, the longest single-span covered bridge in Lancaster County (1843, rebuilt after Hurricane Agnes); its horizontal floorboards hum underfoot as you cross.

Hunsecker Rd over the Conestoga River, Manheim Township, PA

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26 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

National Watch & Clock Museum

The largest horological collection in North America, run by the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors in the Susquehanna river town of Columbia — sundials and tower clocks to wristwatches, plus a working watchmaker's shop.

514 Poplar St, Columbia, PA 17512

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27 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Dutch Wonderland

A 48-acre 'Kingdom for Kids' amusement park behind a stone castle façade that potato farmer Earl Clark built before opening it in 1963 — gentle coasters and rides scaled for young children.

2249 Lincoln Hwy E, Lancaster, PA 17602

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28 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Lapp Valley Farm Creamery

Working dairy farm whose butterfat-rich small-batch ice cream is a can't-miss Amish-country dessert stop; chosen as the launch site of Pennsylvania's 2026 Scooped Ice Cream Trail. Order: Small-batch ice cream from the farm's own Jersey herd in a fresh waffle cone.

244 Mentzer Rd, New Holland, PA 17557

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29 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country · Markets

Root's Country Market & Auction

Lancaster County's Tuesday market since the 1920s — older than Green Dragon — with 200-plus vendors, a produce auction and antiques; open year-round. Order: Tuesday market-day eating — fresh produce, baked goods and PA Dutch deli across 200 vendors.

705 Graystone Rd, Manheim, PA 17545

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30 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Rise Bake Shoppe

Mount Joy bake shop voted #1 bakery in Lancaster County Magazine's Best of Lancaster 2025. Order: Cupcakes, cookies and cakes (Chocolate Perfection, Cloud 9).

Look for Closed Sundays.

740 E Main St, Mount Joy, PA 17552

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31 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Dienner's Country Restaurant

Roadside Route 30 favourite for consistently good, low-priced PA Dutch cooking — buffet or à la carte. Order: PA Dutch buffet with chicken pot pie, at roadside prices.

2855 Lincoln Hwy E, Ronks, PA 17572

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32 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Countryside Road-Stand

Amish-owned and -run roadside stand — baked goods, canned goods, homemade birch beer and quilts. Order: Homemade birch & root beer, soft pretzels, apple butter and noodles.

Look for Closed Sundays.

2966 Stumptown Rd, Ronks, PA 17572

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33 Worth the detour within Lancaster County Amish country

Wilbur Chocolate Store

Retail store and candy kitchen keeping Lititz's Wilbur Buds tradition going after the historic chocolate plant closed in 2016. Order: Wilbur Buds — the 1894 Lititz chocolate drop.

45 N Broad St, Lititz, PA 17543

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34 Deep cut within Lancaster County Amish country

Katie's Kitchen

Small Amish-owned and -run restaurant serving homestyle PA Dutch plates with classic Amish desserts. Order: Roast beef, chicken pot pie, shoofly and whoopie pies.

Ronks, PA 17572

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Gettysburg & Adams County 21 places · area 7 of 7

the day-trip edge

1 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

Mr. G's Ice Cream

Sixteen flavours made on the premises in the 1819 Twin Sycamores House on Baltimore Street — the town's classic after-battlefield scoop. Order: Homemade ice cream — chocolate peanut butter soft-serve sundae, butter pecan, root beer floats.

404 Baltimore St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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2 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

Little Round Top

The rocky hill whose defense by the 20th Maine and others on July 2, 1863 anchored the Union left; reopened in June 2024 after a $12.9M rehabilitation restoring its 1863 look, with new trails and the best view over the Valley of Death and Devil's Den.

Sykes Ave, Gettysburg National Military Park, PA 17325

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3 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

Seminary Ridge Museum

In 1832 Schmucker Hall of the Lutheran seminary, whose cupola Gen. John Buford used to watch the Confederates arrive on July 1, 1863; the museum covers the first day's fight, the building's use as a field hospital, and faith and freedom in the war — with guided cupola climbs.

111 Seminary Ridge, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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4 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

Dobbin House Tavern

Gettysburg's oldest building (1776), Rev. Alexander Dobbin's home and later an Underground Railroad station, now a National Register-listed restaurant: candlelit fine dining upstairs, the cellar Springhouse Tavern with its springs and fireplaces below. Order: Colonial fare by candlelight — French onion soup in an iron kettle in the Springhouse Tavern.

89 Steinwehr Ave, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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entrance of the new Visitor Center, 2009 — Photo: Concord · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

5 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center

Start here: the NPS museum, the film 'A New Birth of Freedom,' and Paul Philippoteaux's 1884 Gettysburg Cyclorama — a 377-foot painting-in-the-round of Pickett's Charge. Book a Licensed Battlefield Guide for the 6,000-acre field outside.

1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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6 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

Gettysburg National Cemetery (Soldiers' National Cemetery)

Where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at its dedication on November 19, 1863; the semicircular rows of Union dead radiate around the Soldiers' National Monument. Evidence suggests the speakers' platform actually stood just over the fence in Evergreen Cemetery.

97 Taneytown Rd, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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Copse of Trees at the High Water Mark, 2015 — Photo: Wilson44691 · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

7 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

High Water Mark & the Angle (Pickett's Charge)

The copse of trees and stone wall on Cemetery Ridge where Pickett's Charge broke on July 3, 1863 — the deepest Confederate penetration of the Union line, marked by the 1892 High Water Mark of the Rebellion monument. Walk the mile across the open field from the Virginia Memorial to feel the scale.

Hancock Ave, Cemetery Ridge, Gettysburg National Military Park, PA 17325

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8 Must see within Gettysburg & Adams County

Hickory Bridge Farm Restaurant

A 160-year-old barn in the Adams County apple country west of Gettysburg serving made-from-scratch family-style farm dinners with a touch of PA Dutch. Order: Family-style fried chicken, baked ham, corn and apple crisp in the barn.

Look for Dinners Fri–Sun; reservations.

96 Hickory Bridge Rd, Orrtanna, PA 17353

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boulder outcrop — Photo: LeapingLion · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons (resized)

9 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Devil's Den

The boulder-strewn south end of Houck's Ridge, fought over on July 2, 1863 and later the lair of Confederate sharpshooters — and the scene of Alexander Gardner's famous staged 'sharpshooter' photograph. Scramble the rocks for the view up to Little Round Top.

Crawford Ave, Gettysburg National Military Park, PA 17325

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10 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station

The 1858 depot where Abraham Lincoln arrived on November 18, 1863, the day before the Gettysburg Address; a field hospital during the battle, now a small NPS-owned museum run by the Gettysburg Foundation.

35 Carlisle St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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11 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Jennie Wade House

Where 20-year-old Mary Virginia 'Jennie' Wade, baking bread for Union soldiers on July 3, 1863, was struck by a stray bullet — the only civilian killed in the battle. The bullet holes in the door remain; now a museum.

548 Baltimore St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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12 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Battlefield Brew Works & Spirits of Gettysburg

Pennsylvania's first combined brewery-distillery, in the c.1848 brick-end barn of the W.H. Monfort Farm — one of the largest Confederate field hospitals after the battle (1,300+ wounded). Order: Rotating lagers, IPAs and stouts plus house spirits (Lincoln Lager).

248 Hunterstown Rd, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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13 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower's farm beside the battlefield — weekend White House in the 1950s, where he hosted Khrushchev and de Gaulle, and their only permanent home. Reached by NPS shuttle from the Museum & Visitor Center.

1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, PA 17325 (shuttle from the Visitor Center)

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14 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

David Wills House

The 1816 Lincoln Square home of attorney David Wills, who organized the post-battle cleanup and the national cemetery — and where Lincoln slept and finished the Gettysburg Address on November 18, 1863.

8 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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15 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Culp's Hill Observation Tower

An 1896 60-foot iron battlefield-commission tower atop the wooded hill that anchored the Union right — seven flights up for a view over the whole field toward Cemetery Hill.

Slocum Ave, Gettysburg National Military Park, PA 17325

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16 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Farnsworth House Inn

An 1810/1833 house whose south wall still carries more than 100 bullet holes from the battle (Confederate sharpshooters used its garret); dine in the Meade and Lee rooms or the casual Sweney's Tavern. Order: Civil War-era plates — game pie, peanut soup and spoon bread — served by period-dressed staff.

401 Baltimore St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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17 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County

Mason Dixon Distillery

Gettysburg distillery (2016) in a former factory; named Pennsylvania Vodka Distillery of the Year at the 2018 New York International Spirits Competition and a Gettysburg's Greatest winner. Order: Award-winning vodka, rums and corn whiskey distilled in Gettysburg.

331 E Water St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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18 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County · Diners & breakfast

Lincoln Diner

Old-school 1950s-style diner off Lincoln Square where tourists, Gettysburg College students and locals share the counter. Order: All-day diner breakfast and the cake case.

32 Carlisle St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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19 Worth the detour within Gettysburg & Adams County · Coffee & cafés

Gettysburg Baking Company

Small downtown bakery-café for old-fashioned hand pies and extra-gooey pecan sticky buns before the battlefield. Order: Pecan sticky buns, hand pies and café au lait.

Look for Closed Mondays.

17 Lincoln Square, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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20 Deep cut within Gettysburg & Adams County

Garryowen Irish Pub

Gettysburg's only Irish-owned pub — trad music sessions and Irish home cooking a block off Lincoln Square. Order: Shepherd's pie, bangers and mash and the Ulster fry.

126 Chambersburg St, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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Closed — kept for the record 21

Hunt's Battlefield Fries & Cafe — CLOSED

Counter-service fry shop by the battlefield visitor strip, famous for its fresh-cut fries and burgers. Order: Fresh-cut battlefield fries and messy sandwiches.

Steinwehr Ave, Gettysburg, PA 17325

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How we choose

Named sources recommend every place; review sites never do. Each is pinned to its door and status-checked. Closed places stay, marked closed.

Must see: The places to plan a visit around, graded within each area.
Worth the detour: Strong picks, worth going out of your way for.
Deep cut: For the curious: smaller, odder, more local.

Within each area: by tier, then by named sources, never by popularity. We don’t add ratings, prices or opening hours of our own.

Follow changes — an RSS feed of every closure and status check in this guide.

About this guide

171 places in 7 areas, each recommended by at least two independent sources (88 in all) or one institution such as Michelin.

Every place was checked open and pinned between 3 Oct and 3 Oct 2026. Closed places stay, marked closed.

Photos for 55 places; the rest show a designed cover.

How we choose → Insights →

77 sights and 94 places to eat across Harrisburg and the West Shore, Hershey, Carlisle, York, Lancaster and the Amish country of Lancaster County, with Gettysburg as the day-trip edge, each traceable to the source that named it. The food canon is Pennsylvania Dutch: shoofly pie, whoopie pies, square-noodle chicken pot pie, chow-chow, scrapple, Lititz soft pretzels, the York–Hanover snack belt, Hershey chocolate and the country’s oldest farmers’ markets.

Harrisburg · York · Lancaster