Advice about Poconos in PA

[disny_luvr]

I see a couple people already mentioned Jim Thorpe, but I’m going to mention it again. It’s a quaint town with some cute and unique gift shops. There is hiking nearby and you can also go white water rafting in the area. My husband and I went to Jim Thorpe for our anniversary last summer and stayed at the Times House, a beautiful bed and breakfast with only four rooms. The innkeepers are great hosts. I need to also recommend Moya, a tapas restaurant just down the street from the Times House. It was absolutely amazing. My husband and I talk about going back just to eat at Moya. It was that great!

If you do choose to visit Jim Thorpe, I’d do some research to see what is open with everything going on right now.

 

[disny_luvr]

We have also been to Lake Wallenpaupak as we have friends that have a cottage there. It is a beautiful lake where you can boat and go tubing. Every time we go, we spend most of our time on the lake as our friends have a boat, but I’m sure there is good hiking in the area. I’d check VRBO out to see cabins that can be rented by the lake.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Ok, seriously though, I would also like to mention Lake Wallenpaupak, which borders the Pocono range on the west. East Stroudsburg has a train museum, which I love. Lackawanna State Park is a nice camping place near Clark's Summit, although technically that's about an hour northwest of the mountains.

 

[nkereina]

We also live in WNY and visited the Poconos last year. We stayed near the Mt Airy casino and visited Kahalari water park which was awesome, and an outdoor outlet mall that wasn’t far. Our stay was brief, but it seemed like the area had more to do.

Sounds crazy, but have you ever spent time in Erie? We love Presque Isle and the beaches there better than any around Buffalo. Grove City and Pittsburgh aren’t much further either.

This year we decided to visit the Thousand Islands. If you’ve never been, Alexandria Bay is a a great town with lots of fun tours and good dining. It’s about 4 hours from Buffalo, so a bit shorter of a drive than the Poconos and you don’t have to worry about PA being added to Cuomo’s quarantine list.

 

[RUDisney]

We also live in WNY and visited the Poconos last year. We stayed near the Mt Airy casino and visited Kahalari water park which was awesome, and an outdoor outlet mall that wasn’t far. Our stay was brief, but it seemed like the area had more to do.

Sounds crazy, but have you ever spent time in Erie? We love Presque Isle and the beaches there better than any around Buffalo. Grove City and Pittsburgh aren’t much further either.

This year we decided to visit the Thousand Islands. If you’ve never been, Alexandria Bay is a a great town with lots of fun tours and good dining. It’s about 4 hours from Buffalo, so a bit shorter of a drive than the Poconos and you don’t have to worry about PA being added to Cuomo’s quarantine list.

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are the hotbeds for Covid in PA. I wouldn't recommend either of them right now.

I'll be in the Poconos tonight. I have to take my bird to the avian vet. It'll take us an hour to get there and an hour to return. The vet will be happy to know that this is my friendly bird that shouldn't bite her, especially with me not being allowed into the office.

Tomorrow, I'll be on Lake Wallenpaupack with friends. There is nothing better than hanging out on the lake.

 

[Sarah'sMomfrom PA]

Where do you live Flightless Duck? I work in Scranton and live in Moosic! Steamtown in Scranton is nice if you are into trains and there is a coal mine tour in Scranton....not sure if they are both open so it is better to google them and call them to see what hours they have. No way would I go anywhere near Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) or Philadelphia. They are both Pennsylvania's hot spots!

 

[mckennarose]

The Pocono's is literally my backyard so I have some insight here.
First, our governor put more restrictions on us last week by limiting indoor dining to 25% capacity, so be aware if you plan to come and dine. Also, since we WERE a hot spot due to our close distance to NYC, expect everyone to be wearing masks and it is mandatory here. Don't buck the system, please. We've been through a major covid infection and we don't want to go back.
Not everything is completely open or operating at 100%. It's best to call wherever you plan on going to ahead of time.

They have the Asa Mansion there.

The Asa Packer Mansion... and yes it's open but anyone planning on going should call ahead and see what the current recommendations are.

As a resident of Pennsylvania, I say please stay in New York.

LOL, normally I would agree. But NY is not doing poorly right now so I'm ok with some of them coming. As long as we don't get bombarded like we did in March, April and May and have our rates go sky high again. I'm more concerned about those south of us.

There is no need to be hostile.

We went through hell, especially my area, due to the constant traffic back and forth from NYC, so I get why the message to stay put in NY. We don't want to go backwards when it took us months to get here.

It's nothing personal. We're trying to keep our COVID-19 cases from going back up too much. We had dropped down to 300-ish a day and then it started going back up again.

I agree. Some of the cases we have now are from down South, particularly Florida snow birds coming back.

I need to also recommend Moya, a tapas restaurant just down the street from the Times House

I would add Stone Row Pub. It's our favorite as locals.

If you do choose to visit Jim Thorpe, I’d do some research to see what is open with everything going on right now.

Absolutely, especially due to the new restrictions.

an outdoor outlet mall that wasn’t far.

The Crossings in Tannersville. Be prepared to wear masks and have a line outside the stores.

It’s about 4 hours from Buffalo, so a bit shorter of a drive than the Poconos and you don’t have to worry about PA being added to Cuomo’s quarantine list.

PA follows NY, NJ and CT recommendations since we are directly impacted by those states. Cuomo won't put us on the list unless the Western part of the state continues to escalate.

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are the hotbeds for Covid in PA.

Pittsburgh is currently growing in cases, not Philadelphia. Philly was initially a hot spot with NYC, but the numbers have gone way down. And Philly is about two hours south of us.

I work in Scranton and live in Moosic! Steamtown in Scranton is nice if you are into trains and there is a coal mine tour in Scranton

Hi Neighbor! Funny story..... when I try to explain where I live I use Scranton as a reference. People ALWAYS ask me about The Office and then proceed to tell me that they didn't think Scranton was a real place, lol!

Seriously, I'm not one to recommend anyone travel right now, to anywhere. But we were part of the initial wave of covid infection in the US and we are doing way better than other states right now. But please don't bring it back to us! It took us 4 months to get here and we need to stay safe.

 

[mrs. magoo]

When we went to the Poconos we stayed here: https://www.splitrockresort.com/.

We loved all the activities including miniature golf, the lake, and the pools. There was not an indoor water park at the time. We also loved just walking through the neighborhoods. Saw our first rattlesnake there. I too am from Western NY - Rochester area. We are planning to head to Old Forge. It is my favorite place on the planet. I so wish I could afford a cottage up there. My brother just returned from the Lake Placid area. Said it was awesome. Here in Rochester people growing up either went to the Thousand Islands or The Mountains growing up. My family was a Mountain family and my husbands was a Thousand Island. We took the kids to both but decided we like the Mountains especially the Old Forge area the best.

 

[mckennarose]

When we went to the Poconos we stayed here: https://www.splitrockresort.com/.

Split Rock is a great place. Louis Prime and Nick's Lake house are especially good for dining.

Saw our first rattlesnake there.

Yeah, we have Timber Rattlers. Not a lot of people know that we have rattlesnakes in PA. Crazy things they are!

Here in Rochester people growing up either went to the Thousand Islands or The Mountains growing up

We've vacationed in Thousand Islands before and it's beautiful. But.... you really do need a boat for the whole experience, IMO.

 

[mrs. magoo]

We've vacationed in Thousand Islands before and it's beautiful. But.... you really do need a boat for the whole experience, IMO.
[/QUOTE]

I agree you absolutely need a boat in the Thousand Islands to enjoy it. Thousand Island Park is so cool though. I love the Victorians and the cute community feel of it. We actually did the Poconos twice when the kids we little. We also stayed at Shawnee on the Delaware. The kids spent the entire week swimming and splashing in the Delaware River. We are easy to please and do not need activities so we enjoyed sitting on the screened in porch and hanging out.

 

[RUDisney]

When we went to the Poconos we stayed here: https://www.splitrockresort.com/.

We loved all the activities including miniature golf, the lake, and the pools. There was not an indoor water park at the time. We also loved just walking through the neighborhoods. Saw our first rattlesnake there. I too am from Western NY - Rochester area. We are planning to head to Old Forge. It is my favorite place on the planet. I so wish I could afford a cottage up there. My brother just returned from the Lake Placid area. Said it was awesome. Here in Rochester people growing up either went to the Thousand Islands or The Mountains growing up. My family was a Mountain family and my husbands was a Thousand Island. We took the kids to both but decided we like the Mountains especially the Old Forge area the best.

My nephew will be back at RIT soon. If you want Par-baked Old Forge pizza, I’m sure he would deliver it to you. PM me if you’re interested.

 

[rlk]

Check out Skytop Lodge. We enjoyed our stay several years ago.

 

[AppleDumpling]

Have mostly been there in the winter for skiing, but we did rafting on the Lehigh a couple times and it was a blast. Stayed in Jim Thorpe, aka Mauch Chunk, at one of the state campgrounds.

I’ve never been myself, but know many families from my local area who are regulars at Woodloch Pines and they all rave about it.

 

[low-key]

Dont let your daughter enter a dance contest with the locals

 

[mckennarose]

Just an FYI, for those going to Jim Thorpe area....


"The Mauch Chunk Lake Park beach/swim area and picnic area are open to Carbon County residents only. Proper ID must be presented for access to the park. This will remain in effect for the remainder of the season up to and including Labor Day.."

I don't reside in Carbon County so I can't even go to the Mauch Chunk lake right now either.

Dont let your daughter enter a dance contest with the locals

LOL! Dirty Dancing was in the Catskills.... so not near us.

 

[bballmom56]

We have been to Scranton a few times in the last two months as a relative lives there. About a month ago, we stayed in the downtown Hilton which was spotless and was following guidelines. Very friendly and helpful staff, too. We took a walk through the city as we love to see the beautiful architecture of the buildings. We did outdoor dining downtown which was great - everyone with masks and social distancing. The next day, indoor dining opened and we went to two places. Again, all guidelines were followed. The staff was so happy to be back. Food was great. Everyone we saw was complying - customers, businesses and staff. We tipped well above normal for the staff. Shortly after our visit, there was an incident at one of the restaurants where some obnoxiously rude customers assaulted a hostess and a server and scratched out the tip on the receipt for the server. The community rallied behind the server and the business. That restaurant was first on our list the last time we were there, but unfortunately, they have limited days open and our day was not one of them. We will visit them next time.

I have seen that the Electric City Aquarium is now open, as is the Electric Trolley museum, including the trolley excursion which is a lot of fun. Steamtown is partially open - no train rides and some other exhibits are not available. The Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour is not open at this time.

We were just out at The Crossings in Tannersville last weekend and only a couple of the stores had lines. The longest was at Bath and Body Works. It looked like they had a sale going on. We did see that several stores looked permanently closed - much more than usual.

We visited Jim Thorpe once and are looking for an opportunity to get back there again.

 

[Communicore1991]

We were just out at The Crossings in Tannersville last weekend and only a couple of the stores had lines. The longest was at Bath and Body Works. It looked like they had a sale going on. We did see that several stores looked permanently closed - much more than usual.

I was just at the Crossings yesterday. Some stores opened later than the 11AM opening time for the rest of the stores. I noticed throughout the entire day Nike and Under Armor had a significant line, and several stores were trying to save power and leave their doors open but AC off... it was TOO hot inside even though it was only about 80 there yesterday.

Definitely check the store directory if you're going for a particular favorite in case they closed. One of my favorites, Harry and David, are completely gone never to return

 

[RUDisney]

I loved Harry and David.