Need help planning Amish day trip in PA

[Tina]

I'm looking for tips on planning a day trip from Northern Virginia to Pennsylvania for myself, a friend, and two 8 year-old girls. Can anyone recommend things to do, things to see, website, etc. I'm assuming Lancaster county is the place to go, but that's about all I know. Please tell me your experiences.

 

[Pixiedust34]

You can ride and out-and-back old fashioned train through Amish farmland. The station is in Strasburg, PA.
http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/

Try to find a good Amish restaurant for lunch. The shoofly pie is a local specialty.

 

[HOGFAN]

Be sure to visit an ironworks store. very neat stuff for the home.

 

[mrs_hower726]

The one place I would recommend is Kitchen Kettle Village. I don't know if you planned on spending the night there, but they have really nice cottages. They have about 40 different shops within the village. They also have buggy rides that take you through the countryside. I took my mom there last month and she loved it. The website is kitchenkettle.com.

 

[CindyKansas]

We spent 3 days in the Lancaster area the week before Memorial Day. It was wonderful. We spent 3 nights at the Sleep Inn in Ronks, PA. Spent one day at the Outlet Mall, went to Hershey one day, and one day we just spent roaming around the area. Stopped at many little shops and had a wonderful time. We did eat the Shady Maple Buffet (it was fantastic) one evening. We drove by The Amish Village and it did look busy, but we just enjoyed driving around looking at the landscape. Many, many places to stop.

 

[4nana]

Lancaster is on of DH's and my favorite places to visit , so we try to visit every couple years as it's a world like no other . There is so much to do one could hardly cover in a couple days. Like other have suggested some of the high lights are: 48 acres Dutch Wonderland, Strasburg Dinner Train, Thomas the Train trips, Hands on House children's museum, one the the world's largest That Pet Place, a couple nice Dinner Theaters, buggy rides and tours, not too mention many homemade quilts & crafts, bakeries & jellies, etc. Enjoy, have lots of fun and do try their Woopie Pies and also Shoofly pies!!

This is one of the many sites and a good place to start.
http://www.800padutch.com/

There are many nice hotels we've tried, also my DD's and I stayed at one of their nice resorts, but DH & I are partial to the 'Fulton Steamboat Inn' as we enjoy the quaint atmosphere. http://www.fultonsteamboatinn.com/

 

[SomePixiedust]

We love to visit Lancaster. There is Dutch Wonderland (which is a theme park) and you can do a buggy ride through the Amish country where a guide will give you lots of information about how the Amish live, there is also a tour of an Amish home where you get to see how they live and learn about their way of life (I think 8 year olds will be amazed at the simplicity of their lives), there is also Kitchen Kettle Village which has shops (I believe there is a buggy ride that can be done through them....there are several places to get buggy rides), and of course there is outlet shopping and tons of great restaurants. I think you said it's a day trip, so you wouldn't need a hotel, but if you did there are several great ones. We like Bird-In-Hand Family Inn which has indoor & outdoor pools, a game room, a restaurant, mini golf on the grounds and is a nice, clean place, and we also like Amish View Inn which overlooks a working Amish Farm and schoolhouse and is also a nice clean place. I believe PADutch.com is a website you can get info from. HTH.

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

I did this trip with my mom and brother when I was about 13 and my brother was 8. I LOVED it, and so did my brother. Favorite things...

We went to a pretzel factory where they showed you how they make pretzels, then we got to make our own that they baked...and we got to eat them! So fun!

We went to a Farmer's Market and got food that we took on a picnic. It was so fresh and amazing...fresh breads and meat, fruit and pastries...and lemonade, I think.

We took the Stradsbourg (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) Railroad, and it was a lot of fun.

We also did the Corn Maize (haha), if you are going up at a time when they have one, I bet your girls would love it!

 

[JEmaryland]

Don't forget to buy your "I (Heart) Intercourse" T-shirt and bumper sticker!

 

[daisax]

Remember that most things are closed on Sundays -- even our Best Western hotel restaurant was closed on Sunday!

 

[AtlantaSue]

When I visited my sister, she took us to Central Market in downtown Lancaster, which was great; Lots of Amish people w/ baked goods, etc. We also did the Sturgis Pretzel Factory trip and really enjoyed that.

 

[MariDisney]

We love Lancaster County and go often. Some of our must-dos are:
Good n Plenty restaurant
Site and Sound Theater
Both outlet malls

 

[fireman17]

Having family from that area I can give you plenty of places to go. First, do check out the Lancaster County web site that will give you general information about the area.
Now for the girls you can go to Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park you can buy a combination pass that will allow you to have passes for both parks at one price to me this is a great deal. Also Chocolate World is right at Hershey Park and you all will enjoy it.
The Starsburg Railroad is another great attraction for the children it's a wonderful train ride through the country but, have to warn you if it's planting season be prepared for the wonderful smell of fertilizer in the air. My wife just loves that smell. They will also stop the train and tell the story of the ghost train and you can hear the whistle from the ghost train too
As for restaurants there are so many to choose from, on route 896 there is Good and Plenty this is an all you can eat style restaurant but you are seated with other folks from different states and the food is all Lancaster County food it is served family style which means it keeps coming until you can't eat no more and desert is the same as well.
On Route 340 there is Bird in Hand restaurant this is another well kept secret in Lancaster County they have an all you can eat buffet or a very good menu to chse from too. We always will go here when we are in town it is just a great family restaurant.
Last but not least is Millers Smorgasbord, this is where you can eat and eat and eat!! It is a little pricey but for the food you get it is well worth the price and you never feel rushed to eat as in some places.
There are too many places to stay to really tell you which one to pick we have stayed at the Country Inn and Suites which is directly across from Dutch Wonderland it is a very nice hotel which serves and quick breakfast every day but it can be expensive.
Just do some research for the hotels and I'm sure whichever hotel you pick you won't be disappointed.
Have a great time...

 

[Tina]

Thank you everyone for all your great tips. Time to start planning!!

 

[M&N]

If you are driving up for the day with 2 8 ur olds, I would concentrate on 1 area. Strasburg would be great. Someone already mentioned the train ride. It's lots of fun. There's the ChooChoo Barn near it where they have model trains set up. There's lots of Thomas stuff for sale. Living in Lancaster, I have to eat at Bird-In-Hand Resturant 2 a month. They have menu but the buffet is great (not as good as Shady Maple!) but they have a cute ark for the kids to use too. The chicken corn soup is a favorite of mine. I love their oatmeal pie too.It is on rt 340. Then go to Kitchen Kettle Village. The buggy ride would be fun for the kids. I also just love driving around. You find great places that way too. I'm sure you will want to come back! It's too much to do it all in 1 day.

 

[Barb]

We're big fans of all the train things in that area. The Toy Train Museum is really nice. There are a ton of model train layouts set up and running. I'll add my approval for the Strasburg Railroad. They also offer, for an additional fee, the opportunity to eat on the train, in the dining car. We love doing this. It's a real treat to be eating lunch while seeing the sights. The Pennsylvania Railroad Museum is right across the street from the railroad. There are a ton of full size trains there for viewing. If you're lucky, the rail yard will be open. We're members of the museum and go as often as we can! Have a great time!

 

[princesspiglet]

I live in hershey which is about 30 mins away from Lancaster. We go often as my DD6.5 loves it there. Some of her favorites are:

Kitchen Kettle Village- she loves to try all the samples of the jellys and salsas. They also have gingerbread men the kids can decorate for $1. There is usually a "band" playing in the courtyard directly in front of the shop. There are alot of neat little shops along that stretch of road you can stop at.

The Farmers Market is right down the road from the Village. They have fresh produce, meats, cheeses, baked goods, etc and there are also shops directly across from the Farmers Market.

Hands on House Childrens Musuem is over near Rt. 30. It is a great little museum where kids can be creative and have fun, but it will take at least 3-4 hours to properly explore.

American Music Theatre- they have great shows.

Shady Maple Buffett. IMHO, the BEST buffett in the area.

Just drive around the area and you will find lots of things to do. We have been going now for about 5 years 1x a month and we still find new things every trip!