Holidays/Winter Itinerary in the Poconos Mountains, PA

Jim Thorpe

This town, known as “the Gateway to the Poconos” is charming in any season, but adds a lot of festive flair during the holidays. One of the most charming attractions is the Santa train ride. For $22 per adult and $9 per child, you can take an 80 minute scenic train ride through the mountains, visit with Santa, see a few other festive characters and enjoy a treat.

Winter Sports

The Poconos offer abundant winter sports, most notably skiing and snowboarding, as well as snow tubing, ice skating, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, and even winter paintball. Some of the most popular resorts are Cambelback, Shawnee Mountain, and Blue Mountain, which boasts the country’s largest snowtubing park.

Light Shows

The most well-known drive-through light show in this area is probably the one in Poconos Park. It is about $25 per vehicle to ride through or $200 for a carriage ride. For a more budget-friendly option, you can ride through the old-fashioned light show at Nay Aug park in Scranton for free (donations are appreciated).

Indoor Water Parks

Finally, if you are looking to escape the weather and have a little bit more to spend, there are several great options in the Poconos for indoor water parks. Great Wolf Lodge or Kalahari are perhaps the most well-known. Both are resorts, but can also be visited with a day pass if you’re not interested in staying. We visited Great Wolf Lodge some years ago and had a great time exploring the various pools, waterslides, and wave pools. The rooms are very cool and there are other fun, memorable activities such as story time with characters and “snowland” (a festive indoor atmosphere full of fake snow and snowballs).

Winter Hikes

There are many beautiful hikes in this area, and if you enjoy snow and frozen waterfalls, this is definitely a gorgeous region to enjoy the great outdoors. Nay Aug, mentioned above, can be visited during daylight hours to take a short hike down to a lovely waterfall overlook. Just be aware that it is icy, but there are handrails. There is also a pretty cool tree house, but it was closed at the time of our visit, and I couldn’t find information on whether it opens at all in the winter.

Delaware Water Gap is another beautiful area that is free to visit, with many gorgeous hikes. The hike to Dingman’s Falls is family friendly, includes boardwalks and platforms for viewing the falls from below and above. It also passes Silver Thread Falls, which is right beside the Visitor’s Center, for those who would like to enjoy a waterfall but can’t walk the mile or so to Dingman’s.