This region of Pennsylvania is rural and rugged, covered with farms settled peacefully among the Appalachians along the Susquehanna River, and dotted with charming small towns. Here are a few reasons to visit.
1. Natural Beauty and Lovely Vistas
There are numerous state parks, wilderness areas, and hikes throughout the region, but hiking to Hawk Rock Overlook is one of the more popular ones. And for good reason – this is a really fun hike! The trailhead is in the tiny town of Ducannon, which is tucked into a very rural area.
There is a small parking lot at the trailhead, but we ended up starting at a point along the Appalachian Trail rather than the actual trailhead, so it ended up being slightly longer. It was very steep and rocky, so you felt like you were scrambling some of the time, but that was part of the fun.
We saw tons of millipedes and a couple of large black snakes – probably rat snakes. Also some odd, interesting bugs that were not familiar to us. There were definitely other people on the trail but at no point did it feel crowded at all.
The kids were more than ready to get there by the time we hit the overlook. It was a really lovely view of the Susquehanna River and surrounding towns and farmland. We had some snacks, enjoyed the view, snapped some photos, and headed back down. Round trip took about an hour and a half.
If you’d like an overlook, but would rather skip the hike, another great place to visit is Shikellamy State Park. The park has two sections that span the counties of Northumberland and Union. The overlook section is accessed by driving up a steep mountain road, and the parking lot is directly at the overlook. There is also a little playground and a big open field and picnic area, and some wooded trails.
The marina section of Shikellamy State Park is a short drive away, in between the two branches of the Susquehanna that can be seen from the overlook. There is a slightly bigger playground, a pretty butterfly garden, and a paved path along each branch of the river – the park is on a little island in between the two. Of course, there is also the Marina where you can see boats launching and walk out on the docks.
2. Small Town Charm
A few of the charming small towns we visited on our most recent trip were Sunbury, Selinsgrove, and Ducannon. After hiking Hawk Rock, we were all pretty hungry so we headed down the street to the tiny downtown area, and had dinner at the historic Doyle’s Hotel. The food was excellent, especially the fried pierogis the delicious Greek salad. There was no kids’ menu but the kids shared mozzarella sticks and fish and chips – portions were generous. We took a look around the hotel afterwards.
We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Selinsgrove, which we enjoyed. The beds were comfortable and after all the hiking, I had about the best sleep of my life that night. It was quiet and the pool area was nice and warm. The breakfast was also quite good.
On your way in or out, visit the small town of Enola and Cupboard Makers Books. This is a very unique used book store in Cumberland County. It is painted like a book shelf on the outside and covered with murals and archways on the inside. It also had an elaborate cat walk around the ceiling and perimeter of the store and a few fluffy cats, which made the kids’ day. I let them each choose a book before heading home. It was a unique little stop that we really enjoyed.
3. Knoebel’s Amusement Resort
Finally, the main attraction – Knoebel’s Amusement Resort. We drove about 30 mins to get there and saw very little development anywhere, so we were a little worried that it might be run down, but we were pleasantly surprised to find a well-kept, friendly amusement park packed with fun.
There is no fee to enter, and it was really easy to walk in and exchanged our online voucher that we had just purchased for a ticket book we could use on the rides. There was live music and a bunch of delicious smelling food joints – we got some burgers, hot dogs and fries to start out our day. We bought a ride ticket book for $50, and this was more than we needed for the day (though admittedly, our family is not big into thrill rides).
We did ride the Ferris wheel, which gave us a bird’s eye view of the park, the bumper cars, the train, and the haunted mansion. There were some lines, but there were enough rides that you could easily find ones without a long line. It did not feel very crowded in comparison with other amusement parks we have visited.
The last and most fun ride we went on was the “Splooosh,” which was basically a big boat that goes up and comes back down a 50 foot drop and gets everyone soaking wet. We enjoyed watching (and getting soaked) and riding (and getting even more soaked). There were many other rides, including several big coasters, a grand carousel and a whole bunch of other kiddie rides, but our family tends to prefer water parks.
So, as expected, everyone’s favorite part of the park was the crystal pool. It had several things that we liked – one was the slides. It had regular, old-fashioned metal slides in the middle of the pool for our younger friends that went pretty fast and were lots of fun. There was a smaller and larger one – our four year old had a great time with the smaller one and the older kids enjoyed the taller one.
There were also giant tube slides, which you pay extra for and which were so much fun. You ride them in inflatable innertubes. I was able to ride with my seven year old on a double tube so she wouldn’t be scared. There were also some really fast ones that you could slide down on a mat.
The other things we loved were the diving boards. My husband and I hadn’t been on diving boards since we were kids and it felt – well, not the same as when we were kids – but still so much fun. The kids loved trying diving boards for the first time as well. There were small, mid-sized, and high ones. We had a great time at that pool. It was affordable – less than $10/per person for the pool, and less than $10 additional if you wanted to go on the tube slides. There were locker rooms with complimentary lockers and lots of places to eat.
This is definitely an affordable, friendly, and enjoyable choice for a family or anyone who enjoys amusement parks. There is an adjacent campground and cabins for lodging at the resort. There are also three museums if you want to get out of the weather for a spell. All in all, this is definitely a must-do if you’re in the Susquehanna River Valley area of PA.
