It sits along the scenic banks of the Upper Delaware River in Pike County, surrounded by mountains, with access to major trails, canoeing, kayaking, and biking, and the tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania. It’s an adventure hub among the best in the tristate region.
But Milford isn’t just for people in hiking boots. It’s also an artsy town, with galleries, a theater, and dedicated film, music, and writers’ festivals. It’s a shopping destination too, with a slew of antique and gift shops, and a healthy-living store that rivals anything in Philadelphia or New York.
“Geographically, I believe Milford has the edge over most small towns around,” said local entrepreneur Bill Rosado, who owns some popular businesses in town. “It is centered so well. Just looking at the town is a treat to me.”
There’s plenty of history in Milford, too, which calls itself the “birthplace of the conservation movement” as it was home to Gifford Pinchot, founder and first chief of the U.S. Forest Service. It also has a historical museum that’s home to a unique and morbid artifact from the Civil War era.
And, finally, you have to eat. Milford is home to fine dining at historic hotels, both fancy and cozy bars, along with breweries, classic diners, organic coffee, and, thanks to Rosado, authentic food from Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. (He was born there.)
Milford’s about 75 miles northwest of Manhattan and just across the river from North Jersey, so yes, you’ll see Yankees and Giants gear, but it’s just 135 miles from Philly, so get up there.
One of the cabins available for rent at Sean Strub’s Dwarfskill Preserve in Milford, Pa.
Stay: Dwarfskill Preserve
There are plenty of hotels in downtown Milford that are in the midst of everything the town has to offer, including the historic and ornate Hotel Fauchère and the Tom Quick Inn, which would be at home in Cape May. Rosado owns both of them.
I’ve been eyeing up the tiny cabin at the 575-acre Dwarfskill Preserve, up in the hills above town, for years now, as a former colleague had spent extended time there over the years and shared lovely pictures. It’s owned by former Milford mayor Sean Strub and consists of three separate properties: the one-room cabin I rented for a few nights with my girlfriend, Jen, and my dog, Wanda, and two larger cabins that can fit more people.
We stayed there over the New Year’s holiday, cooking brisket in the microwave and making coffee on the hot plate. While Milford and the Dwarfskill are undoubtedly at their best in the summer and fall, when you can take full advantage of the outdoor opportunities, including the swimming hole at the cabin, we watched both the wood fireplace and the ample snowfall outside for hours. It was hard to leave, a full hygge experience, in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
📍 Dwarfskill Falls Lane, Milford, Pa. 18337
Grey Towers, the Pinchot family residence, outside Milford, and the family’s haven from 1886 to 1963. The family made its fortune in lumber.
Explore: Grey Towers National Historic Site
If you drive around Pennsylvania as much as I do, you’ll see the name Gifford Pinchot quite a bit. Pinchot was a two-term governor of the Commonwealth and has a 54,000-acre state forest named after him.
He went on to found and run the U.S. Forest Service and is generally considered a pioneer in the U.S. conservation movement. Pinchot was born in Milford and his home, Grey Towers, is a national historic landmark run by the U.S. Forest Service. Its curated gardens, French chateau-style stone architecture, and expansive library can all be seen on tours, both in-person during spring, summer, and fall, and online all year round.
At 150-feet tall, Raymondskill Falls is the tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania.
If you’re interested in something a little more outdoorsy, visit Raymondskill Falls, which, at 150 feet, is the tallest in Pennsylvania. You can, technically, visit in winter, but the ice and snow could be treacherous. In summer, you might have to brave some crowds and jammed parking lots, but the views are worth it.
📍 Grey Towers: 122 Old Owego Turnpike, Milford, Pa. 18337
Learn: The Pike County Historical Society at the Columns
It’s not every day that a county historical society can really wow you with an artifact, but Pike County punches up with a Civil War relic you won’t find anywhere else in the world: the bloody U.S. flag used to cradle Abraham Lincoln’s head after he was shot at Ford’s Theatre in 1865.
The flag and other exhibits are housed in “the Columns,” a 1904 neoclassical-style mansion. Want to learn how they obtained the flag? Visit on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
It’s a place to get coffee or tea and healthy pastries. It’s a community hub, where people gather to meet or work remotely.
It’s also a place to look good, with woolens and other “natural” clothes, and smell good, or simply be good, with homesteading supplies and books.
📍 Broad Street, Milford, Pa. 18337
Eat: Felix’s Cantina at La Posada
Jen spends weeks in the Yucatan every winter, so she was surprised to see a restaurant in Northeastern Pennsylvania promising a “taste of the Yucatan Peninsula and other regional dishes from southern Mexico.”
Rosado, who also owns a historic theater in town, owns the Cantina at La Posada, yet another one of his hotels. He was born in Merida, the capital of Yucatan.
He knows the dishes well, and she approved, describing our pork and birria tacos as “fattening and delicious.”
For breakfast, the Waterwheel Café Bakery Bar, an old grist mill along Sawkill Creek, serves up a killer thick-cut challah French toast. We basically licked the plate clean.
Walt Whitman, Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross — these are the massive engineering marvels that come to mind when most Philadelphians think of the bridges between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But less than an hour north of the city, the Delaware narrows enough to let charming, Norman Rockwell-type trusses span the forested riverbanks.
Everyone knows New Hope. But on the opposite side of the river, Lambertville and neighboring Stockton make a compelling case for a Jersey-side getaway, thanks to stylish revived historic inns, a vibrant arts scene, and some excellent shopping. Start the car.
Hunt: Golden Nugget Antique Flea Market
Coming off I-95 and up River Road, you’ll hit Golden Nugget Antique Flea Market, just outside Lambertville. Over five decades, this sprawling indoor-outdoor operation has grown into one of the largest antique markets in the region. Treasure hunt for Tiffany-glass lamps, rare baseball cards, glittering geodes, and more. Don’t miss Art & Restoration gallery on the first floor, where the chatty owner is happy to talk through the process of paper deacidification and the highlights of his ever-changing collection (which recently included a Picasso).
📍 1850 River Rd., Lambertville, N.J. 08530
Hike: Goat Hill Overlook
River towns offer plenty of scenic walks along the water, but a little elevation makes all the difference. Goat Hill Overlook, halfway between the Golden Nugget and downtown Lambertville, is a low-effort, high-reward climb: a gently uphill, paved path that clocks just under a mile from the trailhead parking lot. At the summit, the blue, bridge-laced Delaware slides toward the horizon before dissolving into the woods.
Indie boutiques, antique dealers, and cafés line the streets of downtown Lambertville, which stretches along Bridge Street (at the foot of the New Hope-Lambertville Bridge) and spiders out in a series of charming alleys and lanes. Wander into Zinc for home and garden inspo, Lambert + Hope for Flamingo Estate candles and Laguiole knives, and Panoply for special-edition books and vintage vinyl.
📍 Bridge Street, Lambertville, N.J. 08530
Snack: RSC Atelier
Perhaps the only gourmet grocery you’ll find attached to a gas station, RSC Atelier in Stockton grew out of the old Rosemont Supper Club nearby. Build a picnic basket with Iberico ham, upscale tinned fish, and farmstead cheese sourced by sister business Immortal Milk Cheese Co.
A crossroads for travelers since 1710, the nine-key Stockton Inn reopened in 2024 after a seven-year renovation that modernized the staying experience while still preserving the building’s historic bones. Earthy colors and natural fabrics give the rooms and suites a tranquil, contemporary vibe that feels both at home in the country but also more stylish than the typical area B&Bs.
📍 1 S. Main St., Stockton, N.J. 08559
See: Music Mountain Theatre
New Hope’s Bucks County Playhouse gets most of the attention, but just a mile from Lambertville’s downtown, Music Mountain Theatre is quietly expanding the arts scene on the Jersey side of the river. Founded in 2017, the company stages polished productions year-round for families and adults alike. This winter’s lineup includes Grease (through Feb. 1), followed by Dangerous Liaisons and Shrek the Musical.
True to headline, nearly everywhere in this guide has a Lambertville or Stockton address. Dinner is the only exception. For that, head three and a half miles inland to the Sergeantsville Inn. Chef Sean Gray, formerly of New York’s Momofuku Ko, runs the tavern and restaurant housed in a building that dates to 1734. Stone walls, wood beams, and Shaker-style chairs set the stage for a candlelit meal of radicchio salad with cheddar and pears, beer-battered onion rings with horseradish aioli, or a whole roasted duck. Look alive — the Revolution is here.
Sometimes you take a road trip to experience something totally different from the world you inhabit — the absolute silence of a state forest, the carnivalesque majesty of the shore in full swing. A weekend in Baltimore is not that kind of trip.
Charm City is the most Philly of the cities on the Acela corridor: smaller in size, but equally quirky, proud, and shaped by blue-collar roots. (Our accents are even passably close.) It’s also stacked with restaurants, museums, and cultural institutions that compete on a national level, all with a distinctly Baltimorean flavor, less than two hours away.
Once arriving in Baltimore proper, take I-83 up to the Remington neighborhood on the north side of the city, where Café Los Sueños roasts and brews its own beans in a peaceful, light-washed space a couple blocks off the highway exit. (The name translates to “Café of Dreams,” fitting for owner Carlos Payes, who came to the U.S. from the coffee plantations of El Salvador.) A horchata latte and croissant make for a perfectly calming start to the trip.
📍 2740 Huntingdon Ave., Unit B, Baltimore, Md. 21211
If it’s not too cold — and you’re up for a walk — Los Sueños sits near the eastern edge of Druid Hill Park, the third-oldest urban park in the country and, for millennials, the namesake of Dru Hill. Follow the path along Druid Lake toward the Rawlings Conservatory, a circa-1888 botanical garden with five greenhouses. Even when it’s frosty outside, the impressive Victorian conservatories filled with tropical orchids, ceiling-skimming palms, and citrus blossoms deliver full-on summer music-video energy.
Check into the Pendry Baltimore, a moody, stylish 127-room hotel housed in a grand 1914 building on the former Recreation Pier. The Fell’s Point location is both charming and convenient, putting you within walking distance of many of Baltimore’s marquee attractions. Many of the wood-and-leather-clad rooms overlook the waterfront. The huge pool, which seems to float in the Inner Harbor, will have you booking a return visit for summer.
No curveball here. The National Aquarium is Baltimore’s claim to fame, and if the last time you were here was on an eighth-grade field trip, you should come back as an adult, with or without your own kids. The sprawling complex houses 2.2 million gallons of water and residents ranging from reef sharks and puffins to otters and moray eels. Don’t miss the Harbor Wetland exhibit, which opened in 2024 along a series of floating docks in the Inner Harbor and be sure to book tickets in advance. Aim for off-hours to beat the crowds.
📍 501 E. Pratt St., Baltimore, Md. 21202
View: American Visionary Art Museum
The title Cap Bathing Moligator With Angelic Visitation (Dickens 44) tells you just about everything you need to know about the boundary-pushing work housed at the American Visionary Art Museum. This brick-and-mirror-clad institution in Federal Hill celebrates outsider art in all its surreal glory from landscapes to cosmological oil paintings to sculptures of a mosaic-winged Icarus and Baltimore icon Divine. The collection embodies the city’s DIY spirit and unbreakable creative streak.
With its deep pedigree and polished service, Charleston in Harbor East possesses a sense of occasion that few restaurants have anymore. Even if you’re just passing through for drinks in its swanky little lounge, where local power brokers and big-night-out suburbanites mingle with tourists, those drinks are crafted with gravitas and élan as much as sparkling wine, passionfruit and honey (the Ipanema Fizz), or blanco tequila, Strega, and ginger (the Arandas Monk). The wine list is famously deep, which helps explain why Charleston won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.
From one medalist to another, the Wren, one of Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants of 2025, sits less than a 10-minute walk from Charleston in Fell’s Point. The location is an ideal spot for drink or dinner, with a much more casual silhouette with its wood paneling, pressed-tin ceilings, and no-reservations policy. It’s a pub essentially, and like the very best pubs in Ireland and the U.K. (partner Millie Powell hails from Dublin), the cooking comforts and satisfies on a cellular level. Think glazed ham, golden onion pie, sharp cheeses, honey-roasted apple cake, and the like. (Your Philly analog is Meetinghouse.) As expected, the bartenders pour a precise pint of Guinness, the perfect finale to a Baltimore weekend.
As a chef from Hawai’i who has lived in Philadelphia for well over a decade, I saw firsthand the connection between both places. For years, through Poi Dog, I fed homesick Hawai’i people and those who had celebrated weddings, honeymoons, and holidays in my home state, then came back to the mainland searching for a taste of the islands. These days, the question I get most often is simple: Where should I eat in Honolulu?
This is a special edition of our Field Trip series — not a typical three-day drive, but a culinary escape meant for when you’re bundled up at home, staring down winter, and dreaming of somewhere warmer. Think of it as planning your next trip while the heater’s on: balmy breezes, sun-warmed beaches, and unlimited fresh poke, all waiting when you’re ready to go.
What follows is a starting point for eating your way through Honolulu, whose excellent, deeply multicultural food scene is built on Native Hawaiian traditions and shaped by waves of immigrants who came to work the sugarcane and pineapple plantations — and now, the tourism industry. I urge you to explore far beyond this list, to leave Honolulu when you can, see the rest of Oʻahu, and visit its neighboring islands. But if you’re beginning with the city, this is where to start.
Honolulu is sprawling and encompasses a downtown business district, touristy Waikiki, Kaimuki with its many hip restaurants, Chinatown (which also has hip restaurants), and many suburbs. In the former three categories, we say they’re “in town,” though the limits of “town” are as heavily debated as the boundaries of Philly’s neighborhoods.
Chances are you’re staying in Waikiki, and all of the following are in the most touristed district or are a quick, cheap Uber ride from Waikiki (unless of course, it’s rush hour, in which case, I can’t help you).
Honolulu restaurants to check out
If you’re going to Honolulu, the first order of business is getting real Hawaiian food. This means poi, or pounded taro root, the staple starch of the Hawaiians before laborers on Hawai’i’s sugarcane plantations from East Asia shifted the dominant starch of the islands to rice; smoky, tender kalua pig (preferably cooked in an imu, or underground oven); lu’au (a stew made from taro leaves, coconut milk, and usually with chicken or squid); and delicacies like ‘opihi, small limpets that are somewhat similar in taste to abalone, and are notoriously challenging to collect, requiring one to pry the barnacles from slippery rocks while being pounded by surf.
Hawaiian food is a distinctly different cuisine from Hawaiian BBQ, which falls under the category of “local food” in Hawai’i – a confusing term for outsiders because “local food” encompasses food that was introduced to Hawai’i by its waves of immigrants. Native Hawaiian food does have immigrant influences and does incorporate ingredients not native to Hawai’i, but in ways that predated its sugar plantation era.
Helena’s Hawaiian Food in Honolulu.
Helena’s Hawaiian Food
Helena’s is the reigning queen of Hawaiian food and this is the ideal place for you to try all of the above Hawaiian specialties, including ‘opihi. Their pipikaula, or Hawaiian-style beef jerky, is less jerky and more of a soy-marinated and dried short rib that manages to retain remarkable tenderness, concentrating sublime beefiness into tiny squares of meat. Cleanse your palate with a square of their haupia and a nibble on fresh, raw sweet onion dipped into red alaea salt, fixings that come with every set meal. Be mindful that Helena’s is only open 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and it is closed on weekends.
If you can’t make it past the throngs of people trying to get into Helena’s, Highway Inn also serves great Hawaiian food in town. (Its original location is in Waipahu. They also just opened an outpost at the Bishop Museum.) It’s open every day and in addition to Hawaiian stalwarts like kalua pig, chicken long rice, and squid lu’au, they also serve a large menu of riffs on these, like kalua pig nachos, with sides of lomi lomi salmon, a dish that is made entirely of introduced ingredients, but has been around so long that it has been accepted into the canon of Hawaiian food.
📍 680 Ala Moana Blvd. #105, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, 📞 808-954-4955, 🌐 myhighwayinn.com
Sashimi and meat jun at Kyung’s Seafood in Honolulu.
Kyung’s Seafood
Some of Honolulu’s best Hawaiian BBQ intersects with Korean BBQ, and there are Korean dishes in Hawai’i that are found nowhere else, not even Korea. Kyung’s Seafoodmakes one of the very best versions of meat jun, one such Korean dish that exists in isolation, which consists of thinly sliced meat battered in scrambled eggs and served with a light soy dipping sauce. Marry their meat jun with rice and mac salad, and some of Kyung’s excellent banchans or precisely arranged sashimi platters.
📍 1269 S. King St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, 📞 808-589-1144, 📷 @kyungsseafood
Monaka filled with ahi tartare and caviar from Miro Kaimuki.
Miro Kaimuki
If you’re celebrating something special, whether it’s an anniversary or a Tuesday, Miro in Kaimuki is the finest of dining on this list. It’s a special occasion restaurant that doesn’t feel the least bit stuffy, with beautifully balanced cocktails and wine pairings. Meals are prix fixe, with many possibilities of add-ons like flank washugyu, toasted brioche topped with curls of uni, and vanilla macarons filled with caviar. Miro also happens to be the self-declared Philadelphia Embassy in Hawai’i, as many of its current and former staffers either hail from Philly or have spent time in the city (Zahav pops up on numerous Miro cooks’ resumés).
Speaking of sashimi, Hawai’i is really close to Japan, so not only do we get a wealth of fish pulled from surrounding waters, but we have an abundance of Japanese seafood flown in regularly. This makes for fantastic (and countless) omakase options, most of which hew to classic Japanese experiences. For a relaxed, island-style omakase or a la carte sushi and izakaya dinner, head to Sushi Izakaya Gaku. Gaku has the softest, silkiest, and lightest tamago, the homemade sweet egg omelet, and all the standard izakaya fare, but also some wild, more unusual specials, like seared sting ray, raw octopus, and thinly sliced beef tongue served over shaved onion with a big squeeze of lemon.
📍 1329 S. King St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, 📞 808-589-1329
Sashimi platter from Mitch’s Seafood in Honolulu.
Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar
Located right on the pier, where fishing boats dock and unload their ahi for the Honolulu Fish Auction, Mitch’s Fish Market and Sushi Bar is an unbelievable option for generous cuts of sashimi, hefty chirashi bowls piled with shrimp, ahi, yellowtail, and tamago. It’s small (make a reservation), casual, and perpetually proud of their most famous patron, President Barack Obama.
Tempura Kiki set meal, inside the Stix Asian Food Hall.
Stix Asia Food Hall
In addition to ready access to Japanese ingredients, we have practically all the hot Japanese chain restaurants. like Marugame Udon, Han No Daidokoro (which specializes in fresh wagyu — usually, when wagyu is exported, it’s frozen), and many others packed into Stix Asia, a Japanese food hall. Two of my favorites inside Stix Asia are Tempura Kikifor its avocado tempura and bowls of udon (no relation but they did offer me a discount because of my name), and Nanamusubi, which churns out omusubi made with specialty, heritage Japanese grains, and stuffed with an array of fish salads and pickled seaweeds.
New York transplant and Top Chef competitor Lee Anne Wong pretty much single-handedly made brunch a craze in Honolulu a decade ago. Her Koko Head Cafe has since become a classic for eggs scrambled with local ingredients and enormous, indulgent bowls of congee topped with croutons. Hawai’i and Japan also seem to have a restaurant exchange system; the cafe has also opened locations in Japan. Don’t miss their poke omelets, and my favorite breakfast item, rusk spread with yogurt and fresh local fruit.
The Pig and the Lady is one of those chef-driven destination restaurants that appear on many a national list. It has gone through a couple iterations, and just opened a new location in Kaimuki that will more than scratch your itch for excellent Vietnamese food, if you can’t live without your Gabriella’s Vietnam fix. But there are unmistakable Hawaiian touches like chile pepper water-doused oysters, country ham served with persimmons, and banh xeo made with pa’i’ai or pounded taro. Vietnamese food like this exists nowhere else on the planet.
Spring rolls from the Kapiolani Community College Farmers’ Market.
Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market
The Pig and the Lady also sets up a stand at theKapiolani Community College Farmers Marketon Saturdays from 7:30 to 11 a.m., serving pho French dips, lemongrass chicken banh mis, bun bowls with a vermicelli base, and curry rice plates. The rest of KCC Farmers Marketwill knock your socks off with its array of prepared foods, fresh fruit juices, coffee stands, vendors hacking into fresh coconuts with machetes, and abundance of tropical produce, from papayas to ‘ulu or breadfruit. If you’re walking up to the Diamond Head trail from Waikiki, you’ll pass it near the trailhead, but build in time to stop for a siphon coffee at Ars Cafefor a cup that rivals one from Ray’s Cafe and Tea House in Philly.
📍 Parking Lot B, 4303 Diamond Head Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96816, 🌐 hfbf.org/farmers-markets/kcc
The array of musubi at Musubi Iyasume in Waikiki.
Musubi Iyasume
Many of Waikiki’s 24-hour diner grand dames have closed at this point, but thankfully, my favorite breakfast in Waikiki doesn’t involve sitting down. Musubi Iyasume has multiple locations, serving classic Spam musubis, as well as ones that pair avocado, eel, and tamago with Spam and rice. They have seven locations, but I love the one at Waikiki Beach Walk the most because it has the longest opening hours and can scratch your musubi cravings from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.
Wash down your breakfast musubi with one of the best deals in Waikiki: a sugarcane juice from the stationary food truck Aloha Sugarcane Juices,which you can get spiked with juicy, local calamansi, or blended with mangoes and papayas.
📍 138 Uluniu Ave., Honolulu, Hawaii 96815
Zippy’s chili, teri burger, fries, and mini fried chicken plate.
Zippy’s
Head over to one of many locations of Zippy’s(a fast food diner chain that we love as dearly as Philadelphians love Wawa) to get some of the best of the island’s fried chicken or to pick up a bento box to bring on one of Oahu’s legendary hikes. Zippy’s is also famous for their chili, which will require you to pick a stance when you order: pro-kidney beans or no-kidney beans. While Zippy’s locations are scattered throughout Oahu (and also Las Vegas, considered Hawai’i’s ninth island), I implore you to go to the one in Kapahulu, so you will be within walking distance of the legendary Leonard’s Malasadas.
Delis in Hawai’i don’t resemble anything that might be called a deli in Philadelphia. Cold cases are filled with vats of fresh fish poke as opposed to deli meats, and Alicia’s Market mixes up some of Hawai’i’s best pokes (though honestly, unless you’re going to one of those newfangled build-a-bear style poke joints, it’s hard to go wrong).
If you’re committed to staying near Waikiki, Ala Moana Shopping Center is a short walk and pretty unavoidable if you’re a tourist. Thankfully, Foodland Farms opened adjacent to the mall eight years ago, and it has only gotten better over the years. It’s far more than just a grocery store, but a one-stop shop for great poke, edible island souvenirs (there’s a huge selection of Hawaiian chocolate, sweets, and coffee), and bento boxes to take with you on hikes. There’s also a wine bar.
📍 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96814, 📞 808-949-5044, 🌐 shop.foodland.com
Inside the Honolulu Fish Auction
Hawai’i has a serious sweet tooth
If you think Philly’s water ice is good, wait till you taste shave ice. Forget about tiny little paper cups of flavored ice, in Hawai’i, our shave ice (no “d” in “shave”) is a fluffy, lightly compacted pile of snow that will be quite a bit larger than your head.
Shimazu Shave Ice
Shimazu has been shaving ice for over 70 years and decorating the globes with stripes of tamarind, strawberry, passionfruit, mango, li hing mui (salty preserved plum), and many other syrups. Most shave ice shops will insist upon you consuming their shave ice outside.
For something more akin to water ice, Asato Family Shop painstakingly makes small batches of sherbet inspired by the nostalgic flavors of crack seed stores, Hawai’i’s throwback snack shops filled with jars of pickled mango, dried seeds, and raisin-like apricots.
Need a doughnut? Malasadas, which are yeasty, pillowy Portuguese doughnuts without holes and tossed in sugar, are far superior to any doughnut. Don’t be fooled by “bakery” being in Leonard’s name. These malasadas are fried. Go get one at Leonard’s original location (they also have trucks scattered throughout Oahu), and start with their original malasada, with no filling and a sugar coating, then move on to ones stuffed with haupia, or coconut pudding.
Now that you’ve made it to this point in the guide, you’ve likely consumed a lot of rice and hopefully, poi. If you need your fresh baked bread fix, Local General Store has been garnering a lot of recent attention. It’s on par with Philly’s Lost Bread and Mighty Bread, but is a combination bakery and butcher shop, so you can stop by for a pastry and a porchetta, and perhaps, a slice of their housemade Spam.
Blowfish lamps at La Mariana Sailing Club in Honolulu.
At some point, you’re going to want to unwind with a cocktail
La Mariana Sailing Club
Yes, it’s hard to get around Honolulu without encountering a mai tai, but if you’re a fan of kitsch and want to visit one of Oahu’s last remaining old school tiki bars, La Mariana Sailing Club leans hard into the theme. They have the vintage tiki mugs, the glass buoys hanging from the ceiling, the dangerously strong drinks. La Mariana is also near the airport if you need one last hurrah before passing out on the plane home.
📍 50 Sand Island Access Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii 96819, 📞 808-848-2800, 🌐 la-mariana-sailing.club
A martini from Podmore in Honolulu.
Podmore
But if you’re looking for refined fancy cocktails, you’ll find them at Podmore in Chinatown, which is fond of touches like yogurt-washed gin, heady spices, and a very good dry martini shaken with yuzu kosho.
For artful, Asian-inflected cocktails and vegan bar snacks, head to the Wild Orange speakeasy, hidden inside Hawaiian Brian’s and accessed by opening up the door to an Aloha Maid juice vending machine.
Restaurants for which you need a car and which are worth the drive
If you want to get out of Waikiki, you need to rent a car. The restaurants in this portion of the list are technically outside of Honolulu, but easily accessible with a car if you’re staying in Honolulu. For context, Haleiwa is the farthest point from Waikiki and is 33 miles across Oahu, which is basically like driving to Bucks County from Center City.
Squid lu’au and handrolls from Masa and Joyce.
Masa and Joyce Okazuya
Masa and Joyce in Kaneohe is an old school okazuya, or casual Japanese lunch counter, that makes one of Oahu’s best versions of squid lu’au as well as spectacular hand rolls. It is usually my first stop after getting off the plane, their squid lu’au is so savory and mesmerizing.
Waiahole Poi Factory is also in Kaneohe, but on your way to the North Shore if you’re taking the scenic route around the eastern side of the island. In this factory that has been operating over a century, you can pick up poi that’s both scaled up for larger production (steamed taro root passed through a grinder until it reaches a smooth consistency) and hand-pounded, but more importantly, dig into some of Oahu’s best Hawaiian food, like lau lau (ti leaf wrapped bundles of pork and butter fish) and a gingery beef lu’au.
Ramen is great and all (and you’ll find a wealth of ramen shops in Honolulu) but in Hawai’i, the classic noodle soup dish is saimin, with a lighter broth than most ramens, developed by both Chinese and Japanese laborers over the years. Shiro’s Saimin Haven is a classic saimin spot that serves vast bowls of fresh noodles sunk into a mild, lightly salted dashi that you can dress up with dozens of options for sides, from Filipino-style pork adobo to lau lau to Spam to roast duck. Everything here is good. There are two locations, in Aiea and Ewa Beach, but the Aiea one is the one that I’ve been going to for years.
But if you’re heading in the direction of Ewa Beach, stop in Waipahu and pick up poke, a pupu or sashimi platter, and or a mochiko chicken bento from longtime neighborhood seafood spot Tanioka’s. This is a go-to takeout spot if you need to feed a lot of people at parties or if you want to grab a bento to eat after surfing.
The closest food rivalry in Hawai’i, akin to that between Pat’s and Geno’s, is between the shrimp trucks up at North Shore, which are parked close to the shrimp farms they source from. Giovanni’s, a white truck covered in the signatures of many happy visitors, even has a connection to our parts, as its owner Troy Nitsche is a Pennsylvania native. Don’t leave Oahu without digging into a plate of Giovanni’s super garlicky and buttery shrimp scampi, sucking the shells dry, along the essential sides of rice and macaroni salad. Near Giovanni’s, in Haleiwa, stop in to Matsumoto Shave Ice to complete your North Shore experience.
Follow the Delaware River north, past the Jersey border, past the Poconos and the Water Gap, and in about three hours, you’ll arrive in Callicoon, at the foot of New York’s Catskill Mountains.
The region has been an iconic American resort destination since the late 19th century, most famously during its Borscht Belt heyday, when Jewish families filled sprawling summer resorts to play tennis, lounge by the pool, and stir up trouble with dirty dancers. Riding the popularity of the neighboring Hudson Valley, the Catskills’ recent revival offers easy access to nature without requiring you to rough it. Think vintage shopping, natural wine, and cedar saunas between snowy walks through the woods.
The Catskills are huge (about 6,000 square miles), so for the purposes of this getaway, you’ll focus on the Western Catskills, which rise from the Delaware River and are less rugged than their eastern counterparts. Nothing on this itinerary is more than 30 minutes apart. Start the car.
There are more than a dozen cool places to stay in the Western Catskills, four of which come from locals Kirsten Harlow Foster and Sims Foster of Foster Supply Hospitality. Their properties blend the idiosyncratic architecture and fine craftsmanship of historical buildings with the luxury finishes and playful amenities you want on a weekend escape.
At Kenoza Hall, perched above the lake of the same name, rooms are split between the Victorian inn and a cluster of cottages with front porches, gas stoves, and arched armoires. Inside, there are plenty of cozy corners for reading or cocktails as snow falls outside. Don’t miss the spa, with its pebble-floored relaxation room and cedar barrel sauna.
📍 5762 Route 52, Kenoza Lake, N.Y. 12750
Shop: Downtown Callicoon
Hugging the New York side of the Delaware River, the riverside village of Callicoon has evolved from its past lives (hunting grounds, timber town) into an artsy retail refuge for Catskills visitors. Browse groovy lamps at Callicoon Vintage, elevated tableware at Spruce Home Goods, hand-dyed yarn at Wool Worth, and more at the new and old boutiques along Lower Main Street. Tucked behind Callicoon Caffé, at the Shell gas station of all places, is an excellent photo op: the Callicoon Bridge spanning the Delaware.
📍 Lower Main Street, Callicoon, N.Y. 12723
Eat: Annie’s Ruff Cut
Rightly famous for its roast beef, Annie’s Ruff Cut in nearby Cochecton might consider a name change to Annie’s Exquisitely Cut. The beef is sliced paper-thin, piled high in cold sandwiches or served open-faced and drenched in warm gravy. The vibe is classic country tavern: old wood, beer swag, and locals mildly surprised you found the place.
📍 90 Forman Rd., Cochecton, N.Y. 12726
Snack: North Branch Cider Mill
Warm apple cider, cinnamony cider doughnuts, and the smell of a smoldering wood stove pull you into North Branch Cider Mill, a rust-red outpost along the North Branch Callicoon Creek. This historic operation has been around since 1942 (and under new ownership since 2022) and while they’re not pressing their own apples yet, it makes an atmospheric stop for a snack and shop along the old-timey general store-style shelves: New York maple syrup, sweet dill pickles, candles, ceramics, and more.
📍 38 N. Branch Callicoon Center Rd., North Branch, N.Y. 12766
A block off Callicoon’s main commercial drag, the Callicoon Theater hides a 35-seat, barrel-ceilinged auditorium behind its art deco façade. Catching a first-run movie here is worth it for the architecture alone. Dating to 1948, it’s the oldest movie theater in Sullivan County.
📍 30 Upper Main St., Callicoon, N.Y. 12723
View: Catskills Art Space
Though the Catskills cachet is a relatively recent phenomenon, its status as an arts haven goes back decades, with the founding of Catskills Art Space in 1971. Housed in a converted theater in the cute downtown of Livingston Manor, half an hour northeast of Callicoon, since 2007, the dynamic gallery features a mix of up-and-comers and heavy hitters — Sol LeWitt and James Turrell both have site-specific exhibits here through 2027.
Another stylish Foster Supply property, the DeBruce sits in the scenic Willowemoc Valley, about 10 minutes east of downtown Livingston Manor. You could stay here — original wood doors and claw-foot tubs make a compelling case — but the award-winning tasting menu is the real draw. In the tranquil, forest-view dining room, bergamot scents a matsutake raviolo, and coal-baked pears meet scallops and parsnips. Cross the storybook bridge over the Willowemoc River to arrive, and if you have time, explore the five miles of trails that wind through the woods behind the property before dinner.
Hershey is not just chocolate. OK, it’s a lot of chocolate. But beyond its famous namesake and the company Milton Hershey founded in 1894, this sweet little town has all the ingredients for an easygoing, with-or-without-kids winter weekend getaway — and it’s less than two hours from Philly.
There are an iconic hotel, interesting breweries, year-round geological wonders, and a full holiday glow-up courtesy of Big Cocoa. The Hallmark movie basically writes itself.
If you have taken the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Exit 266, just before you hit Hershey, you’ll pass through Palmyra, home to Rising Sun since 2018. Part of the family-owned Funck Restaurant Group (you can’t spell Funck without fun), this historic-inn-turned-holiday-hangout shines at breakfast, when locals and Hersheypark-bound tourists pile in for sourdough French toast, carne asada omelets, and biscuits smothered in sausage gravy.
The grand dame of the city is Hotel Hershey, a Spanish-style confection of apricot brick-and-green terra-cotta dating to 1933 — and really, there was never any question where you were staying. Sure, cheaper chains cluster nearby, but nowhere else gives the sense of history, scale, and capital-P Place than Milton Hershey’s clubhouse, which he commissioned as an employment engine during the Great Depression. (Listen to the Business Movers podcast’s season 30 on the Hershey company for excellent context.) The spa is fantastic (sometimes cocoa-enhanced), and families will love the newer villas with fireplaces, rain showers, and access to a concierge lounge with nightly firepit s’mores.
📍 100 Hotel Rd., Hershey, Pa. 17033
Explore: Indian Echo Caverns
It might be winter, but the temperature remains a steady 52 degrees inside Indian Echo Caverns in nearby Hummelstown. Opened to the public in 1929 — though used for centuries prior by the Susquehannock and other Native Americans — these caves are an all-season attraction. A guided tour takes you 71 steps below the surface to explore ancient stalactites, fantastical drip formations, and impossibly blue underground pools, while learning why preserving this ecosystem matters.
📍 368 Middletown Rd., Hummelstown, Pa. 17036
Shop: Black Swan Antiques
Another Palmyra gem, Black Swan Antiques houses 60 independent dealers across 20,000 square feet. It’s a treasure hunt in the best way: Amish woodwork, collectible comics, fine oil paintings, dainty cocktail glasses — and almost certainly something you never knew you were looking for.
📍 61 W. Front St. (rear entrance), Palmyra, Pa. 17078
Central Pennsylvania’s biggest winter attraction, Hersheypark’sChristmas Candylane, turns the theme park into a veritable North Pole of twinkling lights and merriment. Santa. Reindeer. Music (including a new show at the park’s theater). You know the drill. Come earlier in the evening if you have the kids, later if you’re without. The park stays open till 8 or 9 most nights. Up the road, Hershey Sweet Lights offers a two-mile, drive-through light show arranged through wooded trails. It’s available as an add-on ticket and is worth it.
📍 100 Hersheypark Dr., Hershey, Pa. 17033
Dine: Tröegs Independent Brewing
Tired: Elf on the Shelf. Wired: Mad Elf for yourself. Clocking 11% ABV, this spiced cherry ale is of the most notorious rascals in the Tröegs portfolio, and it can be hard to find in Philly. Going straight to the source guarantees a taste of the yuletide nectar — and maybe a stash for home. The casual, industrial brewpub serves seasonal plates like butternut hummus and pork belly with cheddar-jalapeño grits, and you can splurge on Grand Cru versions of Mad Elf (including bourbon barrel-aged). Pair your meal with a brewery tour ($15), which has been voted best in the country four years running. Booking in advance is recommended.
Proof that not everything sweet in Hershey comes in a wrapper: Desserts Etc. has been the town’s go-to bakery since 2012. After dinner, stop in for a holiday cookie flight paired with miniature lattes and hot chocolates in flavors like gingerbread and white chocolate-cranberry. Keep in mind, the shop close at 9. Don’t let the Mad Elf derail you.
They don’t go “down the Shore” on the other side of the Delaware Bay. First Staters go to the beach — or, more geographically correct, to the Delaware Beaches: the neighboring Atlantic towns of Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany, and Fenwick Island, familiar to most Philadelphians even if they’ve never been.
The Delaware Beaches and Lewes, their historic bayside gateway, are charming and festive during the holidays. Come for the tax-free shopping and craft-beer icons, stay for the smart indie restaurants and pristine nature. It’s a quick trip across the bay on the ferry. Margate, Ocean City, and Wildwood will still be there when you get back.
Getting to Coastal Delaware is half the fun when you take the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. It takes about the same amount of time to drive directly from Philly to Lewes as it does to drive to Cape May and board the boat for the 85-minute crossing, but only one option gives you cinematic views of the Delaware Bay — historically the most important waterway in the region. (No bay for Billy Penn to sail up, no founding of Philadelphia.) It’s also a key environment for marine life, from oysters and mussels to dolphins and seals. You might even catch a migrating humpback whale on the 17-mile crossing.
📍 1200 Lincoln Blvd., North Cape May, N.J. 08204
Stay: Dogfish Inn
One of the original craft-beer brands, Dogfish Head is maybe the most famous Delaware resident who wasn’t also POTUS. Sam Calagione founded the Milton brewery — more on that in a minute — in 1995, and it became such a tourist magnet that a hotel was a natural expansion.
The friendly, 16-room Dogfish Inn opened in 2014 and sits along the Lewes–Rehoboth Canal, walking distance to both the ferry and downtown. Rooms are simply furnished and stylish, with branded swag and pops of olive and teal. Outside, beer pilgrims, holiday shoppers, and their dogs (the inn is pet-friendly) gather around the Cowboy Cauldron, the nickname for the communal firepit.
Fig-tahini danish, pumpkin-cheesecake conchas, and sugared doughnuts plumped with chai-spiced cream gleam in the pastry case at the Station on Kings, a charming café with arboreal décor and a greenhouse dining room that feels sunny even when winter clouds cover the coast. Grab a table and settle in for a leisurely brunch of those excellent baked goods, a creamy French omelet, maybe the calendar-correct Mistletoe Matcha, Station’s matcha latte sweetened with white chocolate-peppermint syrup. After, browse the selection of candles, soaps, ornaments, and other local and artisan gifts.
📍 720 Kings Hwy., Lewes, Del. 19958
Shop: Tanger Outlets
Continue making your list and checking it twice at the Tanger Outlets in Rehoboth. Bargain hunters come year-round, but the holiday sales are especially enticing. The complex is divided into three clusters (Surfside, Seaside, Bayside) along Route 1, with more than 100 brands, including Nike, North Face, and Le Creuset.
📍 Route 1 Coastal Hwy., Rehoboth Beach, Del. 19971
There’s a windswept solitude to the beach in December that, for anyone raised on towel-to-towel summer crowds, is narcotically surreal. Encompassing more than 5,000 acres of sandy shores, reedy wetlands, and maritime forest, Cape Henlopen State Park is the place to get centered in nature at the Delaware Beaches. Walking trails lace the preserve, winding through historical sites like Fort Miles, which played a critical coastal defense role in WWII, and around Gordon’s Pond. Head to the Point, near the hooked tip of Cape Henlopen, for views of the 140-year-old Delaware Breakwater Lighthouse.
📍 15099 Cape Henlopen Dr., Lewes, Del. 19958
Sip: Dogfish Head Brewery
Despite being bought by the Boston Beer Company in 2019, Dogfish remains a Delaware darling. The brand offers multiple touchpoints throughout the beaches, but it’s worth the 15-minute drive west of Lewes to the Milton brewery. Tours run three times daily, seven days a week, and include a pour of 60 Minute IPA. For an extra $8, enjoy a tasting flight in the on-site taproom.
📍 6 Cannery Village Center, Milton, Del. 19968
Eat: the Blue Hen
Located a block and a half from the beach, on the ground floor of the Avenue Inn & Spa, the Blue Hen gives cozy coastal tavern vibes with pewter-blue paint, carved woodwork, and a gallery wall of framed photographs. The cooking, from chef Julia Robinson, elevates the genre: gingered lobster toast with dashi aioli, mezze rigatoni with pistachio pesto and confit chicken, Iberico pork Milanese.
Robinson bought the Blue Hen with her wife, sommelier and GM Heather Sharp, in 2022 after moving from Philly in 2017. Walking the Rehoboth boardwalk after dinner, it’s easy to see the appeal.
In northern Massachusetts, just below the Vermont border, the Berkshires have been a four-season destination for as long as tourism has existed in America. Over the last couple of decades, greasy spoons, summer camps, and old motor lodges have given way to trendier offerings across North Adams, Lenox, and Williamstown.
The region’s recent renaissance coincides with its rise as a cultural hub — and, more recently, an escape hatch for New Yorkers and Bostonians during the pandemic. Why should they have all the fun? At roughly four hours from Philly, the Berkshires make an easy late-fall weekend trip. You may still catch a few lingering leaves, and with any luck, an early dusting of snow. Dress warm — you’ll want plenty of time outdoors.
With its low-slung, mid-century silhouette, TOURISTS Welcome almost blends into the forested landscape behind Route 2. That’s intentional, since this property (reborn in 2018 from a 1960s motor lodge) is all about the outdoors, offering guided Appalachian Trail hikes, waterfall meditations, and a cinematic suspension bridge strung across the Hoosic River. Inside, Scandi-meets-rustic comfort reigns: fireplaces, worn-in leather, raw wood, and window nooks perfect for reading. It works just as well for families (skip the amaro cocktails) as it does for weekending stylists.
While the picturesque landscapes bring many to the Berkshires, MASS MoCA has functioned as the area’s other magnet since its debut in 1999. Located in a former industrial mill complex, it’s one of the most lauded contemporary visual art museums in the country, filled with (and sometimes seemingly constructed from) colossal installations you can literally get lost in. Don’t miss the immersive light works by James Turrell.
Just a short walk from MASS MoCA, Steeple City Social lures visitors with the scent of cinnamon and coffee — and a menu that runs from thick biscuit sandwiches and sticky buns to savory cheddar-and-pickle scones. The pies by the slice are excellent, and a rotating selection of vintage housewares lines one wall. At night, the café shifts to spritzy cocktails and potatoes with caviar dip.
📍 5 Eagle St., North Adams, Mass. 01247
Walk: The Clark Institute Sculpture Park
Not to be outdone by MASS MoCA, the Clark Institute is the other destination museum of the Berkshires, with a collection of American and English art that includes a striking bronze cast of Degas’ Little Dancer. But the real magic — especially for families — lies outside. Its 140-acre sculpture park is free, filled with meadows, storybook woods, and walking trails that are especially enchanting with a little snow on the ground. The museum provides snowshoes.
Pop a bottle of sour quince, crabapple-and-McIntosh pét-nat, sparkling rosé, or one of the other exciting ciders at Berkshire Cider Project. The young cidery’s tasting room is open on Saturdays and Sundays at Greylock WORKS, a former textile mill-turned-artisan hive.
📍 508 State Rd., North Adams, Mass. 01247
Splurge: Miraval Berkshires
A Relax & Renew day pass at Miraval Berkshires — a nationally respected spa retreat in Lenox — isn’t cheap ($509 Sundays–Fridays; $539 Saturdays). But it includes $230 in credits for treatments (mineral body peels, birch-and-juniper foot massages), fee-based activities (falconry, golf), scheduled classes (yoga, rock climbing), full access to spa amenities, lunch, and gratuities. You can easily spend the entire day here. Consider it an early holiday gift to yourself.
If you love a cozy pub, you’ll love Water Street Grill. Historic building? Check. Friendly hospitality that makes you feel like a regular? Check. Creamy clam chowder you’d be happy to drown in? Check. At WSG, which lives in a wood-clad, century-old building, the 21 taps spout craft beers from here and away, the wings wear eight different sauces, and the meatloaf comes smothered in bourbon-kissed mushroom gravy.
Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington — watch their exits blur past on I-95 as you head farther south and see color return to the trees. The leaves that have already fallen in Fairmount Park and Rittenhouse Square seem to reappear here, lighting up the old oaks and elms that line Richmond’s stately streets. Autumn clings a little longer in this university town, where nature — from wild riverside woods to formal gardens — feels ever-present.
Just over four hours from Philly, Richmond, Va., offers everything you’d want in a weekend escape: smart restaurants, fascinating history, and a new hotel from one of the country’s most creative hospitality groups.
One of the best bakeries in the country, Sub Rosa calls Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood home. After a devastating 2024 fire and a long rebuild, it reopens this November — and it’s absolutely where any RVA weekend should begin. Made with house-milled Virginia and Pennsylvania flours, its pastries include croissants stuffed with garlicky mushrooms or sour cherry-pistachio, crunchy biscotti, and polenta thumbprints filled with housemade jam. Order one of everything — you’ll wish you had anyway.
📍 620 N. 25th St., Richmond, Va. 23223
Learn: Poe Museum
A 15-minute walk from Sub Rosa (just enough time to finish that coffee and croissant) brings you to the Poe Museum. Edgar Allen grew up and worked as a journalist in Richmond before achieving literary acclaim, a life chronicled inside this petite museum founded in 1922. It’s filled with letters, first editions, and personal relics — including the silver candelabras by which Poe wrote The Bells. The museum complex includes the Old Stone House (the oldest standing residence in the city), Poe Shrine, and the lush Enchanted Garden. Keep an eye out for the resident black cats, whose shenanigans are detailed on the @poemuseumcats Instagram account.
📍 1914 E. Main St., Richmond, Va. 23223
Stay: Shenandoah Mansions
Ash Hotels’ forte is retrofitting historic buildings into eccentric, artsy-craftsy inns, and the new Shenandoah Mansions is no exception. Expect four-posted beds draped in tentlike canopies, block-printed quilts, hand-painted lamps, and checkerboard-tiled showers. Located in the Fan District — a neighborhood full of architectural candy — the inn feels residential yet central to everything.
One of Richmond’s greatest assets is its proximity to nature. The James River Park System covers more than 600 acres, all within walking distance of Broad Street, the city’s main thoroughfare. Pick up the head of the North Bank Trail at South Cherry Street and Oregon Hill Parkway for an hourlong walk along boardwalks and dirt paths, past historic cemeteries, and through tunnels of color-changing leaves.
📍 4001 Riverside Dr., Richmond, Va. 23225
Visit: Maymont
Exit the trail near Hampton Street and Kansas Avenue, and you’ll find yourself at Maymont, a 19th-century estate built by financier James Dooley and his wife, Sallie. Though the Gilded Age mansion is closed to tours while undergoing renovation, the grounds alone are reason to visit. Wander through the Italian Garden, along the butterfly trail, and through the Japanese Garden (the oldest on the East Coast), where boulder-backed waterfalls, koi ponds, and storybook bridges create incredible photos.
Fires, fortunes, presidents — and even a few alligators — have passed through the grand Jefferson Hotel since it opened in 1895. Every visitor should see the lobby’s marble floors and sweeping staircase, even if you’re not checking in. Stop by TJ’s Restaurant & Lounge for a predinner cocktail under the chandeliers; the Rotunda old-fashioned tastes like grapefruit, walnut, and old money.
A Richmond legend since 1983, Stella’s remains the last word in Greek cooking here. The food (artichoke moussaka, ouzo-kissed crab cakes, feta-and-Manouri cheese fries covered in shaved lamb) is just enough off-center from traditional to be interesting, while still honoring the soulfulness of the country’s cuisine. The regulars pack the dining room, creating a comfortable, gregarious vibe. Go ahead and think it: If we lived in Richmond, we’d be here all the time.
Lancaster, Pa., is technically a city, but it’s packed with the charm of a Hallmark movie town: strollable streets lined with boutiques, Instagram-worthy late-fall foliage, and — yes — even the occasional Amish couple riding in a horse and buggy just beyond the city limits.
To get your weekend started, take a 90-minute drive past picturesque farms on I-76 and U.S. Route 222, or hop on Amtrak’s Keystone line, which drops you at the edge of downtown.
Hear us out: This upscale campground is 30 minutes outside of Lancaster by car, but it has the vibe of an all-year summer camp for adults. Red Run Resort’s 21 lakeside A-frame studios and cabins are homey yet luxurious, with spa-style bathrooms with soaking tubs, plush king-size beds, and private firepits. The campground also has an on-site pumpkin patch and occasional line dancing and bingo pop-ups, so guests don’t have to go far for a bit of countryside flair.
The living room of one of the A-Frame cabins at the Red Run Resort in New Holland, Pa., which overlooks a lake. The upscale camp ground is roughly 30 minutes outside of Lancaster by car.
If you’re looking to stay in the city, the boutique Lancaster Arts Hotel transformed an 1800s tobacco warehouse into a living art gallery, displaying $300,000 worth of art from local artists across its 63 guest rooms. It’s walking distance from downtown and earns bonus points for free parking and complimentary bikes to explore the city.
📍 877 Martin Church Rd., New Holland, Pa. 17557 (Red Run Resort) ; 300 Harrisburg Ave., Lancaster, Pa. 17603 (Lancaster Arts Hotel)
After checking in, fuel up at Square One Coffee, a local micro-roastery whose Ethiopian blend beat out more than 2,000 entries to win a Good Food Award for best coffee. Their flagship Duke Street cafe is a solid pick for both coffee snobs and “little treat” connoisseurs, specializing in single-origin espressos and aromatic lattes in flavors like orange blossom honey or Blue Zen, a sky-colored concoction of butterfly pea powder, jasmine syrup, and chamomile tea.
Take your coffee to go and spend the afternoon exploring a trio of downtown Lancaster’s curated thrift and vintage boutiques. This reporter’s advice is to pack light, because it’s easy to bring an outfit (or two) and a suitcase full of tchotchkes home.
Start at Basura for racks of salvaged denim and leather, colorful sweaters, and quirky tees before heading over to Space, which specializes in mid-century modern wares that feel like they were ripped from a Mad Men set. Then, close out your shopping spree by heading to BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, a vintage and artisan marketplace with 80-plus vendors selling everything from butterflies preserved in glass and the occasional fossil to old school suits and antique jewelry.
📍106 E. King St., Lancaster, Pa. 17602 (Basura); 24 W. Walnut St., Lancaster, Pa. 17603 (Space); 342 N. Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. 17603 (BUiLDiNG CHARACTER)
Just a portion of the pick-n-mix candy selection from Sweetish Candy at 301 N. Queen Street Lancaster, Pa., which has been importing Scandinavian candies since 2019.
Pick-and-mix: Sweetish Candy
Lancaster’s Sweetish Candy was importing Scandinavian sweets long before pick-and-mix bags were all the rage. Sweetish Candy owner Tyler Graybeal started selling Swedish treats in 2019 and now stocks more than 70 colorful candies for shoppers to dump into customizable bags and buckets. Graybeal’s selection includes still hard-to-find BUBS gummies, plus varieties of licorice tubes, pastel marshmallows, and chocolate eggs. This sugar rush doesn’t come cheap, though: Two pounds of candy cost $47.
For snacks that don’t cause a toothache, Lancaster Pickle Company is across the street with barrels of assorted pickle chips, dill pretzels, and — yes — even half-sour lip balm.
📍301 N. Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. 17603
Stroll: Conestoga Greenway Trail
This 2.6 mile out-and-back trail wraps a horseshoe around the scenic Conestoga River and has three access points with parking lots at Duke Street, Broad Street, and Conestoga Drive. The greenway winds its away around the water and through the trees, so it’s perfect for late-fall leaf peeping and serene nature walks. The river is a favorite of duck flocks, turtles, and deers stopping for a drink.
Learn: James Buchanan’s Wheatland
Built in 1828 as a prominent lawyer’s mansion, Wheatland changed hands several times before landing in 1848 with James Buchanan — then secretary of state and later, by many historians’ accounts, one of America’s worst presidents. Buchanan lived there until his death in 1868.
Preserved by the nonprofit LancasterHistory, the home offers guided tours of Buchanan’s original furnishings and 19th-century décor. From Nov. 16 through Dec. 20, the tours take on a festive twist for Yuletide at Wheatland, exploring the family’s holiday traditions.
Tucked in the back of noodle bar Issei is Hi-Fi Izakaya, a speakeasy-esque listening lounge where DJs spin vinyl jazz, soul, and pop records until last call. The space is sleek and sexy, with a cocktail menu that adds Asian flair to standard drinks, like a gimlet mixed with matcha syrup, a Thai iced tea-infused espresso martini, and an old fashioned made with aged Japanese whiskey.
The cozy British watering hole has been serving oversize platters of crispy fish and chips and traditional bangers and mash since 1984. Regulars come by often, bartenders said, for hefty burgers and sarnies (British slang for sandwich), plus an extensive list of imported German, Irish, and English beers.
📍 457 New Holland Ave., Lancaster, Pa. 17602
Rows of seasonal ice cream flavors from Fox Meadow Creamery in Leola, Pa.
Indulge: Fox Meadow Creamery
Fox Meadow Creamery’s Leola location is exactly halfway between Quip’s Pub and your cabin at Red Run, making it the perfect place to cap off a day of gallivanting in the city. Fox Meadow churns its ice cream on-site with milk from cows raised on the creamery’s dairy farm in nearby Ephrata, resulting in ultra-thick and and rich scoops.
Fox Meadow’s flavors change with the seasons, so the late fall comes with vats of apple cream pie, pumpkin patch cheesecake, and venetian tiramisu ice creams, among others. And — before you ask — yes, they carry pints for you to take on the road.
