5 PA Road Trips: Frank Lloyd Wright, The Stooges And A Hershey’s Kiss

PENNSYLVANIA — It’s time to pack up and get out of wherever you are in Pennsylvania, at least for a weekend or so. But where to go?

Below, check out these five Pennsylvania road trips — for kids, families, friends, lovers and knuckleheads.

Fall For Frank Lloyd Wright

The famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright often incorporated natural elements such as light, plants and water in his designs. Fallingwater, the home Wright designed in the Laurel Highlands, about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh in Mill Run via I-76E, was designed to rise above the waterfall over which it is built.

Designed in 1935 for the Kaufmann family, owners of one of Pittsburgh’s largest department stores, it was voted the “best all-time work of American architecture” in a poll of members of the American Institute of Architects, it is a designated National Historic Landmark and a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Treasure. This and seven other Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

The Kaufmann family used the home as a vacation getaway, and in 1963, Edgar Kaufmann Jr. donated and entrusted Fallingwater and the surrounding 469 acres of natural land to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation organization established in 1932.

Now a museum, Fallingwater is open for public tours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily (except Wednesdays). It is the only major Wright work to come into the public domain with its setting, artwork and original Wright-designed furnishings intact.

Kentuck Knob, another Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in Fayette County, is also open for public tours. Located in Chalk Hill, it’s just 18 miles away on PA-381N. Built below the crest of a hill, it appears to be part of the mountain and stand 2,050 above sea level. Cantilevered overhangs and great expanses of glass bring the outside into this hexagonal home, which offers a breathtaking view of the Youghiogheny River Gorge and the Laurel Highlands.

Want more Frank Lloyd Wright? Polymath Park in Acme (about 22 miles northeast of Chalk Hill via PA-982) houses two relocated Frank Lloyd Wright properties in a single location — the Duncan House, originally built in Lisle, Illinois, and the Lindholm “Mäntylä” House, originally built in Cloquet, Minnesota. They join two other iconic buildings designed by Wright apprentice Peter Berndtson — Balter House, which is like living in a tree house, and Blum House, a timeless summer home. All four properties are available for overnight stay.

If you go, make a reservation at the Wright-influenced TreeTops Restaurant.

Decompress In New Hope

Do you need to get away from the stress of the city? The quaint charm of New Hope, a town of about 2,630 on the Delaware River in Bucks County, offers just the right antidote — a Main Street filled with antique shops, eclectic boutiques, exciting restaurants, and the renowned Bucks County Playhouse, “one of the top theaters on the East Coast,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

New Hope, about a one-hour drive from Philadelphia on I-95, was originally home to the Lenni-Lenape Native Americans, known as the Delaware in the English tongue. The place is teeming with history. The 500-acre Washington Crossing Historic Park, just outside of town, preserves the site where George Washington led the Continental Army across the Delaware River, turning the tide of the Revolutionary War.

New Hope also was the last stop in Bucks County for escaped slaves traveling to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Slaves would cross the Delaware River into New Jersey, and then continue their journey north.

For people interested in history, the Parry Mansion Museum, built in 1784 by one of the town’s founders, Benjamin Parry. Free guided tours are available through the 11 rooms, which reflect the tastes of five generations of the Parry family who lived in the mansion until around 1900. It was sold to The New Hope Preservation Society in 1966.

The mansion also has a reputation for unexplained apparitions. So does the Aaron Burr House, the Victorian house where Burr reportedly holed up for a week after he killed Alexander Hamilton in the famous 1804 duel. The home is now a bed and breakfast, and some guests claim to have seen the specter of Burr roaming the house and peering furtively around corners. Here’s more about ghost tours.

Narrators weave together the history, folklore and intriguing details of the railroad in Pennsylvania aboard restored New Hope Railroad trains. The tours depart from the Witch’s Hat Train Station built in 1891. The railroad also hosts themed excursions for events like Halloween and Christmas.

The 60-mile Delaware Canal Towpath, which runs from Easton to Bristol and forged by the mules that once pulled boats along the Delaware Canal, is a beautiful backdrop for a leisurely hike or bike ride.

Head To Chocolatetown

Family adventures await in Hershey, about 95 miles west of Philadelphia via I-76W or 215 miles east of Pittsburgh via I-76E, and situated just outside the capital city of Harrisburg. Known as “the sweetest place on Earth,” Hershey’s streetlights are shaped like little Hershey’s Kiss candies.

Hershey has something for everyone — “from thrilling coaster rides and chocolatey adventures to premier restaurants and luxurious spa treatments,” according to the town’s tourism website.

More than a dozen adrenalin-pumping roller coasters are among the attractions at the massive Hersheypark, which opened in 1906 as an amusement center for families of Hershey workers. Visitors can learn about the history of Hershey confections at the hands-on Hershey’s Chocolate World and make their own candy bars. The Spa at the Hotel Hershey and MeltSpa by Hershey both offer chocolate facials and cocoa massages.

Snuggle Under The Stars

One of the best places in Pennsylvania to catch a summer meteor shower, galaxies, planets and other heavenly bodies — and, if you’re lucky in this very active year for solar storms, the aurora borealis —is Cherry Springs State Park, a designated International Dark Sky Park in Coudersport. Coudersport is about 265 miles northwest of Philadelphia via I-476N, or about 170 miles northeast of Pittsburgh via PA-28N.

• When Do The Summer Meteor Showers Start?
• Why You May See The Aurora Borealis More Often In 2024

U.S. News & World Report included Cherry Hills State Park among its 20 most romantic destinations in Pennsylvania last year. The Night Sky Public Viewing Area is available for a few hours of stargazing but not for overnight stays. For that, the Overnight Astronomy Observation Field is open for registered users.

There’s a lot to do in the daytime, too. The Woodsmen Show, will be held Aug. 2-4 (about 10 days before the peak of the summer favorite Perseid meteor shower), features events like tree felling, log rolling, springboard chopping, standing block chop and chainsaw events.

Be A Stooge

Located in Ambler, about 20 miles north of Philadelphia via I-76W, The Stoogeum features more than 100,000 pieces of “Stoogeabilia” from “The Three Stooges” vaudeville troupe whose original members were from Philadelphia (Larry Fine) and New York City (Moe Howard and Shemp Howard).

Known for slapstick, physical, and farce comedy, the kings of knuckleheads are best remembered for their 190 short films produced by Columbia Pictures.

The 10,000-square-foot, three-story building celebrates the legacy of the legendary comedy team with interactive displays, a research library, a 16-mm film storage vault and an 85-seat theater used for film screenings, lectures and special presentations.

You’ll want to plan ahead for this road trip, as available appointment slots are released each month — or [email protected], or phone 267-468-0810 for an appointment.

The 2,000-member Three Stooges Fan Club, one of the longest-running active fan clubs in the country, is headquartered at the museum. The group holds an annual convention attended by members as well as representatives of the famous comedians’ families, impersonators and others.

The downtown of this popular Montgomery County town of about 6,800 people is extremely walkable, is home to the Barrymore Award-winning Act II Playhouse, the restored Ambler Theater movie house, and offers one-of-a-kind shopping There are plenty of other things to do in Ambler and surrounding areas.

5 More Pennsylvania Road Trips

• Take A Scenic Drive On Route 6
• Explore Amish Country
• Boo! Follow The Ghost Town Trail
• Philadelphia To Scranton: Americana
• Start Out In Mars And End Up In The Shoe

Traveling? Check out Patch Road Trips in the Northeast and elsewhere in the United States.