Get Outdoors This Summer in the Poconos
A glamping experience, lavender picking, and all the ice cream you could ever eat
Fall for Bushkill Falls in the Poconos / Photograph by Ali Majdfar/Getty Images
The Lodgings
Latitude and altitude are two big reasons the summer months are glorious in the Poconos. Just a bit farther north and a little closer to the sky, things are a couple-two-three notches cooler than on the heat island that is Philadelphia. If you ask us, the best way to take in a Poconos summer and all its temperature-calming assets is by camping. We also know that camping isn’t everyone’s idea of relaxation, so split the difference with the full-on glamping experience at Camp Ferncrest (tents from $139), abutting Promised Land State Park. The latest project from Joanna and Brian Linton (of the Rex boutique hotel up the road) is an upcycled campground tricked out with platform tents. In dome and crest varieties, the tents come outfitted with amenities like mini fridges, AC/heat, wi-fi, beds with fresh linens, Chemex pots, and, for the deluxe treatment, hot tubs. But Ferncrest doesn’t skimp on ways to connect with nature, so each site also comes with a firepit and a picnic table so you can say you’re roughing it without actually, y’know, roughing it.
For something a bit more indulgent, hit up Skytop Lodge (rooms from $305) in nearby Skytop, where summer means adventure — zip-lining, arrow tag (!), paintball. Bonus: They’re planning to unveil a renovated pool in June.
And for something completely different, book a stay at the historic Deer Head Inn (rooms from $165) in Delaware Water Gap. Spend your days hiking the Appalachian Trail, which you can access just up the road, and your evenings taking in live jazz at the restaurant downstairs.
The Fun
Drive fast, turn left at Pocono Raceway / Photograph via imagebroker.com GmbH & Co. KG/Alamy;
Lovers of trails and waterfalls likely already know about Pike County’s Bushkill Falls, what with its eight falls and two-plus miles of hiking paths over 300 acres. Just up the way in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, George W. Childs Park, devastated and shut down indefinitely by a 2018 nor’easter, reopened this past fall with restored trails and bog bridges and better access to some of the historic sites along Dingmans Creek.
If you prefer experiencing flora in a more leisurely fashion, stop and smell the flowers at Paradise Lavender Farm in Cresco. They offer classes, pick-your-own, a shop that overfloweth with lavender goods, and a gnome-infested “enchanted fairy forest.” Keep an eye peeled for events like Sips and Songs with Three Hammers Winery and goat yoga with Buttinhead Farms.
If you’re into outdoor concerts, check the schedule at Valley View Park in Hegins. And for something a little louder, check out the NASCAR three-race weekend at Pocono Raceway (a.k.a. the Tricky Triangle) June 20th to 22nd.
Want to do it all? Hit Lake Wallenpaupack for everything from boating and hiking to axe-throwing and a zoo.
The Food
The offerings at Sango Kura Sake Brewery / Photograph courtesy of Sango Kura Sake Brewery
Steaming bowls of ramen in spicy pork marrow broth and fiery yaki soba on the menu at Sango Kura Sake Brewery in Delaware Water Gap might make winter seem like the most obvious time for a visit. But Pennsylvania’s first sake brewery is also ideal in the hottest months, when tuna poke and summer noodles with chilled hand-pulled noodles are on the menu. And alongside the brewery’s signature house-brewed sake (including the unfiltered Nama, Plum, and Taru Cedar, infused with Poconos-grown eastern red cedar) you’ll also find a lineup of cool summer drinks: pitchers of sake sangria, creamsicle sake slushies, and sake-based cocktails like Junmai Ginjo mojitos made with the brewery’s traditional sake. Want to channel a classic summer barbecue — but with expertly prepared pulled pork, house-made sausage, and a brisket that was smoked for 14 hours? Head to Joe Bosco BBQ, also in Delaware Water Gap. And at Farmhouse on Crystal Street in East Stroudsburg, come early for the classic chicken and waffles at brunch or a little later in the day for a fried chicken tower appetizer, made using Amish free-range poultry and paired with a summery spritz from the full bar.
One Fell Scoop
Llama Ice Cream / Photograph by Natalie Chitwood
Snow’s not the only frozen delight in the Poconos.
1. At Llama Ice Cream, Julio Amenero, a native of Lima, Peru, serves up flavors like tamarind, passion fruit, and cherimoya. Try the lucuma — it’s an Andean fruit that tastes like a cross between maple, honey, and sweet potato. East Stroudsburg.
2. The Stourbridge Line, a scenic passenger train between Honesdale and Hawley, runs special ice cream trips that serve farm-fresh ice cream from Waymart’s Creamworks Creamery on the ride. Honesdale.
3. Step into a time warp at Chantilly Goods, a real-deal vintage ice cream shop/soda fountain where the ice cream is from Manning Farm Dairy and the sodas and floats are teleported from eras past. Weissport.
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