Visit Lancaster County, Pennsylvania This Summer

Visit Lancaster County PA this summer. There are a lot of interesting places to go and things to see!I. The whole family will find something of interest and will appreciate the trip..

First of all, there are many Amish Farms that you can visit to get a taste of what it is like to live their lifestyle. I've take several of these tours and found them all to be very interesting tours. I think it is neat to see how other people live even though I would not choose that lifestyle for myself. The Amish Farm and House located right on Rt 30 (one of the main roads in Lancaster), is open for tours. You can see not only a farm, but also the house and a one room schoolhouse. You can ride in a buggy and you will learn all about the history and present living conditions of the Amish people. I have personally visited this farm and I learned a lot about the people and their lifestyle. I had fun riding in a buggy all the while the driver told us about different aspects of Amish life.

In contrast to the Amish lifestyle, there is Dutch Wonderland, an amusement park for smaller children. There is a small roller coaster, but it is definitely geared for children younger than 10-12 years old. There are fun lots of rides to ride on, some which the kids can ride themselves and others where parents can ride with their children. There is a giant sliding board, a log flume, and boat rides as well as a monorail and sky ride. At Dutch Wonderland, there is also Duke's Lagoon which is a waterpark for kids. There are sprinklers and slides. There are lots of chairs for parents and a large locker room for changing out of wet clothes. There are many food stands at Dutch Wonderland or else you can bring a picnic lunch to eat at the picnic pavilion outside of the park. Parking at Dutch Wonderland is free.

If you love to shop, the outlets of Lancaster are better than most. There is a very large center called Rockvale Square in Lancaster, PA. There are over 100 stores at this center with variety for everyone from kitchen goods to clothing to toy stores and much more. There are several different sections of I, personally, have found many really good deals here. I've found that the absolute best time to go to the outlet shops in Lancaster is the change of seasons when merchants are trying to get rid of out of season clothing. For my child, I just buy next year's size and she'll be all set. We've been to other outlet centers, (including Reading, PA) and there are more shops with more variety here. There is also a big eatery section in one of the buildings . Along the main highway (Rt. 30) is also just about every type of restaurant you could want to eat at, including some specially geared towards Amish foods.

Amish Restaurants are a-plenty in Lancaster. I have eaten at a few and have never been disappointed. The Plain and Fancy Restaurant and Miller's both offer buffet style meals so you can sample a variety of the foods. Everything is homemade, not pre-packaged and I had good experiences at both. I have friends who have eaten at the Good and Plenty Restaurant and they raved about the experience.

There are plenty of places to stay overnight in Lancaster too. From the Holiday Inn Express at Rockvale Outlets to many local campgrounds, to resorts there is something for everyone. I live close enough to Lancaster County that I make several day trips every spring and fall but it is a great place to spend a few days in the summer. It would take a family a few days to see everything in the area.

Like I said, there is something for everyone to do in Lancaster, PA. You can learn a bit about the Amish, play and have fun at Dutch Wonderland, and shop to your heart's content. There are lots of places to eat from commercial chain restaurants to quaint Amish restaurants to large buffet Amish style restaurants. There is something to please anyone. This has been a great place for my family to travel to on many occasions and it is always a successful and fun trip for everyone!