From Pennsylvania's tallest waterfall to a 16,000-acre state park, here's what's actually worth your time in the Pocono Mountains — organized by what kind of day you want.
The Pocono Mountains sit close enough to New York City and Philadelphia for a real weekend trip — roughly 100 miles and under two hours from NYC, and a similar range from Philadelphia — but the region holds far more than its reputation as a quick getaway suggests (Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, retrieved 2026-10-02). Pennsylvania's tallest waterfall, one of the largest state parks in the Northeast, two different historic downtowns, and a working wine and farm trail are all inside that same two-hour radius.
This list leans outdoors: waterfalls, state parks and small towns. For waterparks, racing, paintball and other attractions, see our guide to Pocono attractions for an off-day.
This list pulls only from places covered in Pocono Reserve's destination guides — real trail distances, real acreage, real seasonal timing — organized by the kind of day you're planning rather than forced into a single ranked order.
Key Takeaways
- I.Three waterfall hikes — including Pennsylvania's tallest — are each under 2 miles round-trip and manageable in half a day.
- II.Five complete state parks sit within the region, ranging from the 1,306-acre Big Pocono to the nearly 16,000-acre Hickory Run.
- III.Two historic small towns, Jim Thorpe and Milford, each hold a full day's worth of walkable sights without a car.
- IV.America's largest indoor waterpark operates year-round, making it a reliable rainy-day or winter backup regardless of season.
- V.Pennsylvania tourism generated $87.2 billion in economic impact in 2025, up $3.3 billion year over year — the region is being discovered, not quietly declining (PA Department of Community & Economic Development, retrieved 2026-10-02).
Three Waterfall Hikes Worth the Drive
The Poconos hold a real cluster of waterfall hikes, and the best three cover a useful range: a quick walk, a showcase destination, and the state's tallest drop.
Raymondskill Falls Trail is the shortest hike on this list at just 0.3 miles, but it leads to Pennsylvania's tallest waterfall — a three-tiered cascade of more than 150 feet near Milford, with two viewing platforms along the way. It's a moderate climb despite the short distance, with 178 feet of elevation gain packed into that quarter-mile.
Dingmans Falls & Silverthread Falls Trail is an easy 0.8-mile boardwalk out-and-back to two waterfalls in one trip: Dingmans, Pennsylvania's second-tallest at 130 feet, and the smaller 80-foot Silverthread Falls. The boardwalk makes it accessible for a wider range of ages and fitness levels than the terrain would otherwise suggest.
Hawk Falls Trail, inside Hickory Run State Park, is an easy 1.2-mile round trip to a 25-foot waterfall along a rhododendron-lined path — the gentlest of the three, and family-friendly.
For a longer outing, Bushkill Falls — "the Niagara of Pennsylvania" — strings eight waterfalls together along a tiered boardwalk network, from an easy half-mile loop to a two-hour full circuit covering all eight.
One honest caution: Glen Onoko Falls Trail, once among the most photographed trails in the state, has been closed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission since May 1, 2019, because it lies on State Game Lands, after numerous fatalities and rescues. It's still listed in some older guides and search results — don't attempt it.
For the full list beyond these three, see our complete guide to the best waterfall hikes in the Pocono Mountains.
Five State Parks, Five Different Days
Pennsylvania's state park system is unusually dense in this region, and the five parks here cover different experiences rather than five versions of the same hike.
Hickory Run State Park is the giant of the group at nearly 16,000 acres, built around the Boulder Field — a 16-acre, roughly 1,800-foot-wide expanse of glacial boulders designated a National Natural Landmark in 1967. More than 40 miles of trails also lead to Hawk Falls and some of the region's best trout streams.
Promised Land State Park, Pennsylvania's fourth-oldest state park (established 1905), centers on two glacial lakes inside a 12,000-plus-acre state forest buffer — roughly 50 miles of trail through some of the quietest, least-developed land in the region.
Tobyhanna State Park was a military training reservation through both World Wars before becoming public land in 1949. The 5,440-acre park is built around a 170-acre lake with calm, no-wake water and a sandy beach, making it one of the most reliably family-friendly swimming spots around.
Beltzville State Park is the most full-service of the five: 3,002 acres of parkland built around a 949-acre lake behind a 1972 flood-control dam, with a guarded sand beach and 19.8 miles of shoreline — easy to show up to without much advance planning.
Big Pocono State Park sits on the summit of Camelback Mountain and is jointly maintained with the ski resort below. A 1.4-mile paved drive puts a three-state view within reach of anyone, hiker or not, while 8.5 miles of trail reward those willing to walk it.
Outdoor demand across the state has been climbing, too: Pennsylvania state park and forest campsite reservations ran roughly 30% higher in March 2025 than the same month a year earlier, with a quarter of all campsites across 124 parks and 20 forests already booked for peak season by the end of March (PA DCNR, published 2025-04-03, retrieved 2026-10-02). If a park stay is part of the plan, booking ahead of the season is worth doing earlier than it used to be.
Two Historic Small Towns Worth a Full Day on Foot
Jim Thorpe and Milford are the region's two walkable historic downtowns, and they're different enough in character to justify visiting both.
Historic Downtown Jim Thorpe is a Victorian-era streetscape of independent boutiques, galleries, and antique shops along Broadway and Race Street, set against dramatic hillside architecture. Antiques Queen, above the Broadway storefronts, rewards visitors willing to spend real time browsing, and Historic Stone Row — 19th-century rowhouses built for Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company employees — is a quick, free architectural stop.
If you're visiting in October, the timing works in your favor: the Jim Thorpe Fall Foliage Festival is held the first three weekends of the month each year, filling the downtown with craft and food vendors, live music across multiple stages, and scenic train rides against peak hillside color. Expect real crowds and plan parking accordingly.
Milford Historical Buildings & Walking Tour covers the town's historic buildings at your own pace, and Grey Towers National Historic Site — the French Renaissance-style chateau and boyhood home of Gifford Pinchot, first Chief of the U.S. Forest Service — pairs American conservation history with beautiful, free-to-walk grounds. Guided mansion tours are available for those who want more than the grounds.
For more on Jim Thorpe's shopping district and three other destinations, see our guide to the best shopping in the Pocono Mountains.
The Pocono Wine and Farm Trail
Several working farms in the region have turned part of their land into wineries, cideries, and tasting rooms, and the resulting trail has real regional character rather than feeling imported.
Sorrenti Family Estate Winery, a family-run winery and distillery on a working Saylorsburg farm, pairs an on-site pizzeria with extensive vineyard tasting flights. Ritter's Winery & Cidery near Lake Ariel makes fruit wines and hard ciders from apples grown on its own orchard — a lower-key, more rustic stop than the trail's larger destinations. Mountain View Vineyard, Winery, Brewery & Distillery in Stroudsburg is the rare all-in-one operation producing wine, beer, and spirits under one roof, with a full restaurant and live music that turn it into a legitimate evening destination.
For the farm side of the trail, Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm — a Pennsylvania German farmstead dating to the 1760s — runs costumed demonstrations of period chores and crafts, including a popular Harvest Festival each autumn. The Hawley Farmers Market runs weekly on Fridays, May through October, on the banks of the Lackawaxen River, with a vendor mix deep enough to stock a group's kitchen for the week.
Scenic Rides Through Two Centuries of Railroad History
Three different scenic railways cover three different pieces of the region's industrial past.
The Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway departs from Jim Thorpe's restored 1888 station and follows the Lehigh River through Lehigh Gorge State Park, with narration covering both the scenery and the coal-hauling history of the tracks below. Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton preserves a working collection of steam locomotives on the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad yards — the roundhouse and turntable are still active, functioning infrastructure, not static displays. The Stourbridge Line runs scenic excursions out of Honesdale.
If peak color is the whole point of the trip, see Fall Foliage Escapes for timing, crowd tips and trip ideas.
Family-Sized Thrills: Waterparks and Zip Lines
Kalahari Resorts Indoor Waterpark, America's largest indoor waterpark, runs year-round — a real weather-proof option when a rainy or snowy day would otherwise cancel outdoor plans, with an attached family entertainment center covering arcade games and mini golf. Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark is Pennsylvania's largest outdoor water park, with more than 30 slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river across 26 acres — seasonal, Memorial Day through Labor Day, and busy on peak summer weekends.
For a different kind of thrill, Camelback Mountain Adventures combines aerial ropes courses, zip lines, and a self-controlled Downhill Mountain Coaster suited to a wide age range. Pocono TreeVentures, an independently owned alternative in East Stroudsburg, runs eight color-coded courses with more than 90 elements and its own 1,000-foot dual racing zip lines — and tends to run less crowded than the resort-affiliated option.
When the Weather Doesn't Cooperate
The region holds more real indoor options than its lake-and-trail reputation suggests. Pocono Reserve's own Rainy Day Guide rounds up museums, mine tours, and the indoor waterpark already covered above. The Wake Zone Indoor Golf & Taproom in Tafton pairs indoor golf and a range of indoor games with a taproom — a solid backup for a group that wants something social and under a roof.
Why This Region, Right Now
Travel patterns are shifting in a way that favors a trip like this one. In AAA's February 2026 Vacation Intentions Survey, 39% of respondents said they plan to travel more this year than last, and 45% named a road trip as their preferred type of trip — the single most popular format in the survey (AAA Newsroom, published 2026-02-27, retrieved 2026-10-02). A region reachable in under two hours from two major metro areas fits that preference better than a destination requiring a flight.
That shift shows up in the state-level numbers, too. Pennsylvania tourism generated $87.2 billion in total economic impact in 2025, up $3.3 billion from the year before, on $51.6 billion in direct visitor spending across 206.2 million visitors — supporting 521,021 jobs and generating $5.2 billion in state and local tax revenue (PA Department of Community & Economic Development, retrieved 2026-10-02).
Frequently Asked Questions
When does fall foliage peak in the Poconos?
The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau's 2026 forecast (updated weekly through October) projects three peak windows by sub-region: the northern zone (Wayne and Pike Counties) around October 8-14, the central zone around October 10-17, and the southern zone (southern Monroe and Carbon Counties) around October 20-28 (Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau Fall Foliage Forecast, retrieved 2026-10-02). These dates shift with weather and are explicitly marked as subject to change — check the forecast again close to your travel date.
How far is the Pocono Mountains region from New York City and Philadelphia?
Roughly 100 miles and under two hours from New York City, and a similar range — about 90 to 110 miles depending on the specific destination — from Philadelphia (Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, retrieved 2026-10-02).
Is there a good rainy-day option in the Poconos?
Yes. Kalahari Resorts' indoor waterpark operates year-round regardless of weather, and Pocono Reserve's Rainy Day Guide covers several other indoor options, including museum and mine tours.
Are these places open year-round?
It varies. The state parks and most hiking trails are open year-round, though some facilities (guarded beaches, boat rentals) are seasonal. Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark runs only Memorial Day through Labor Day, while Kalahari's indoor waterpark and Big Pocono State Park's summit drive (closed roughly December through early April) run on opposite seasonal schedules.
Is a weekend enough time to see any of this?
Not all of it — but it's enough to pick one or two categories above (a waterfall hike plus a state park, or a historic town plus the wine trail) and do them properly rather than rushing through a longer list.
Plan Your Visit
The Pocono Mountains reward exactly the kind of trip most of this list describes: pick two or three categories above rather than trying to force all five waterfalls, parks, and towns into one visit, and build the rest of the stay around a place to stay close enough to the destinations that matter most to your group.