Lancaster County Field Trip Ideas

One of our Christmas gifts this year was a family membership to the Lancaster Science Factory, which includes an ASTC Passport giving us FREE admission to more than 300 science centers around the world. When we were looking at the list of local centers to see where we could use our pass, the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown stood out to us because it was only a little over an hour away.

It was raining on our drive there, and it hit me that this is another perfect rainy day family activity that I will be adding to my list!

After a quick look at the Da Vinci website, we were convinced this would be an excellent source of fun for our family—and while I don’t want to spoil the rest of the post, I will admit it was just that! We had SO MUCH FUN! They definitely meet the expectations they set for visitors with their tagline—filling our experience with exSCIting possibilities.

Have you ever been to That Fish Place, That Pet Place in Lancaster? If not, you’ve likely heard other parents talking about it and have it on your field trip idea list. If it’s not on your list of places to go, let me show you why it should be!

Why is this place so great? It is almost like visiting a free indoor zoo or aquarium! There are tons of animals and fish for kids to see and looking at on rainy days, winter days or even hot summer days since its all air-conditioned. And the best part is—it’s FREE!

If you have been a long-time reader of the Frugal Lancaster blog, you know that one of my favorite things to do and share is hidden secrets in Lancaster County. I just love finding hidden secrets! This secret isn’t really a very hidden secret, but I had never heard of it before so I was thrilled when I came across it recently. It is such a cute little experience and retreat for families and individuals.

We found another Lancaster County hidden secret!! Did you know that Lancaster County, PA is the home of a 370 year old tree? This sycamore tree was here when the colony of Pennsylvania was known as Penns Woods. Wow! 😳

Lancaster County’s Old Sycamore (platanus occidentalis) is situated on land that was part of a 1718 Penn Grant, deeded by Penn to the early settlers.

Combine this field trip with some research on sycamore trees for a science lesson and a history lesson at the same time!

Are you interested in finding antediluvian fossils within less than a two hours drive from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? Did you know that you can find these fossils in Centralia, PA—the old coal town with a fire burning under it?

On Labor Day 2020, our family decided to embark on our 1.5 hour drive to Centralia—you may know it as the ghost town that has had a fire burning under it in the coal mines for fifty years!

The first type of fossils we noticed and found were ferns. They were very plentiful and easy to spot. Sometimes you’d see them as you were walking and look down, and sometimes we had to split a rock open and then find it in between the sediments.

Are you looking for a fun field trip or day trip idea? How about searching for shark’s teeth and other fossils and artifacts?

About two hours east of Lancaster County, in Monmouth Co., New Jersey, is a small preserve named Big Brook Preserve (Colts Neck, NJ). The stream cuts through antediluvian sediments. The stream is very well known for fossils and unique findings—in fact many local schools enjoy elementary field trips at this local gem.

Coudersport Ice Mine is a unique phenomenon in the geological world. The mine stays empty in the winter—the coldest months of the year—yet somehow fills with ice during the summer.

It’s a small tourist spot, but if you are traveling in northern Pennsylvania (about 4 hours from Lancaster), we recommend checking it out!

The temperature in the mine has been monitored every hour since April 29, 2014—8,760 times per year! In the winter, the ice mine gets as cold as the coldest air temperature outside. The accumulated ice keeps the air temperature int he mine cool in summer and fall. In 2015, more ice remained in the mine than in 2014, enough to keep the mine much colder than the year before.

This landmark is a hidden hiking gem in the middle of Lancaster County that I didn’t know about until a few months ago. We were driving south on Route 501 and needed to kill some time. I don’t remember how it happened, but we ended up finding Landis Woods and decided to stop by and check it out.

It was amazing!!

There are three different trails, all different lengths and difficulty levels. You can hike at your leisure, loop between the trails, and it’s easy to navigate. Very family-friendly.

Did you know that there are over a dozen completed Rail Trails in Lancaster County? One of our favorite weekend activities is to ride the Rail Trails together as a family. Our hope in sharing these posts is to give you a glimpse of what you’ll find on the trail, show you what it is like to travel the trails with kids, and share any tips and hidden secrets we learn.

The Rail Trails in Lancaster County range from 1 mile to over 14 miles in length! The Ephrata Rail Trail is our hometown favorite and will be 4.1 miles in length when it is finished and connects to the Warwick Rail Trail in Lititz. It’s almost completed!

To me, a great family-friendly (or mom-friendly) trail, has easy parking, not too intense inclines, and is overall safe for you to do with any age child. Speedwell Forge definitely meets these expectations—and more! Let me show you how we fell in love with the Speedwell Forge Trail.

Middle Creek Wildlife Park is an absolutely beautiful place for family hiking. There are 12 hiking trails at Middle Creek and they are all clearly marked. Here are 3 of the trails we have hiked at Middle Creek (this is where you see the snow geese every year!)

The Visitor Center is now closed due to COVID, but the roads and scenic tours remain open from sunrise to sunset. The Chapel Road is only open to bicycles and foot traffic. All trails are still accessible and a wonderful opportunity to enjoy nature and its beauty, especially as spring is coming quickly.

On the next beautiful day—spring, summer or fall—consider checking out the Union Canal Trail in Wyomissing, about 30-40 minutes from Lancaster city. The trail is perfect for both biking and walking.

You can ride the trail for as short or as long as you’d like. We had our three kids with us and decided to go at a leisurely pace. We parked at Gring’s Mill Recreation Area, although you could also park at the Red Bridge or other parts of the trail along the old canal.

The trail is along the canal that originally connected the Susquehanna River (at Middletown) to the Schuykill River (at Reading)! The canal was operated from 1828-1884. Remains of the tow path can be seen along the Tulpehocken Creek—we stopped and checked it out and found some unique wildlife including two large snakes!! The older I get the more history fascinates me!!!!

Every year on Charter Day, we love to visit a new historical site for FREE. Last year we chose to visit Cornwall Iron Furnace because we were curious what was there and because we had heard so many great things about it!

Cornwall Iron Furnace is part of the National Historical Landmark District, and is America’s most complete charcoal fueled ironmaking complex.

I actually had no idea it was such a unique preservation, so close to where we lived. The Smithsonian actually described Cornwall Furnace to have a strong historical integrity that is doubtfully found anywhere else in the world except perhaps in Sweden or Germany! Seriously?!

The National Watch & Clock Museum Collection is international in scope and covers a wide variety of clocks, watches, tools, and other time-related items.

The collection of clocks ranges from nineteenth-century American clocks and watches through early English tallcase clocks, Asian timepieces from Japan and China, and timekeeping devices from Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Russia.

Chronologically, the exhibits take you on a tour through the entire history of timekeeping technology from early non-mechanical devices to today’s atomic and radio-controlled clocks. A fun and informative family-friendly experience for enthusiasts, scholars, and interested guests alike.

The museum does have a Homeschool Day every year with special events.

The National Toy Train Museum features numerous model train exhibits, but what makes this museum unique is the variety of train sets you’ll experience in action—including lego train sets!

The collection of model trains is one of the most extensive toy train collections in the world. Trains that children pushed, pulled or rode upon are included as antiques (with my love for history, I found this part of the exhibits particularly interesting!)

Have you ever been to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in Lititz? You can tour the original pretzel bakery, get a hands-on lesson in pretzel twisting, observe bakers twisting old-fashioned soft pretzels by hand, and shop for delicious treats and souvenirs in the bakery store.

The Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery Tour is one of my 15 recommendations for a before-naptime trips with kids in Lancaster County. It is a family-friendly atmosphere, and budget-friendly if you have little ones. Adults (ages 13+) are $3.75, kids 4-12 are $2.75 and children 4 and under are FREE.

I find that a lot of families living in Lancaster County, whether native to Lancaster County or not, are curious about the Amish and Mennonites. Those who were born in raised in Lancaster County, might know a little bit more, but they often still have questions about the Amish.

A great way to get a simple understanding is at the Amish Farm and House. (If you’re not sure which one that is, it’s the one right next to Target along Route 30.) You probably know which one I mean now. 😉

I am from the area and grew up with parents who were historians. I probably know more than the average person on the background history of the Amish and Mennonites, however until now, I have never done any of these local tours. I have to say that I was really impressed with the Amish Farm and House. I did both the house tour and the self-guided farm tour.

Did you know that your family or school group can see an exhibition of letterpress printing and demonstrations at the 1920s Heritage Press Museum Lancaster County Print Shop? Experience the job of a printer first hand as you use a 19th century press to print a keepsake to take home with you. This is an excellent small field trip idea!

Have you visited the Railroad Museum of PA in Strasburg? If your kids or family loves trains, I highly recommend this field trip idea for families with kids of all ages. The museum if packed full of trains and exhibits for everyone from toddlers, to casually interested historians, to all-out train enthusiasts!

Some of the unique things you’ll get to see and participate in, include:

standing underneath a train walking inside a caboose going through a real train engine and talking to a conductor pushing lots of buttons to hear short stories 😉 playing with toy trains shoveling fake coal watching model train sets learning about American train car history

I’ve included several photos in this post to show you a glimpse of what our family enjoyed and what you can expect to see and experience.

We found another Lancaster County hidden secret!! Did you know that Lancaster County, PA is the home of a 370 year old tree? This sycamore tree was here when the colony of Pennsylvania was known as Penns Woods. Wow! 😳

Lancaster County’s Old Sycamore (platanus occidentalis) is situated on land that was part of a 1718 Penn Grant, deeded by Penn to the early settlers.

Over the centuries it has been documented as “Pennsylvania’s most massive tree”, “the oldest sycamore in Pennsylvania” and “a more heroic sight would be hard to find in the world of trees”.

The state forestry department in Harrisburg, estimated the tree to be over 250 years old in the year 1900. Measuring 27 feet, in circumference, the main tree trunk has been visibly hollow since it was hit by lightning in 1957. The Pennsylvania Forestry Association recognized it as over 300 years old in 1982.

The Farm Show was quite an experience for our family! It was very easy to get to. From Lancaster just take Route 283 to I-83, I-81 and then watch for Cameron Street.

We parked in the first boy scout parking lot at the Credit Union, so we could walk to the complex and not have to wait for a shuttle bus. Even in the cold weather this was not a bad walk with kids.

We entered the complex through the Weis Expo Hall so we could pick up our AgExplorer Checklist. This worked out perfectly for us, because the kids got an animal hat to wear which kept them entertained for the long walk down to the North Hall, where we went next.

You absolutely MUST visit the butterfly room. Read more in my post about this incredible experience.

Did you know you can learn about maple sugaring right here in Lancaster County, at Lancaster County Central Park? We did this last year and absolutely loved it! The tour is really engaging with your entire family, and you even get to try some maple sugar candy at the end! See some of our experience in the following photos.

County Park Naturalists guide you through maple sugaring demonstrations in the sugar bush of the Lancaster County Central Park. First you see trees being tapped.

Check out this post for more maple sugaring events in and around Lancaster County.

In February or March every year, thousands of snow geese migrate through Middle Creek Wildlife Preserve, in Kleinfeltersville, PA. This is an incredible FREE fun activity to do with your family. It will WOW everyone. Even my two year old son (who you can hear in this video), was in awe as he said, “WOW”, when he saw all the snow geese take flight.

Please be warned, if you go on a weekend, there will be lots of people. It could be hard to find a parking spot and if its wet, you have a good chance of getting stuck in the mud if you park off the road. We went on the weekend, but we went at 5:30pm, as the sun was setting. Most people were leaving already, so we found a quick and close parking spot. Very convenient!

The best place to view the geese is to park in the parking lot along the main road in the preserve, and then hike on Willow Point Trail.  The parking lot for the trail is located 8/10 of a mile North of the Visitor Center along Hopeland Road, then there is ½ mile flat paved trail to the lake.

One Saturday in February every year, USA Hockey and 500 local associations across the country host Try Hockey For Free Day!

Locally, the Lancaster Ice Rink encourages children ages 4 to 9, to come try youth hockey as part of Come Play Hockey Month. Limited equipment is available for use, so students must register at tryhockeyforfree.com.

Event starts at 9:00AM and ends at either 10am or 11am, depending on the rink you choose.

An excellent physical education field trip idea for homeschoolers.

My kids love the vendor tent, which I think is hysterical. Some of it is really geared more toward adults. BUT, they have some very unique activities for kids too. Our favorites included . . .

taste testing deviled eggs taste testing yogurt and cheese (I must say this was delicious!) receiving a pumpkin seed packet and being told they could win $250 for growing it using playdough to make a light turn on blending feed in a bag for birds (or our new chickens!) spinning the prize wheel taste testing salsa and cranberry salad receiving a FREE bag of popcorn

There is also an extensive area near the animal tent covering nutrition and dairy facts.

The first thing I want to note, is that the Oregon Dairy Corn Maze is very well organized! They know what they are doing and they give you good instruction so that when you enter the maze, you know what you’ll be doing too. The kids loved listening to the instructions and reviewing the map.

This is a great opportunity for homeschoolers to learn how to read a map, as well as learn some facts about farming and harvest time.

Find more corn mazes in the area, as well as pumpkin patches for pick-your-own, in this fall map and pricing guide for Lancaster County.

Celebrate the holiday season as the Choo Choo Barn transforms Traintown USA® to bring the magic of Christmas to its gigantic model train display.

Each year, the Groff family continues their annual tradition of decorating the miniature homes and businesses along the tracks to share their holiday spirit with visitors from November 21, 2019 to January 20, 2020.

The Groffs hide Santas on the layout for each year the Choo Choo Barn has been open – over 55 in all! The annual “Santa Search” is always a hit with all ages – and this year’s newest Santa won’t disappoint! You’ll have to visit to find it for yourself!

Tiny Town is an indoor playspace for children near Lancaster city. Made up of luxury playhouses, kids will go wild with imagination! Putting a fire out at the fire station, doing makeup in the salon, shopping in the market, driving the pedal cars, dancing up on stage and so much more!

The hair salon was absolutely adorable—even equipped with mini brushes, hair dryers, and styling tools! I loved the personal touches in each space. My daughter’s favorite part of the salon was that you could raise and lower the salon chairs. 😉

Did you know that Go ‘N Bananas will email you a FREE $10 Game Card on your birthday if you sign up for their VIP Email Club? Go ‘N Bananas is an indoor adventure center in Lancaster that offers an arcade, Ballocity, laser mazes, ropes course, mini bowling, spin zone, laser tag, XD rides, and more. It’s also an incredibly popular place for an indoor children’s birthday party!

Adults and children can sign up to be part of their VIP Club and receive this $10 game card. When I received mine this year, I was determined to go enjoy some fun!

This is a fun way to celebrate the end of a semester or a way to conquer fears with the high ropes course or a way for homeschoolers to get some exercise.

If you have never visited the Crayola Experience in Easton, PA, you have to go! And, if you have visited but it has been two or three years, you also have to go! I’ll tell you why.

We had the privilege of visiting the Crayola Experience as a family and we ended up spending over five hours there! Can you believe it?! I couldn’t either. I literally looked at the clock at the end of the five hours and was in shock as to how late it was. We were having so much fun we didn’t even realize most of the day had passed!

For homeschoolers, this would certainly count for art as well as some history (they have a neat exhibit explaining the canal system that used to be in the town).