13 places
River towns, quiet forests and an old-time amusement park
The two branches of the Susquehanna River meet at Sunbury and Northumberland, and the valleys that spread out from them are some of the quietest corners of the state: farm country, covered bridges and long forested ridges. From the overlook at Shikellamy State Park, high on a cliff above the water, you look straight down on the meeting of the rivers. Lewisburg, home of Bucknell University, has a handsome main street near the West Branch, and in Northumberland the home of Joseph Priestley, the English scientist credited with discovering oxygen, is open to visitors.
Knoebels, near Elysburg, is a family-run amusement park in the woods that has been operating since 1926, with classic wooden roller coasters and a century-old carousel where riders still reach for the brass ring. For a quieter day, R. B. Winter State Park has a small swimming lake deep in Bald Eagle State Forest.
Highlights
Amusement park · Ralpho Township, Northumberland County
Tucked into a wooded hollow, a family-owned amusement park with much-loved wooden coasters like the Phoenix and Twister, an antique carousel with a brass-ring grab, and a campground.
Town · Lewisburg, Union County
A Susquehanna river town and home of Bucknell University, with a handsome Victorian Market Street, an Art Deco movie house and a riverside park.
State park · Upper Augusta Township, Northumberland County
From a high clifftop overlook, the Susquehanna's West and North branches can be seen joining below, with a marina section on the island at the confluence where boaters launch onto the river.
State park · Hartley Township, Union County
Cold mountain springs feed Halfway Lake behind a stone dam laid by the Civilian Conservation Corps, making a bracing swimming hole in the forest, with trails up the surrounding ridges.
Historic house · Northumberland, Northumberland County
The riverside home and laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the English chemist credited with discovering oxygen, who settled here after emigrating in 1794.
Photo: User:Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Reptile zoo · Gregg Township, Union County
Cobras, alligators, giant tortoises and Komodo dragons star at this accredited zoo devoted to reptiles and amphibians, along with live presentations by keepers.
The full list
The riverside home and laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the English chemist credited with discovering oxygen, who settled here after emigrating in 1794.
Preserved almost as its workers left it around 1920, this buggy factory still holds its tools, belts, machinery and parts, recalling the town's days as 'Buggy Town.'
The riverside home and laboratory of Joseph Priestley, the English chemist credited with discovering oxygen, who settled here after emigrating in 1794.
A Susquehanna river town and home of Bucknell University, with a handsome Victorian Market Street, an Art Deco movie house and a riverside park.
Cold mountain springs feed Halfway Lake behind a stone dam laid by the Civilian Conservation Corps, making a bracing swimming hole in the forest, with trails up the surrounding ridges.
From a high clifftop overlook, the Susquehanna's West and North branches can be seen joining below, with a marina section on the island at the confluence where boaters launch onto the river.
Half picnic grounds and boat launch, half wild woods for birders and walkers, this river island sits in the middle of the West Branch of the Susquehanna.
Rapid Run tumbles past this tiny roadside picnic grove, a peaceful stop on the winding mountain road through Bald Eagle State Forest.
Ridge after forested ridge in the heart of the state, with the Mid State Trail, trout water on Penns and White Deer creeks, and old-growth hemlocks in the Snyder-Middleswarth Natural Area.
A short trail follows Swift Run through a rare stand of old-growth hemlock and pine, cool and dim even on a summer afternoon.
Coal-region ridges hold these scattered tracts of mountain forest, the best known being the Roaring Creek Tract, a favorite for walks and bike rides along a stream and old reservoirs.
Fields, woods and a lake in the farm country north of Danville, with walking trails and good birding through the seasons.
A short trail follows Swift Run through a rare stand of old-growth hemlock and pine, cool and dim even on a summer afternoon.
Tucked into a wooded hollow, a family-owned amusement park with much-loved wooden coasters like the Phoenix and Twister, an antique carousel with a brass-ring grab, and a campground.
Cobras, alligators, giant tortoises and Komodo dragons star at this accredited zoo devoted to reptiles and amphibians, along with live presentations by keepers.
