41 Great Day Trips Near Philadelphia

The grounds are as breathtaking as the art at the bucolic Brandywine Museum of Art, housed in a circa-1864 gristmill surrounded by wildflower gardens and the meandering Brandywine River. Inside, works by Andrew Wyeth sit beside other illustrations, paintings and installations, along with permanent and rotating exhibitions. Don’t miss a visit to the nearby N.C. Wyeth House & Studio, the 1922 family home and workspace of Andrew’s father. The space is filled with Colonial Revival architecture, country furnishings, illustration tools and many Wyeth relics, including a birch-bark canoe and a firearm collection.

Former home to archeologist, anthropologist and ceramist Henry Chapman Mercer, Fonthill Castle is a 115-year old Doylestown museum displaying Mercer’s massive collection of prints, books and handcrafted tiles produced at his historic TileWorks (see below). The collection — including a 2,000-year-old whale oil lamp and cuneiform tablets dating back four millennia — is spread among 44 rooms and 32 stairwells. As impressive as the relics, the mansion also features 200 windows, 23 chimneys, 11 bathrooms and a bevy of turrets and balconies. The site also hosts summer festivals, ghost tours and foodie events.

With more than 450 stores covering nearly 3 million square feet, King of Prussia, a Simon Property Mall is the third-largest in America and the premier shopping destination on the East Coast, welcoming around 20 million visitors each year. The three-level facility offers anchor stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus and stylish shops including Tiffany & Co., Givenchy, Versace, Chanel and Louis Vuitton (along with all your mall favorites), plus over 50 dining options for on-the-go or sit down. Arrive via SEPTA’s M (Norristown High Speed) line or grab one of the 13,000 parking spaces.

Are you a Lego maniac? Then head to the 33,000-square-foot Legoland Discovery Center at Montgomery County’s Plymouth Meeting Mall. Designed for kids ages 3 to 10, the indoor LEGO playground offers a dozen Lego-themed rides and attractions (like The Great Lego Race Virtual Reality Experience and Imagination Express), Lego 4D Cinema, create-your-own build stations, and Lego workshops with master builders and the Lego Ninjago Training Camp — plus a themed café and Lego store. Don’t miss Philadelphia Miniland, with huge miniature recreations of iconic buildings, streets and landmarks created from over a million bricks.

At 300-acre Linvilla Orchards family farmstead — one of the last working farms in Delaware County — visitors can roam the fields for pick-your-own produce like apples, peaches, berries and corn, and attend plenty of fun-filled farm-themed festivals like fall’s Pumpkinland and winter’s Christmas Around the Farm. Stop by the open-daily farmers market (try the fresh-baked pies), meet barnyard animals, cast a fishing line into Orchard Lake, play a round of mini-golf or enjoy a ride (hay, pony or train versions). And don’t miss the seasonal on-site Ship Bottom Beer Garden.

At over 1,000 acres, Longwood Gardens is Philly’s largest botanical garden, and No. 1 one on Fodor’s list of the nation’s best botanical gardens. Pierre du Pont’s horticultural oasis showcases 10,000 varieties (both indoors and out), including exhibits like the Green Wall, Orchid House, Hillside Garden and the new Longwood Reimagined — a sweeping transformation of the site’s core conservatory and the new 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory. Throughout the year, enjoy seasonal Illuminated Fountain Performances (color-lighted musical dancing water shows in the five-acre fountain garden), the Chrysanthemum Festival, Orchid Extravaganza, A Longwood Christmas and more.

Popular Lahaska storybook shopping haven Peddler’s Village welcomes over 1 million visitors a year to its 70-plus charming colonial-style independent boutiques, specialty shops, wineries and restaurants ringing the turn-of-the-century park-like landscaped grounds and winding brick pathways. While browsing through vintage apparel, handmade jewelry and local art and craft stores, take a moment to enjoy the scenery (like flowing fountains and Zen gardens), or the historic carousel and Giggleberry Fair for kids. Check the attraction’s calendar for popular annual festivals celebrating strawberries, blueberries, chocolate, apples, scarecrows, Peeps, gingerbread houses, birdhouses and more.

Delaware County’s Ridley Creek State Park is a 2,600-acre oasis of wooded trails and rolling hills perfect for outdoor adventurers. Visitors can enjoy hiking and horseback riding trails, a creek stocked with trout, park space for archery and permitted deer hunts, and picnic areas. Also within the park, history buffs can explore the former workers’ cottages, mill dam and historic buildings in the 18th-century milling village known as Sycamore Mills, as well as visit the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation, the 112-acre Pratt family farm that operated from 1720 to 1820 that’s now a living history site.

We’ll tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Place, the only Sesame Street-themed amusement park outside California. Fans can meet huggable furry friends like Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Elmo, Abby Cadabby and experience thrills on 35 kid-friendly rides and water attractions. The 14-acre site also features carnival games, concessions, twice-daily parades, live entertainment, character birthdays and seasonal festivities like A Very Furry Christmas. The park is open from early May through Halloween (with water attractions opening around Memorial Day), along with special dates during winter-themed events.

The difficult 1777-1778 winter that the Continental Army spent at this site went down as one of the Revolutionary War’s most trying periods. Today, Valley Forge National Historical Park honors those who encamped here with monuments, statues and buildings throughout the grounds, along with replicated huts, General Washington’s original headquarters, the National Memorial Arch and a Visitor Center, which features artifacts and a lifesize statue of the future first president. The 3,500-acre park also includes scenic overlooks, picnic areas and miles of recreational trails where runners and cyclists can cruise the park.

What is now Brandywine Battlefield Park in present-day Delaware County was where George Washington and his Continental Army experienced the longest single-day battle of the entire Revolutionary War. Stop by the Visitors Center to see its museum and exhibitions, take a self-guided tour or explore two on-site historic homes: the Benjamin Ring House, the home Washington used as his battlefield headquarters (don’t miss the innovative six-legged hinged bed in the master bedroom); and the Gideon Gilpin House, where British commander-in-chief William Howe quartered prior to the battle and which operated as a tavern afterward.

The Glencairn Museum in Montgomery County is one of the nation’s largest dedicated to religious art and history, containing nearly 8,000 works from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, medieval Europe and Asia, early Islamic and Indigenous nations, and more. The gallery also features a large collection of Nativity art (including stained glass, sculptures, manuscripts and paintings), as well as fantastic tower views down to the city. The surrounding Bryn Athyn Historic District also includes the 26,000-square-foot Gilded Age-era Cairnwood Estate historic home and gardens, and the Early Gothic-style Swedenborgian Bryn Athyn Cathedral.

Tucked into the expanse of French Creek State Park in rural Chester County, the historic 848-acre Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is home to 14 now-restored structures that were part of a colonial-era iron-producing village that relied on free labor and the work of enslaved people. Inside the early American “iron plantation” — which operated from 1771 to 1883 and once produced 115 big guns for the Continental Navy — visitors can participate in demonstrations on charcoal burning and craft making. Nature lovers can enjoy the well-regarded birdwatching and photography opportunities.

Bucks County’s Pearl S. Buck House — the early 18th-century estate and farmhouse of the Nobel Prize-winning author — is home to a museum featuring a plethora of The Good Earth writer’s personal belongings, including the typewriter she used to pen the classic historical fiction novel. Visitors to the Perkasie site, often referred to as Green Hill Farms, can tour her former home, the stunning gardens and Buck’s nearby gravesite. The museum offers two timed tours — Pearl S. Buck: Taking Action and Pearl S. Buck: Life & Legacy — which require advance ticketing.

Both a heritage site and nature area, Washington Crossing Historic Park offers visitors a view of the spot where General Washington and his troops famously crossed the Delaware River in the dark of Christmas night 1776 on their way to key victories at Trenton and Princeton. The park features several historic locales including the Thompson-Neely House & Grist Mill and Bowman’s Hill Tower (overlooking 134-acre Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, see below). Also on site: a visitor’s center, walking paths, picnic pavilions, fishing areas and boat launches. Visit in December to witness one of two crossing reenactments.

A 60-mile (58.89, technically) linear park along the Delaware River stretching from Bristol to Easton, Delaware Canal State Park calls joggers, hikers and cyclists to the Delaware Canal Towpath connecting through towns like Morrisville, Yardley and New Hope. Nature enthusiasts can stop by the 155-acre Giving Pond Recreation Area in Tinicum Township (surrounded by a 1.3-mile loop trail) which offers opportunities to observe wildlife along the shoreline. There’s plenty of fun on the water, too, as the river and canal (and nearly a dozen islands) offer ample opportunities for fishing, canoeing and kayaking.

Established in 1972, the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum is a 1,000-acre park (located just north of Philadelphia International Airport) was established to protect Pennsylvania’s largest freshwater tidal marsh. The refuge, located mostly in Delaware County, is an urban enclave for outdoor recreation featuring 10 miles of low-lying trails for hiking and biking and 4.5 miles of tidal creek and boat ramps for canoeing, kayaking and fishing access. Wildlife enthusiasts enjoy spotting the 300-plus varieties of resident and migratory birds, rare plants and numerous land animals, including several endangered species.

Visitors to the 5,000-acre Nockamixon State Park in Bucks County (east of Quakertown) can find over 40 miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, plus an 18-hole disc golf course, picnic sites and four public boat launches. The park’s seven-mile-long eponymous lake (actually a man-made reservoir) is southeastern Pennsylvania’s largest at 1.7 billion cubic feet. A designated “Trophy Bass” lake, it’s a steller spot for boaters, windsurfers, fishing enthusiasts and outdoor recreationists of all types. Rentals available include canoes, motorboats, rowboats, sailboats, paddleboats and pontoons during the summer.

Bring your own hammer (no joke!) to Ringing Rocks Park, a seven-acre field of hulking round stones that respond to strategic whacks and thumps with the sound of ringing bells. Climb onto the field and start banging away on the primordial igneous diabase boulders to experience an unexpected melodic sound created by a combination of melting permafrost, weathering and rock shape. Once through the boulder field, visitors can continue on into the 123-acre park, a dense forest for hikers, bikers and picnickers which also features High Falls, Bucks County’s highest waterfall.

Housed in the original location of the Barnes Foundation, the Frances M. Maguire Art Museum at Saint Joseph’s University features a diverse collection of historic and contemporary art from around the world. Highlights include a distinctive stained glass gallery and an impressive collection of Latin American retablos and ex votos. The restored building, which opened in 2023, nods to the original Barnes decor, including a gallery with the Barnes’ signature burlap walls. Set within the 12-acre Barnes Arboretum (which is also open to the public), the museum is beautiful inside and out. Admission is free, with donations warmly accepted.

Renowned American woodworker, architect and furniture maker George Nakashima settled in New Hope after his release from a Japanese internment camp in Idaho, where he halearned woodworking from a fellow prisoner. In his Bucks County studio, he created functional works emphasizing wood’s natural beauty, incorporating live edges and custom grain patterns inspired by Japanese and Shaker aesthetics and Zen Buddhist principles. Today, his family workshop is the museum-like George Nakashima Woodworkers gallery, a private residence where visitors are welcomed (by appointment) into the showroom, finishing room, chair shop and Conoid Studio.

Opened in 2019, the immersive John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove museum and nature facility occupies the site of the famed ornithologist and environmentalist’s historic 18th-century home and farm where the then-teenager lived after first arriving in America in 1803. Explore the galleries and exhibits on conservation and art, then head outside to 200 acres of nature trails, woods and history, where the idyllic woodlands draw bird- and leaf-watchers alike no matter the season.

Pennsylvania impressionist paintings take center stage at the Michener Art Museum, named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning and Doylestown native writer of classics like Centennial, The Source, Chesapeake and the book that inspired Broadway’s South Pacific. The museum, built from a historic 19th-century prison, also features other historical and contemporary works (much focusing on Bucks County creators), photo galleries, rotating exhibitions, a reading room inspired by the sleek woodwork of nearby furniture maker George Nakashima Woodworkers (see above), a sculpture garden and a terrace built in the original prison yard.

Doylestown’s “working history” TileWorks museum (formerly Moravian Pottery & Tile Works) is a National Historic Landmark that continues to produce handmade tiles in a manner similar to the method established by founder and ceramicist Henry Chapman Mercer. Visitors can tour the site to see original displays and observe the production process in the workshop where Mercer produced hand-crafted tiles during the American Arts & Crafts Movement of the late-19th to early-20th century. Pair a visit with stops at the artist’s Fonthill home just across the property (see above) and his nearby Mercer Museum (below).

Deep in the Chester County woods and atop a mountain adjacent to Valley Forge National Historical Park lived wood sculptor Wharton Esherick, “Dean of American Craftsmen,” whose work can be seen at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Upon his death in 1970, Esherick’s hand-built 12-acre rural modernist home, farmhouse and studio was turned into the Wharton Esherick Museum. The immersive, interactive National Historic Landmark features 200 of his pieces, including works made in collaboration with Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn. Advanced purchase timed tickets are required.

Nearly three-dozen helicopters, autogiros, convertiplanes and other spiral wing aircraft are on display at the American Helicopter Museum & Education Center. The nation’s premier rotary flight aviation museum features displays including a model helicopter room with over 400 pieces and an exhibit dedicated to the Whirly-Girls, a pioneering group of women pilots. Several times a year, guests have a chance to ride in a helicopter for a bird’s-eye view of the Chester County countryside. If you happen to own your own chopper, arrive in style utilizing the adjacent helipad and runway.

The American Treasure Tour (adjacent to The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center) is the region’s kitschiest museum. The 100,000-square-foot collection features 1 million pieces of pop culture memorabilia, including neon signs, self-playing orchestras, life-sized cartoon characters, movie posters, antique autos, herds of stuffed animals, and the world’s largest slinky, gumby and popsicle stick … all accessed via indoor electric tram. The museum is part of The Factory in Oaks complex, which also includes Arnold’s Family Fun Center (featuring go-karts, laser tag, bumper cars and the like), a trampoline park, a rock climbing gym and a bowling center.

The towering six-story concrete castle that houses the Mercer Museum is full of themed rooms dedicated to the tools and crafts of American life before mechanization. Archaeologist, collector and tile maker Henry Chapman Mercer founded the Doylestown museum in 1916 to display his 40,000-piece collection of pre-industrial tools, early manual technologies and pre-mechanical transport, including a whaling boat, an antique fire engine and a Conestoga wagon. To protect artifacts from fire (and make them more observable), Mercer chose to hang several of the larger objects from the ceilings above.

The statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia’s City Hall gazes down toward his landing site at Penn Treaty Park. But it was 22 miles northeast where Penn chose to construct his residence soon after he arrived, founding the bucolic Pennsbury Manor country estate on the Delaware River for his Quaker family. Visitors to the manor — reconstructed in 1939 and the only museum dedicated to Pennsylvania’s founder — can peruse period furnishings, historical objects, an award-winning exhibit about Penn and his legacy, as well as hands-on activities and open hearth cooking demos.

Head to Bucks County’s historic Pidcock Creek Valley to unwind among 2,000 native plant species and the wildlife that depends on them. Bowman’s Hill Wildlife Preserve‘s 134 acres span forests, meadows, hillsides, creeks, ponds and extensive wetlands. Extensive programming — including specialty walks and lectures — helps interpret the surroundings. Or view the preserve from nearby Bowman’s Hill Tower, a century-old 12-story tall structure commemorating the events that transpired within Washington Crossing Historic Park, featuring a 125-step spiral staircase to the top, which offers 14-mile views of the preserve and surrounding countryside.

The exquisite 35-acre Chanticleer botanical pleasure garden, on the grounds of century-old Rosengarten manor, displays over 5,000 plants across a dozen collections. The flower fields, featuring everything from perennials to agricultural crops, are tended by in-house landscape artists who design their own installations which incorporate wood, metal and stone into the lush countryside. Make time for the Teacup Garden, brimming with tropical plants arranged to create a colorful sensory experience, and Minder Ruin Garden, a folly built on the cottage’s foundation resembling ancient ruins overtaken by the elements — including a 24-foot sarcophagus-shaped reflecting pool.

The 650 acres of Tyler Arboretum’s woodlands, meadows and flora are part of a property that English Quaker Thomas Minshall purchased from William Penn in 1681. With 17 miles of trails, 80-foot-tall trees and delicate wildflowers, it’s one of the region’s oldest and largest public gardens. Try solving the seven-ringed Meadow Maze labyrinth, learn about nature at Discovery Stations or discover the aromatic Fragrant Garden, one of the first gardens designed primarily for people who are blind or experiencing vision loss, along with several sites on the National Register of Historic Places.

Founded in 1924, Elmwood Park Zoo is arguably the oldest suburban zoo in the nation. The 16-acre attraction features over 100 species like bison, zebras, jaguars and red pandas, as well as Liana the two-toed sloth, Penny the American alligator and Noah the bald eagle, mascot of the Philadelphia Eagles. Pet the farm animals in the barn, feed the giant giraffes (ticket required), ride the zoo-themed carousel, zip line 50 feet above the grounds, picnic with BYO snacks in the pavilions, or grab a craft beer at the Zoo Brew Bar & Beer Garden.

Make Herr’s yours, as the slogan goes, with the tasty Herr’s Snack Factory Tour, a guided firsthand learning experience with a behind-the-scenes look at the production floor and factory warehouse where Herr’s Foods’ beloved pretzels, tortillas, popcorn, cheese curls and potato chips are created and packaged. The one-hour tour of the working facility also includes fresh warm samples, a fun film at Chipper’s Theatre, a visit to the gift shop, and a myriad of little-known snack facts along the way. Tours are offered Mondays to Wednesdays, and the gift shop is open all weekdays.

Passengers aboard the New Hope Railroad — based at the 130-year-old New Hope Station — can enjoy narrated train tours of scenic Bucks County on classic rail cars pulled by either a 1925 steam locomotive or one of two diesel engines dating back to the early 1960s. Coast through hills and valleys past sprawling farms, historic bridges and other countryside features on one of several trips including the 45-minute standard tour, 21-plus excursions for wine and cocktail lovers, or one of several seasonal trains operating during holidays like Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas.

First established in Delaware in 1934, Baldwin’s Book Barn has been offering used, rare and fine books — along with hundreds of manuscripts, maps and prints — at the more “recent” West Chester location, open since 1946. The family bookstore, located inside a two-century-old five-story stone barn, houses over 300,000 items packed into every corner, cranny and hideaway. Everything in the bookshop — named one of the world’s most beloved independent bookstores by Architectural Digest — is available for purchase or for leafing through while lounging in a cozy nook or around the wood-burning stove.

Home to over 135 designer and brand-name factory stores from Coach and Kate Spade to Michael Kors and Swarovski, outdoor shopping plaza Philadelphia Premium Outlets offers 553,000 square feet of massive deals (upwards of 70% off) just north of Valley Forge in Pottstown. When all those discounts make you hungry, grab lunch at one of a half-dozen restaurants like Paradise Bistro and Tony Luke’s or at the convenient food court. If you need a rest, recharge in the high-tech Media Lounge or relax in the Fire Pit’s cozy soft seating area.

Six-block Suburban Square in Ardmore is the Main Line’s premier outdoor shopping plaza, and one of the nation’s oldest planned shopping centers (and first with a department store), dating back to the 1920s. The lifestyle destination features high-end stores (like Warby Parker, Free People, West Elm and Dandelion) along with a dozen eateries (including Lola’s Garden, Shake Shack, and Hip City Veg), as well as the on-site Ardmore Farmer’s Market. The heart of the square is The Lawn, an open-air area designed for relaxation, picnics, live music and community events.

Historic Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope dates back to 1939, but the building it occupies previously housed an 18th-century gristmill dating back to 1751. Since then, the riverside theater has seen the likes of Grace Kelly, Dick Van Dyke, Robert Redford, Liza Minnelli and more grace its stage. Professional Broadway producers took over the venue in 2012, returning it to its roots incubating soon-to-be Broadway hits and staying open year-round for local and touring productions, world premieres, original plays, musicals, live music and more. Make it a full night at the Playhouse Deck restaurant and bar.

Delaware County’s Hedgerow Theatre, founded in 1923 from a 19th-century gristmill, is a 100-seat repertory theater which has attracted prominent performers from Keanu Reeves to Esther Rolle to Ann Harding (who purchased and donated the theater in 1931). Hedgerow has also been a proving ground for writers like Eugene O’Neill, Langston Hughes and George Bernard Shaw, and features furniture and staircase designs by Wharton Esherick (see above). In addition to the main playhouse and the 30-seat Big Room studio, the “Mother of All Philadelphia Theaters” offers an outdoor children’s theater and innovative sensory-friendly performances.

The Philadelphia Union, the region’s Major League Soccer club, has been thrilling navy-and-gold-clad association football fans since 2010, including capturing the 2020 Supporters’ Shield for the league’s best regular season record, three U.S. Open Cup finals appearances and a run to the MLS championship match in 2022. Beautiful soccer-specific Subaru Park in Chester hosts the Union’s lively home games, led by the friendly-but-rowdy 5,000-member Sons of Ben supporters’ group. Spectators can also enjoy impressive views of the Delaware River and the Commodore Barry Bridge which soars above the site.