Lancaster & Amish Country

Pennsylvania Dutch Country, where the Amish still farm and travel by horse and buggy — tour countryside farms, ride a steam train and try shoofly pie.

Lancaster County lies in southeastern Pennsylvania, about 110 km from Philadelphia and 200 km from Washington, D.C. Home to one of the largest Old Order Amish communities in the United States, it is known as "Pennsylvania Dutch Country." Amish and Mennonite residents here still shun electricity and cars, getting around in black horse-drawn buggies and plowing their fields with horses; buggies share country roads with cars, creating a pastoral landscape unlike anywhere else. A visit breaks down into three areas: first, Amish Country centered on Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse and Strasburg, where you can tour Amish farms and homesteads, take a buggy ride through the fields, ride the Strasburg Rail Road's steam train, and browse Kitchen Kettle Village and farmers' markets; second, downtown Lancaster, with America's oldest central market, a red-brick old town and Gallery Row, and Wheatland, the home of President James Buchanan; third, the surrounding small towns, such as Moravian-style Lititz, the Ephrata Cloister, and the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia. In the evening, catch a large-scale Biblical musical at Sight & Sound Theatres. The best time to visit is May–Oct: autumn brings the harvest, fall foliage and the most photogenic covered bridges, December has Christmas trains and light displays, and in Feb–Mar you can watch the snow goose migration at Middle Creek. Getting around basically means driving; Amtrak's Keystone Service takes about 1 hr 20 min from Philadelphia to Lancaster, but you'll still need a rental car or a tour to reach the countryside. Plan on 2–3 days. Note: the Amish dislike being photographed face-on; most Amish shops and Central Market are closed on Sundays; drive slowly on country roads and yield to buggies. Hershey's Chocolate World is about 45 km to the northwest and makes a good separate day trip.

Top sights

• The Amish Farm and House – Lancaster's classic introduction to Amish culture: guided tours of a traditional farmhouse, a barn and an Amish one-room schoolhouse.
• Strasburg Rail Road – The oldest short-line railway in the United States still in operation; a steam train ride through Amish farmland takes about 45 minutes rou…
• Lancaster Central Market – America's oldest continuously operating public farmers' market, where Amish and Mennonite farmers sell pies, pickles and fresh produce.
• Intercourse & Kitchen Kettle Village – The core village of Amish Country, where horse-drawn carriages pass constantly; Kitchen Kettle Village is home to a jam workshop, quilt sho…
• Sight & Sound Theatres – A nationally renowned, large-scale Bible-themed stage theatre with a 2,000-seat curved stage, real animals and spectacular sets that are tr…
• Bird-in-Hand – An Amish village named after an old inn sign, home to a farmers’ market, bakeries and buggy rides, and a launch site for hot air balloons.
• Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania – A large railroad museum with more than 100 historic locomotives and railcars, located right across from the Strasburg Rail Road station.
• Downtown Lancaster – One of the oldest inland cities in the United States, with red-brick streets, galleries, restaurants and craft beer bars around Penn Square.
• Wheatland (James Buchanan House) – The Federal-style home of James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States, where guided tours explore the nation’s divisions in the…
• Ephrata Cloister – A celibate religious community founded in the 18th century by German-speaking Pietists, its plain and unusual wooden buildings offering a w…
• Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum – A living history village where more than 20 buildings showcase the rural life and crafts of Pennsylvania Dutch people from the 18th and 19t…
• Dutch Wonderland – A castle-topped children’s theme park with roller coasters and water rides suited to kids under 12.
• Lititz – Named one of America’s coolest small towns, with a charming Moravian-style Main Street, Wilbur Chocolate shop and a spring-fed park.
• Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery – The first commercial pretzel bakery in America, founded in 1861, where visitors can learn to twist their own pretzels.
• National Toy Train Museum – A collection of toy trains from the 19th century onward, where five large interactive model railroads are a favorite with children.
• Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge – The longest single-span covered bridge in Lancaster County, a red wooden bridge spanning the Conestoga River and a classic stop for country…
• Shady Maple Smorgasbord – One of America’s largest buffet restaurants, with nearly 200 Pennsylvania Dutch homestyle dishes, a legend of Lancaster’s food scene.
• Chickies Rock County Park – A quartzite cliff above the Susquehanna River, where an overlook about 60 meters high offers views over the broad river valley and the town…
• National Watch and Clock Museum – The largest clock and watch museum in North America, with more than 10,000 timepieces, where the hourly chiming fills the room with a livel…
• Turkey Hill Experience – An interactive experience center for a well-known Pennsylvania dairy brand, offering unlimited ice cream tastings and the chance to design…
• Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area – A famous birdwatching site in the eastern United States where tens of thousands of snow geese and tundra swans gather on the lake each earl…
• Hans Herr House – A medieval-style German stone house built in 1719, the oldest surviving building in Lancaster County and the site of one of the earliest Me…
• American Music Theatre – An original musical theater with 1,600 seats, known for Broadway-style song-and-dance shows and concerts by touring stars.
• Cherry Crest Adventure Farm – A family farm park famous for its giant corn maze, with dozens of farm games, and where the Strasburg steam train stops.
• Mount Hope Estate & Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire – A 19th-century estate of a steel magnate that hosts one of America’s largest Renaissance Faires each summer and fall, with its winery open…

Where to eat

• Shady Maple Smorgasbord – Billed as the largest buffet restaurant in America, and voted best buffet in USA Today reader polls multiple times, wit…
• LUCA Italian Restaurant – A wood-fired Italian restaurant in the West End of downtown Lancaster, run by a James Beard Award-nominated team; handm…
• Miller's Smorgasbord – A long-standing Amish-style buffet on Route 30, known for its Anna Miller's Chicken Waffles and regularly ranked among…
• Dienner's Country Restaurant – A simple, family-run country restaurant in Ronks, famous for its house-seasoned rotisserie chicken and small-batch, mad…
• The Horse Inn – A Prohibition-era underground bar in a converted 19th-century stable, its signature beef tips on toast make it a classi…

Itineraries

• US & Canada East Grand Loop – A cross-border long-haul route from New York via Washington, D.C., Niagara Falls to Toronto, Ottawa, and Quebec City.
• Pennsylvania Cross-State: Philadelphia to Pittsburgh – Head west from Philadelphia through Amish Country, Hershey, and Gettysburg to Fallingwater and Pittsburgh.
• Amish Country & Hershey Family Road Trip from Philadelphia – Drive from Philadelphia to Lancaster for a steam train ride, then head to Hersheypark and Hershey's Chocolate World.