Looking for fun frum family trip ideas? Search through our trip notes to find great ideas for your Chol Hamoed Trips, Kosher Summer Trips, Mid-Winter vacation outings, or just a Family Shabbos Getaway. Our comprehensive Frum attractions listings are helpful for Shidduch dating spots too. Just follow the Hippo for all your kosher trip needs!
LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA
Lancaster is one of the most popular vacation destination for Frum families with young kids, and for good reason. There are lots of fantastic kid-friendly attractions, and the atmosphere is generally refined and respectful. It’s also cool to watch the Amish riding horse and buggies around the main roads. Our family had such a good time, we replayed the trip again the next year!
Itinerary
DAY 1
We began our drive from NY to Lancaster loaded with snacks, drinks, and toddlers. The trip to Lancaster takes 3 hours, which is expecting a lot from our cute crew, so we made our first stop after 1.5 hours, at Crayola Experience. The kids loved the hands-on
activites, and we brought back personalized crayons they had molded themselves, which would keep them busy in the hotel room later! After the Crayola museum, we ate the lunches we had brought along on picnic benches right outside the facility.(Cost: $18.99 per person online, $20.99 at the door. Kids under 3 are free.)
Next we drove to Dutch Wonderland. It was a dream come true for my young kids, since it was an amusement park geared toward their ages. They were able to go on almost all of the rides. (They actually seemed to appreciate Dutch Wonderland more than they enjoyed the Disney parks they had visited earlier in the year.) My husband enjoyed the scenic view with the older kids in a cable car overlooking the beautiful conutryside. The park and the bathrooms are kept clean, and clean, and since the area is shady, adults won’t get too cranky walking around the park.Cost:
$39.99 per person; kids 2 and under are free.) Kosher Mart has concessions in the park selling either pizza or hot dogs, burgers in delicious pretzel buns, and chicken nuggets, among lots of other choices. How’s that for a convenient kosher dinner plan?!
TIP: To buy some extra time, take advantage of Dutch Wonderland’s “Preview”
offer. If you come to the park less than three hours before closing, Dutch Wonderland will stamp
your ticket and allow you to return the next day for free.
Full and content, we pulled up at the Eden Resort and settled into our 2-bedroom suite. We found the resort to be very clean and the hotel staff was really kind and helpful. Tip: Try to request a room far from the Lobby, as it will be quieter. With so many frum guests, a convenient Mincha/Maariv minyan was organized right in the hotel. We like to bring along board games to play, especially when we are stuck in the hotel early for our toddlers’ bedtimes. We like Othello, Pictionary, and card games, among others.
DAY 2
After Shachris and our own breakfast in the hotel, we started our day at the Amish Village.
It was not too crowded, and we found it very interesting to explore an authentic Amish property, including a one-room schoolhouse, barn with farm animals, blacksmith shop, smokehouse market. They also have a playground, small petting zoo, and (wild!) buggy rides (for an additional fee) on premises. (Cost: adults $10, kids $6.50, children 4 and under free.)
TIP: I would highly recommend not taking infants on these buggy rides. My poor baby screamed the whole ride. The bigger boys loved it!
After around 2 hours of fun at the Amish Village, we headed to our favorite destination of our whole trip: Cherry Crest Farms. The woman collecting payment (which was a bit pricey, but at least no parking fee) at the front let us know what time “our prayer meeting time” would be for mincha at the farm! The farm is packed with fun outdoor activites like a huge corn maze, tractor train rides, trampoline jumping, and riding down huge slides on a hay sack- fun for both adults and kids! They also have a life-sized Lincoln Logs area and my kids actually built a little house. (Pricing ranges from $17 to $30 a person, depending on which attractions are included in the admission; kids 2 and under are free. Free parking.)
There’s a large gazebo with lots of picnic tables and oversized handmade wooden games like chess, checkers, and shuffle board which kept the kids happy while we finished our lunch. We enjoyed some refreshing fountain sodas at a stand at the farm, and learned how to churn our own butter at a live session. The bathrooms were nice and clean and they have a separate nursing station cabin stocked with diapers and wipes! Now that’s what I call Mommy/baby-friendly!
We spent around 3 hours on the farm, and the kids were perfectly exhausted and ready to sleep through our 3 hour drive home.
TIP: Since the tour is based on live manufacturing, try to go on Monday, Tuesday, or
Wednesday; there’s a higher probability of a video-only tour on Thursday and Friday.
What an awesome trip! Enjoy and keep following the Hippo!
Cheers,
The Trippo Hippo Team
P.S. Follow us on Instagram @TeamTrippoHippo for more amazing Chol Hamoed and anytime frum trip ideas!
And you definitely want to subscribe to our Trippo email list- we share exclusive discounts from kosher attractions as we get them! Happy travels!
Attractions
We visited this fun crayon factory as a stop on our way to Lancaster. They have lots of fun activities for kids, including making crayon molds, interactive art, dancing exhibit, a playground, and more. It was a good start to a great trip!
This is by far our family’s favorite attraction in Lancaster. It’s is a farm-themed outdoor play park where you can churn your own butter, jump on giant pillows, race down hay chutes, and try to find your way out of a corn maze. It’s not cheap, but it will keep your family busy with wholesome fun all day.
Excellent amusement park geared toward kids age 11 and under. This theme park has more of a commercial feel than Cherry Crest Farms, but it’s nice how the little kids can ride on everything since it’s made for their ages. Dutch Wonderland has a “Preview” offer: You can come the first day less then 3hrs before closing, and they will stamp your ticket and you can return the next day free.
Located on 12 scenic acres, The Amish Village lets visitors tour an authentic Amish property, including a one-room schoolhouse, barn with farm animals, blacksmith shop, smokehouse market. They also have a playground, small petting zoo, and (wild!) buggy rides on premises.
Herr’s Snack Factory Tour (If you have extra time.)
The factory is about 45 minutes South of Lancaster. This tour is fun for adults and kids alike, but be sure to reserve in advance. You get to watch the workers making chips in real time. The tour takes about an hour. It’s reasonably priced at $3-$4 per person and kids under 4 are free. The best part? You get fresh hot potato chips free at the end of the tour.
Accomodations
There are several hotels that are popular among the frum crowd during the summer, so minyanim are easy and convenient. (You don’t need to stay there to take advantage of the minyanim).
Eden Resort offers 2 and 3 bedroom suites that can accommodate 8 people.
Both hotels have lots to do on the premises, including indoor and outdoor pools, water playgrounds, and more. They also both have family-friendly rooms and suites. Book early because they fill up quickly in the summer.
Quality Inn– right across from Dutch wonderland and is a cheaper hotel than the above. There are generally minyanim there during Bain Hazmanim too.
Kosher Food
Dutch Wonderland and Hershey Park each have Kosher concessions run by
Central PA’s Kosher Martduring peak tourist seasons. Kosher Mart also delivers to hotels, and they also sell discounted park tickets. Checkout their website centralpaskoshermart.comfor details or call (717) 951-3297.
- They sell burgers, fries, salads, etc., located in the park. You can get a free half hour shopper entry pass into the parks to access the restaurant.
- Kosher Mart also sells Three G’s Pizza – take-out only pizza.
WeisSupermarket on Fruitville road carries packaged deli and cheese. (717) 397-8127
If your’e willing to drive a bit out of the Lancaster area, The Giant is a Supermarket on Linglestown Road in Harrisburg. They offer a Kosher selection of cheeses, meat, and chicken. They also have Kosher frozen foods like pizza and Klein’s ice cream. Note: The deli counter says Kosher, but it is not under Hashgacha.
The Kosher Cafe at The Jewish Home is also on Linglestown Road. They sell meat and parve deli, grill, soup, and salad bar. Call (717) 441-8500
The Darrenkamps Supermarket, across the street from the Doubletree, sells Cholov Yisroel milk. Look for the Kreider’s Farm bottles with a hebrew date in the bottom right-hand corner of the bottle.
Minyanim
Degel Israel (717 397 0183) has Minyanim for Mincha and Maariv.
During peak season, there are usually multiple minyanim in the popular hotels and resorts.
DISCLAIMER: Kashrus of any establishment mentioned by Trippo Hippo is not guaranteed and should always be independently verified.