Every once in a while you drive past a place so many times that it almost becomes part of the…read morescenery. That was the Turkey Hill Experience for me. I'd driven past it countless times over the last few years but either didn't have enough time to stop or couldn't convince anyone else to stop with me. During my Lancaster Adventure Day, though, all of that changed. I purchased a Single Scoop ticket online ahead of time for $16.75 and reserved the very first time slot of the day at 10am. I figured a late-summer Thursday morning would be the sweet spot, and it turned out to be a great decision. It was busy enough that the place felt lively but not so crowded that I had to wait for every exhibit. Parking was plentiful, and I somehow managed to snag a spot right in front of the GIANT cow out front. Honestly, my day was already off to a fantastic start! The only hiccup of the visit came during check-in. Even though I'd already purchased my ticket online, I still had to wait in the same line as everyone buying gift shop items, purchasing admission and asking questions. Since there were only a two employees working both the registers and admissions, the line moved a little slower than I expected. If I could change one thing, it would be creating a separate express check-in line for folks who already have tickets. Once I finally made it inside, though, everything became easy peasy! The exhibits are completely self-guided, so you can wander at your own pace learning how Turkey Hill makes its ice cream and iced tea while playing with interactive displays along the way. One of my favorite parts was creating my own virtual ice cream flavor, complete with custom packaging. I also wanted to film my own Turkey Hill commercial, but those stations stayed busy the entire time I was there, so that'll have to wait until another visit. Naturally, I made a beeline for the tea sampling station. As someone who appreciates sugar-free options, I was thrilled to find both Zero Sugar Sweet Tea and Zero Sugar Fruit Punch available to sample. Both were fantastic! Then it was time for the part we'd all been waiting for...unlimited ice cream samples. One thing I really appreciated is that they weren't tiny little "blink and it's gone" samples. You picked two flavors, and they served actual scoops in a bowl. For an attraction centered around ice cream, that felt exactly right. My only tiny complaint? Wooden popsicle sticks instead of spoons. They definitely got the job done, but they made eating melting ice cream a little more awkward than it needed to be. Still...free and unlimited ice cream? I'm not about to complain too loudly! I spent about an hour wandering through the exhibits, playing with the interactive displays and enjoying the air conditioning on a hot August morning before making one final stop in the gift shop. Prices there were about what you'd expect for a tourist attraction, but there were plenty of fun souvenirs if you're looking to bring a little Turkey Hill home with you. Overall, I'd absolutely recommend visiting the Turkey Hill Experience at least once. I don't know that it's somewhere I'd return over and over again, but it was a fun, interactive way to spend an hour learning something new, eating entirely acceptable quantities of free ice cream and escaping the August heat. That sounds like a pretty successful adventure day to me!

Turkey Hill Experience was a fun stop for our family! We visited with three kids, and everyone…read morefound something to enjoy. The interactive exhibits were engaging, and the kids loved learning how ice cream is made and creating their own virtual flavors. The highlight was definitely sampling the different ice cream flavors and making our own ice cream creations.

Incredible experience! From the moment we arrived, the staff thought of absolutely everything. They…read moreexplained the process clearly, made everyone feel comfortable, and genuinely wanted to ensure that every participant had the best possible experience. The yoga session itself was fantastic, and the baby goats were the stars of the show! I smiled more in that hour than I have in a long time. It's impossible to be stressed, unhappy, or take yourself too seriously when baby goats are climbing on you and demanding attention. If you're even remotely considering goat yoga, stop thinking about it and sign up. Seriously. It was one of the most fun and joyful experiences I've ever had, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The Amish Farm and House is a 5 Star tour guide service. Our…read morebus tour guide John was very knowledgeable and friendly. A well spent 90+ minutes into Amish Country PA.

WHAT A BLAST. We came here for my birthday kind of ironically because online we saw reels saying it…read morewas the "weirdest museum ever," and thought it would be kind of funny/maybe even creepy. Little did we know it was actually FASCINATING; it was so fun to admire every last piece in the museum. The tram guide was great, the pre-recorded audio is helpful and interesting, and the collection is so varied and extensive that you can't help but love it. The pipe organs - fabulous. The walkable "toy box" collection was great after the tram. Overall, I'd recommend this to anyone - it was soooo fun.

What a fun thing to do! We didn't know what to expect and want to say we all really enjoyed the…read moreexperience! Admission was reasonable and enjoyed the self-guided part while waiting for the next tram departure time. There was everything you could imagine - except one thing! A TELEX MACHINE (which I used to operate). When I asked the staff if they had one none of them even knew what I was talking about (early 20's)! We took the tram tour and really enjoyed it. The tram moved at a nice pace so you could really take in everything. So much to see - everywhere. It was a really fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day! But I urge you to visit rain or shine!

The Ephrata Cloister or Ephrata Community was a religious community established in 1732 by Johann…read moreConrad Beissel at Ephrata, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. By the early 1750s, Ephrata Cloister was home to nearly 80 celibate Brothers and Sisters who lived in striking Germanic-style log, stone, and half-timbered buildings. Alongside them, nearly 250 family members, known as Householders, resided in nearby homes and farms. Ephrata became known for: the German calligraphic art of Frakturschriften; self-composed a cappella music written using Beissel's rules for four-part harmony; and an ambitious printing establishment creating works for the use of the community and neighbors. During the American Revolution, Ephrata served as a hospital for nearly 250 American soldiers, some of whom rest in the Mount Zion cemetery overlooking the historic grounds. The Society declined after the death of Beissel in 1768. The last celibate member died in 1813, and the next year the remaining Householders incorporated into the German Seventh Day Baptist Church. Members continued to live and worship in the Cloister buildings until the close of the Church in 1934. After that, the buildings were turned over the state and became the museum you can visit today. I learned all this and more, when I visited the Ephrata Cloister this past Sunday. When you arrive, there's plenty of parking and then a short walk over to the visitor center, where you can purchase a ticket. Inside the visitor center is a small museum, which provided plenty of history and helpful context for exploring the grounds - especially if you're not taking advantage of the excellent guided tour. With the map you receive when you pay for admission, you can explore the grounds, and there's also an phone-led audio guide that tells you about each building (they're numbered). On the day I visited, there were two guided tours (one at 1pm and one at 2:15pm), and I highly recommend joining the guided tour if you can. It starts with a video in the auditorium space in the visitor center, and then a very helpful guide (ours was Sue) walked us to the grounds and explained more about the history and architecture. After that, she walked us to two buildings you cannot enter without a guide (the Sister's House and the attached Meetinghouse/Saal the Sisters used). I learned so much about this community - which I knew almost nothing about before my visit - and they were fascinating: they ate one (vegetarian) meal a day, they slept few hours each night (with a break from 12-2am in case the second coming arrived), and lived as an religious, pious, and equal community. Sue our tour guide pointed out which buildings were recreations and which were original. There were several that were original to the 18th century, and the architecture is really stunning. There's plenty to learn about this historic community and society and no wrong way to do it (although I highly recommend the guided tour, which I got so much out of - Sue was great). Don't forget to stop by the gift shop on our way out, too! A fascinating piece of American history right near Lancaster. If you're exploring Lancaster County for a weekend, including a visit to Ephrata Cloister is well worth it!

You have the option of touring it urself or with a group and an option of watching the 15 minute…read morevideo before the tour. WATCH THE VIDEO. Good combination of informative & comedic & good acting. Tour guide was very information and kept a comfortable atmosphere for questions. I would recommend walking around in the yard to find the water (idk if it's a river) and these stairs that kinda stop in the forest

Wings of War (WoW) is just starting out as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization. We have…read moreacquired a 1941 WWII Cessna T-50 Bobcat that was a Crane MK1 during WWII with the RCAF. The aircraft is currently portrayed as a U.S. UC-78 and will remain in U.S. colors. We believe this aircraft is the oldest, flying Bamboo Bomber in the world. We are actively pursuing nose art for this plane that will link it back to its Canadian lineage. Please go to our FB PAGE and add your ideas there. Call if you want to schedule an appointment to tour the aircraft.

From the owner: Wings of War (WoW) is just starting out as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization. We have…read moreacquired a 1941 WWII Cessna T-50 Bobcat that was a Crane MK1 during WWII with the RCAF. The aircraft is currently portrayed as a U.S. UC-78 and will remain in U.S. colors. We believe this aircraft is the oldest, flying Bamboo Bomber in the world. We are actively pursuing nose art for this plane that will link it back to its Canadian lineage. Please go to our FB PAGE and add your ideas there. Call if you want to schedule an appointment to tour the aircraft.

What a cool hidden gem in Valley Forge National Park! I took a tour of this museum in November…read more2025. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and intriguing as he guided us around the property and inside the home/studio. Esherick was extremely talented and it was incredible to see his stunning creations. Tips: The tour is inside and outside so dress accordingly. There are steps inside the building. Booking ahead is required and tour group counts are limited.

Visiting the Wharton Esherick Museum in Malvern had been on my to do list for a while, but the…read moretours sell out, and I've missed out on visiting a couple of times! Last week, I planned a last minute day trip to the Philadelphia area and noticed that they had exactly four tickets still open on tours for the rest of the month and they were for the upcoming Saturday at 11am. It was a sign, and I jumped on buying those tickets. How to explain the Wharton Esherick Museum?! Wharton Esherick was an American artist and designer (he's best known for his modernist wood furniture), and - while not a trained architect - he designed this house and studio compound (of four separate buildings) in Malvern to live and work in. By the time he was adding a workshop to the compound in 1955, building codes had made their way into law and Esherick got help from none other than Louis Kahn to help design that building. So what will you see if you visit? Just an incredible home and studio. Esherick was not into straight lines or right angles or wasting perfectly good wood, so the house and studio is an amazing sight: that staircase! the wood floor in the dining room! the concrete extension painted in colors that blend into the natural surroundings! the art and furniture pieces of Esherick's shown throughout the house! It's a hard place to describe, but our tour guide did a marvelous job of teaching us about Esherick and the buildings during our tour, while sharing some woodworking facts and passion, too! Reservations for the tours are required, and they do sell out. Regularly. There's an exhibit on Esherick at the Brandywine right now, and that might be generating more interest than usual in seeing his home and studio - or maybe tours of this amazing place are always this popular?! We did the Experiencing Esherick Tour, which takes you into the home and studio building and lasts about an hour. They offer some specialized tours of more limited days as well - I will definitely be visiting again for the architecture tour which takes you into at least one additional building you don't see on the general tour! The house? Fascinating. Our tour guide? Lovely. The grounds? Beautiful even in December. And a lovely little gift shop in Esherick's old garage where you can do some holiday shopping? Bonus. What's not to love about the Wharton Esherick Museum? I know I'll be returning to bring friends and family to this wonderful place in the future.

I toured the Wright's Ferry Mansion this past Saturday when I visited Columbia. In fact, I was in…read moreColumbia specifically to tour Wright's Ferry Mansion after a tour guide at another historic home told me it was an absolute gem in the area. I'm so glad she mentioned it to me; she was so right - it is one of the beautiful and best preserved/renovated homes I've ever visited. The home was built in 1738 by Susanna Wright (1697-1784). Susanna and her family were English Quakers that settled in the area in the early 18th century. Susanna was brilliant; known as "the Blue Stocking of Pennsylvania," she was a scholar, a poet, a friend of Benjamin Franklin, and so much more. The house is a two-story stone house - not large, but incredibly beautiful. I've toured many historic houses in the United States and abroad and, while I almost always enjoy a tour of them, I don't often think, "I want to live here." But as I walking around Wright's Ferry Mansion, I thought, "Oh, wow, I'd live here." It's just a gorgeous historic home - the wood, the colors, the flowers, the furnishings, the art... The Rasbridge family saved the house from scheduled demolition and lived in the house until 1973, when he sold it to artist, graphic designer, and art connoisseur Richard C. von Hess and his wife, Louise McClure Tinsley Steinman von Hess. They hired a celebrated preservationist (George Edwin Brumbaugh), and the four-year restoration of the house made it what it is today. I'm not exaggerating, it's one of the most beautiful historic homes I've ever toured. But I found arranging a tour to be more difficult than is typical for a historic home. You cannot pre-purchase tickets for a tour on their website. The website does provide the house of operation and states that tours are one the hour and that reservations are advised. There is a phone number that you can call to schedule a tour, but I didn't do that! They open at 10am, so I showed up right at 10am last Saturday. There was a chalk board on the door that says that tours are on the hour and that you may knock. I heard voices inside, so I knocked. I was told the 10am tour was full but that I could come back to at 11am. I came back at 10:50 this time, worried that the next tour would fill up (and this would be my last chance to take a tour during my visit to Columbia, as I had arranged other tours in the afternoon in Columbia and Willow Street). There were two other women waiting, too. Unfortunately, there's nowhere to wait except at the front door of the house, and there was no shade at all. It was a sweltering day, and I was immediately sweating through my clothes. It was 11, and no one had come to the door. We weren't sure if the tour had ended much earlier (since the house is on the smaller side, we did wonder if the tour was an hour or had already ended) or if it hadn't ended yet. Then someone came out with a fussy baby who didn't want to finish the tour, and we realized the tour was still going. I'd say we probably started around 11:10-11:15. That made my day really tight (I had somewhere to be at 1 and needed to have something to eat first), so I let our (very nice) tour guide know that I probably wouldn't be able to stay for the whole tour unfortunately. We finished the tour of the first floor around 11:50-11:55, so I called it at that point and now need to return to tour the upper floor. FYI: they don't allow photographs inside the house, so use your imagination (or check out their website), but I took plenty of pictures of the exterior of the house and the flower garden in front of the home. Susanna Wright was a fascinating woman, and the house is incredible. The tour is interesting; I learned so much about Susanna, the house, and Columbia. I wish I'd pay a little more attention to the fact that they recommend you scheduling your tour over the phone in advance, because the process of arranging the tour on the day of was a little difficult. So learn from my mistakes. Arrange your tour ahead of time to avoid a tour filling up and being turned away. Or - if you don't want arrange for a tour in advance, make sure your schedule is more flexible than mine was, so that you can come for the next tour if the tour you want fills up or if the tours don't start on the hour. This house is incredible. Since I shot myself in the foot by not pre-scheduling a tour, I need to go back to the do the tour again and see the second floor! But the house is so amazing, I'm happy to do it!

Hands down this was one of the best tours that I've been to! Our tour guide was amazing,she had all…read morethe history on the house as well as the beautiful antiques in the home. The tour took about an hour but what a wonderful was to spend an hour. Call find out the tour days and hours then run to be informed and impressed!

Pioneer Tunnel is unique, fun, and educational. You're not going on an amusement park ride or…read morevirtual tour- you are going deep into the real thing. The tour guides are locals who know the history because their families lived it. To be deep in a coal shaft and learn about the lives early coal miners lived from their own community really resonates. Be sure to bring a hoody or long sleeve shirt as it does get chilly down in the shaft, even on a hot summer day. You can buy long sleeve shirts in the gift shop as well. Military discount is available.

One of the best mine tours I've been on! Tour guides were all super friendly and informative, great…read moreplace to go if your in the area.

The train was a fun experience. It is through the woods and Boyertown area so we shouldn't be…read moreexpecting any crazy views but it's about the experience. They have levels from just riding to dining and while the price is a little steep it's also a great experience and yummy food. They do offer cocktails or sodas on the side and also extra food you can order from apps to desserts outside of the standard that comes along. Staff was super friendly and helpful. A great experience all around.

Had the most Amazing experience on this train tour, did the brunch in dining car and highly…read morerecommend this , food and service was phenomenal. If planning a train ride this is the place to go

We had the privilege of joining Bill and Bonnie on one of their horse-drawn carriage rides around…read morethe farm. Their hospitality leading up to the ride was fantastic, the weather was a bit 'iffy' so we ended up pushing back to later in the afternoon. It was still a bit cold and overcast when we arrived and we ended up being the only couple to join them. Blankets were in the carriage waiting for us and we were greeted as soon as we pulled up, the ride was enjoyable and informative... we learned about the farm and a bit about the battle, both Bill and Bonnie were super friendly and it was a pleasure to meet them! After the ride was over we had the opportunity to go back to the barn and meet all the horses. We learned more about each of them and got to feed them carrots, absolutely worth the price and a ride we would definitely do again, hopefully under better weather next time!

From the owner: Come enjoy a one-hour horse-drawn carriage tour at Silvershire Farm just a 15 minute drive north of…read moredowntown Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Ride with us through the picturesque countryside landscapes and orchards of Adams County. In the spring witness the beauty of the orchards as the trees begin to blossom. In the fall view the majestic colors of the mountains and surrounding hills as the trees change to yellows, ambers, and scarlets of the fall. The rest of the year enjoy the beauty of the rolling hills, countryside fields, and orchards as they begin to fill up with various fruits and crops in preparation for harvest. Enjoy the leisurely and relaxing pace of your carriage as it is pulled by two gentle giants, our Shire draft horses. Along the way you will also see an Elk herd as well as a variety of other animals. We will narrate your journey with a history of the area during the Civil War Battle at Gettysburg, as well as that of the orchards and the history of the Shire horse. At the end of your one-hour ride, you can meet and take pictures with your team and feed them treats. *Kids and adults like this part of the tour.* Click the “Book Now” button on our website to view available tour dates. Costs for one hour rides are as follows: Adults $32 (13 y/o and older) Children $16 (6-12 y/o) Youngsters 5 and under free. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Rides can be booked 24 hours a day on our website.