Unique things to do in PA with a 20 month old! (and some adults too!)
 

Hi!
My family consists of myself (35), my parents (60s), and my sister, her husband and my nephew (he'll be 20 months when we go). We will be renting a house in White Horse, PA during the last week of July. We used to go to PA a lot when we I was younger and are looking forward to spending some time together now and exploring it again with my little nephew!
We'll be doing all the standards, Crayola Factory (on the way from NY), Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland, Sesame Place, but I was hoping for some unique ideas that we might be missing.
My nephew is obsessed with animals, so a farm or nature preserve would be great! We enjoy a nice walk, easy hike, photo stop, etc. We would love to explore some of the towns in the area, love to go shopping for crafts and see local artisans. And, of course, some suggestions for good, local restaurants, not too, too expensive would be greatly appreciated!
We are using the house as a home base, and realize we'll have to do a little driving every day, so little day trips are perfectly fine with us!
Can anyone recommend anything? We are in the beginning stages of planning and don't have a lot yet.
Thank you all so much for your help! We really appreciate it!!!
:0) Joanna

I realize sometimes people check to see if the writer is a troll? (I think that's what it's called).
So I just want to say that last week I posted something similar about Maine, but we have since decided that PA offers much more for us to see and do at this point.
Thanks!
Joanna

I was going to recommend the Thomas the Tank train - but that themed train is not running in July
http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/tra...s/?cal=07-2015

There may be another train ride during that week that your group would enjoy. The 2 year old would love riding with Thomas and Percy.

He would have loved that, but a plain old train will be fun too! Thanks!!!

Hershey Park, Dutch Wonderland and Sesame Place.. that is 3 amusement parks, albeit for different ages. your nephew may be too small to go on the rides at Hershey Park, you should check the website to see if he will make the height requirements.

I would second the Strasburg railroad.

Longwood Garden is not far from where you are staying.

Marsh Creek State Park in Downingtown has a pool and sprinklers, places to picnic and hike, etc. Its fairly close to where you will be staying.

Lancaster Market, one of the oldest farmer's market with a variety of ethnic foods.

there are a number of places to see farms in Amish country.. look at the website discoverlancaster.com

Great! Thanks!

Cherry Crest Adventure Farm is near the Strasburg Railroad and has a good number of activities for young kids.
Verdant View is a farm based B and B near the Railroad, that does Family Farm tours where your child can interact with Farm Animals.
Both of these are within 15 minutes of where you are staying

Hands on House is Northeast of Lancaster and is focused on activities for kids the age of your nephew-probably a half hour drive from White Horse. Next to it is Landis Valley Farm Museum, which has farm animals and individuals demonstrating crafts (blacksmith, etc)

By the way, White Horse is in the middle of Amish farmland, you should see many buggies.

With regard to crafts, there are a large number of Craft shops strung along Route 340 from Intercourse to Bird in Hand
Shops worth trying are Village Quilts in Intercourse, Log Cabin Quilts, and Sylvia Petersheims Shop in Bird in Hand
The Kitchen Kettle complex in Intercourse is also worthwhile, although in July it will be extremely crowded. Go during the week rather than Friday or Saturday.
The biggest Amish quilt and craft shop is Riehls, on their farm. The address is 247 East Eby Road Leola Pa. You will need to use your GPS. It's about 1 mile east of the intersection of East Eby Road and Route 772.About a mile away(and Amish run) is Countryside Road Stand 2966 Stumptown Road Ronks also with a good selection of quilt's and crafts,as well as baked goods, preserves and extremely delicious fresh made soft pretzels.
almost all craft shops are closed Sunday

So many great ideas! Thank you all so much!

How fantastic for 3 generations to make this wonderful trip. I must ask, have any of the 5 adults questioned catering to a 20 month old in child destinations that they are likely too young to enjoy? 20 months is very young even for farm animals.

Have a wonderful trip with your family and embrace some adult time too.

I think the Chadds Ford/Brandywine Valley area is about 45 minutes away (possibly too long a drive?). In that area, you will find the Brandywine River Museum (Wyeth and other exhibitions), Brandywine Battlefield, Chadds Ford Winery and, en route, Longwood Gardens. Very pretty countryside.

Go where the adults want--the child will be portable. If he touches animals be sure to wash hands thoroughly.
It's a beautiful part of the country.
Lancaster Market shouldn't be missed.

The Ephrata Cloisters are unique as far as I know. Not much for kids there, but neat for adults.

French Creek State Park http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/statepar...tion/index.htm
is a wonderful park with lots to do. You can spend a day there. On your way, stop at Shady Maple http://www.shady-maple.com/ for eats and a little shopping; there is a Farmer's Market there.

I would highly suggest Longwood Gardens http://longwoodgardens.org/ in Kennett Square (close to my neck of the woods) as it is one of the largest and most beautiful gardens in the U.S. Don't forget your camera...this place is incredible.

Herrs Snack Factory http://www.herrs.com/snackfactorytours.html has a tour of their facility which is approximately 35-40 mins from White Horse. It is fun, and I think free. There is also a State Park nearby (Nottingham Park) that is an very easy hike if you are into that.

The Strasburg Railroad http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/ has a nice train ride that will be enjoyable for all ages.

http://lancasterpa.com/attractions/free-things-to-do/

Thanks so much! Sorry I didn't see this until now. I'll add those ideas to my list!

We went to Thomas Train this summer . It was terrible. Just a train with Thomas on the front but they have you surrounded by stores selling Thomas Stuff. People who bought the combined ticket for Percy were trying to sell their tickets just to get out of there. Kids were crying all over the place. That being said the train museum where this takes place is great. It would probably interest all ages.