Exploring the Charming Towns of Lancaster County Pennsylvania

Over the recent Labor Day holiday, I ventured to Lancaster, Pennsylvania and let’s just say I fell in love! Lancaster County is quite large and to my surprise offered culture, history, delicious food (and coffee! because that is important) and stunning bucolic landscapes within its limits. I explored a few of the small towns and I definitely want to go back and luckily that is easy, as its about three hours from New York (pending traffic); it feels like the noise of the city is eons away. Here are a few places worth checking out.

LITITZ

Coined as ‘The Coolest Small Town in America’, Lititz is about a 20 minute drive from Lancaster City and offers a heavy dose of small town charm. The main thoroughfare is E. Main Street and N. Broad Street, both offer boutiques and places to dine and peruse. A few of the highlights include Wilbur Chocolate and the newly opened The Market at the Wilbur, which just debuted in part of the former chocolate factory and houses a variety of eats including Zigs Bakery & Cafe, a wine shop and a butcher shop. A bonus for travelers who are looking for accommodations, there will be a Tapestry by Marriot opening later this month. The surrounding area also includes a handful of antique shops, like Kirsch’s Antiques and for something sweet, Grecos Italian Ices and Homemade Ice Cream. Main Street offers many more quaint storefronts like the Atlas General Store, which stocks a range of goods like tactile ceramics, candles from P.F. Candle Co and plant-based cleansers from Tidy Thyme. If you are looking to caffeinate, stop into Slate Cafe, but save room for the town’s famous pretzels from Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, which is the first pretzel bakery in America and dates back to 1861. For a proper meal, head to Rooster Street Butcher (they also have vegetarian-friendly options) where they serve starters like pickled vegetables and crispy cauliflower to mains of steak frites and black bean burgers. To wind things down, grab a bench at Lititz Springs Park around the golden hour and muse at the hundreds of ducks that swim in the clean canal.

The Lititz welcome center stands in the old train terminal.

Lititz Springs Park is especially beautiful during the golden hour where a myriad of ducks bask.

Strasburg

Strasburg proper might only be one street, but within the relatively small confines, it packs history, a noteworthy ice cream shop and many historical homes with stone facades in the heart of Amish country. Strasburg Country Store and Creamery serves-up homemade ice cream in a retro environment in the front with a country store in the back stocking candy and regional provisions. Further down on Main Street, Speckled Hen Coffee has a menu of quality coffee and healthy, seasonal bites. When it comes to shopping, Blue Dandelion by Tiffany curates a range of furniture, both vintage and new and small objects for the home. Visitors will also find a handful of antique stores like Main Street Antiques.