Where to Go & What to Do in the Pocono Mountains
The Pocono Mountains are located in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, and make a great weekend trip for anyone who lives in Philadelphia or the NYC area, as the Poconos are only about 2 hours away. Also, if you live in the Binghamton or Scranton area, the Poconos are only an hour and a half to 40 minutes away, so they’re even closer.
The Poconos offer a lot of skiing/snowboarding, hiking, and many different outdoor activities for both the summer and winter time. The fall time is also a great season to visit the Poconos, to see the changing leaves. There are many Pocono resorts, cabins, airbnbs, villas, located in the these mountains. There’s also Wawas here.
In this article, you will learn about Pocono mountain resorts, Pocono Mountains attractions, Pocono Mountains cabins, hotels, airbnbs, and more.
This article is all about the Pocono Mountains.
Pocono Mountains:
Pocono Mountains Weather
Okay, so before you go, you probably want to know what to expect and what clothes to bring with you weather wise. So, in the Summer months, (late May to late September), the weather is pretty warm, much like your cities are going to be. Although, it’ll probably be 5-10℉ colder than the cities, but again, in these months, you can expect to see 75-90℉, probably more like 80 degrees. Lastly, the sun doesn’t sit until 9ish, and rises around 5am.
Okay, now in the winter time (late November to late April) you can expect snow ANYTIME, yes, even in in April. It’ rare, but it does snow in April sometimes. Typically, the weather is anywhere from 15-35℉. Usually in January, there will be a “thaw period”, where it’ll be in the 50-60℉ for a couple of days to a week. Then it will rain, then it will get brutally cold again, and the snow won’t come again until February. Yes, January is a rough month for all northeast skiers and snowboarders. Lastly, the sun rises at about 7am and sets around 4-5pm.
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Pocono Mountains Weather Continued
Moving on, the Fall time (late September to early November) is one of my favorite times anywhere in the northeast, especially anywhere in the mountains. Typically, the best time to see the changing colors of the leaves are mid October. Therefore, Columbus Day Weekend is usually the prime time to come to the northeast and the Poconos if you want to see the leaves and do some hiking, apple picking, haunted hayrides, etc. The temperature is anywhere from 40-60℉. Lastly, the sun will rise around 6-7am and set around 7pm.
Okay, onto our last season, Spring, which I feel like is the forgotten season. The last couple of years, the northeast really hasn’t had much of a Spring, really once mid to late May hits, it’s immediately Summer time. And the sun rises and sets about the same time as in the Fall season.
Best Time to Visit the Poconos
Honestly, the best time to visit, really depends on what activity you want to do in the Poconos. If you love leaf popping, then obviously, the Fall time (late September to early November) would be best for you to visit. On the other hand, if you love hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, then the Summer season is definitely the best time for you to visit.
Then, obviously if you love skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, ice skating, etc. then the Winter season (late November to late April) is the best time for you to visit. Really, the only months I wouldn’t recommend going somewhere in the mountains is April and November. But again, this all depends on how much snow is left. You can get some really good skiing days in April, and we have had EARLY snowstorms in late November that have also been great skiing days.
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It’s really hard to predict the weather in the mountains, they really do have their own weather patterns because they’re ALWAYS changing. So, when planning a trip to the Poconos, Pennsylvania, I would play it by hear with the weather and always keep checking it. Because two days before it could say it’s raining, then that actual day could be really sunny and beautiful.
Pocono Mountain Resorts
In my opinion, the nicest part of the Poconos is Lake Harmony. The nearby towns are, Blakeslee, Stroudsburg, and Split Rock, Pennsylvania. Lake Harmony is in the the southwestern part of the Poconos, about 45 minutes from Stroudsburg, PA. You have many different options here. There are two nice ski resorts nearby, Big Boulder and Jack Frost. Also, there’s a couple different state parks nearby, Jim Thorpe, Hickory Run, and LeHigh Gorge State Parks. Also, the Tannerville Outlets are closeby.
Within this area some nice resorts to stay at are Split Rock Resort, Pocono Mountains Villa Resort (Stroudsburg, PA), Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, Stroudsmoor Country Inn, The Village at Pocono, Pocono Palace Resort, Paradise Stream Resort, Great Wolf Lodge, Aquatopia Indoor Waterpark, and Pocono Mountains Hotel & Spa. These places are near Blue Mountain Ski Resort, Camelback Mountain, and Shawnee Mountain. If you want more of a resort feeling for your Poconos vacation, then I would recommend staying at any one of these resorts listed and the mountain resorts listed.
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Pocono Mountains Hotels
Okay, if you want more of an affordable place to stay, some nice, hotels are Stroudsmoor Country Inn, Lake Harmony Inn, Magnolia Streamside Resort, Pump House Inn & Spa, Hampton Inn & Suites Stroudsburg Bartonsville Poconos, Mountaintop Lodge at Lake Naomi, and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Stroudsburg-Poconos.
If you want more of a rustic feel some great Pocono Mountains cabins are Babble Brook Cottages, more cabins here from Vrbo, and again, more cabins on Airbnb that you can find here. Then of course if you are staying with a big group, I highly suggest staying somewhere at a Pocono Mountains Airbnb.
Lastly, if you want more of an inexpensive place to stay, then there are plenty of HipCamps and Campgrounds. Some great campgrounds are Lakewood Park Campgrounds, Cranberry Run Campground, Mountain Vista Campground, Otter Lake Camp-Resort, Camp Out Poconos, Thousands Trails Timothy Lake South, Four Seasons Campground, Shady Acres Campgrounds, Hickory Lake Campground, and many more.
Pocono Mountains Attractions
Okay, now onto things to do in the Poconos, the main reason you come here! There really is something to do in every season in the Pocono Mountains. I explained a little bit of things you can do in the first couple of paragraphs, but I will go into more detail here. For the springtime, I will say, white water rafting is a lot of fun. The best time to go is actually during late April when all the snow is melting, because that’s when there’s the most water and it’s moving the fastest.
In the summertime, during late May to late September, the best things to are hiking, mountain biking, paint balling, adventure courses, mountain coasters, jet skiing, paddle-boarding, kayaking, and golf. A lot of these same activities are offered in the Fall time as well. Also, apple picking and halloween activities are fun in the Fall time.
Okay, in the Wintertime, skiing, snowboarding (most popular activities), snowmobiling, indoor water parks (Great Wolf Lodge & H2O), tubbing, ice skating, and shopping at the Tannerville Outlets, are all fun things to do.
Pocono Mountains Ski Resorts
Some other great Poconos Resorts to ski at are Ski Big Bear is MUCH closer to Honesdale & Milford, PA, which is farther north. Bear Creek Mountain Resort, southern part of the Poconos, close to Breinigsville and Allentown, PA. Also, Elk Mountain Ski Resort, another northern resort, closer to Honesdale, PA. Lastly, Montage Mountain Resorts is near the middle of the Poconos, closer to Scranton, PA.
A typical lift ticket at Jack Frost Mountain & Big Boulder (in Stroudsburg, PA) is about $89 a day. All these resorts offer lessons & rentals. I will say, the ski mountains here are small, offering only about 30 trails maximum. So, I feel these mountains are best if you are a beginner skier/snowboarder. If you are more advanced, you will definitely get bored at any of the Pocono ski mountains.
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And that wraps up our post about the Pocono Mountains. As you can see, there are a lot of places to go and things to do within the Poconos. Again, a lot of people from NYC and Philadelphia come here for nice quiet weekend getaway. This is really what the Poconos are known for. Thank you so much for reading and I hope this helped you!
