Vacationing in the Poconos Summer – A nice alternative to crowded beaches!

The Pocono Mountains are beautiful in the summer. We usually think of going to beaches in the summer and we were pleasantly surprised.

Certainly not surprised that it’s beautiful, but surprised that the mountains in the summer was a nice alternative to the beach. The weekend in September we visited it was sunny and quite warm. Could not have been more perfect.

We stayed at Stonybrook Family RV Resort in Lehighton, PA (stonybrookrvresort.com). Stonybrook is a very clean and well organized campground. About two thirds is set aside for seasonal campers and they take great care of their sites. The sites are all fairly level packed gravel and there’s a pool, sport courts, and a small shop. The staff and owners are very nice and helpful.

We went to the Poconos with just plans to take a short hike on the Appalachian Trail (AT) starting at a trail head near the campground where we stayed. We ended up not only going on a really great hike to some amazing views, but also tripped over a cute mountain town that is a must see if you are in the area.

We started our AT hike at Bake Oven Knob and headed south for a few miles then turned back, passed the trail head and headed north to a short distance to an overlook. The trail was easy to navigate and the views were stunning. The great disappointment was the graffiti. The rocks at the vistas were covered with spray paint. It’s very sad how little respect people have for our national parks and public spaces.

Here are a couple of great links to information about the Appalachian tail and day hikes in every state to try out.

• https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/…
• https://appalachiantrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/appalachian-trail-day-hikes-1.pdf

After our hike we though about what we could do the next day and I did an internet search of what was nearby. Turns our there are dozens of wineries in southwest Poconos! We spent the entire day visiting a few of them. Our favorites are – 

• Galen Glen Winery – https://www.galenglen.com
• Radical Wine Company – https://www.radicalwinecompany.com/
• Big Creek Vineyard – https://www.bigcreekvineyard.com

The final winery we visited is in the cute town of Jim Thorpe. This is a tiny town that, under ordinary circumstances, has a vibrant summer entertainment schedule. When we visited, Pennsylvania had opened for indoor dining so we were able to have a bite to eat and beers at Notch Eight Craft House (highly recommend). Up on the hill overlooking the town is the Asa Packer Museum, which is the Packer family house turned museum. Asa Packer was a railroad magnate who founded Lehigh University.

Jim Thorpe, PA – https://www.jimthorpe.org/

Asa Packer Mansion Museum – http://www.asapackermansion.com/

Notch Eight Craft House – https://www.facebook.com/Notcheightcr…

For more information and to see some of the beautiful video and photos we captured,  check out our video –

As always, stay with us while we research RVs, and cool (and necessary) equipment we discover along the way. We’ll share with you how we figured out what works for us and our travels in our RV. Of course we will give unbiased reviews of RVs, equipment, places we visit, and the best way to travel comfortably with only the necessities.

Thanks for being our guest. We’ll see you soon.

Sharon, Barry, and Sami