12 Nicest Small Towns In The Poconos

The Pocono Mountains cover four counties in northeastern Pennsylvania: Monroe, Carbon, Wayne, and Pike. The region takes in Lake Wallenpaupack, one of the largest lakes in the state, along with the Delaware River and the Delaware Water Gap, the Lehigh Valley, and the edges of the Coal Region and Wyoming Valley. Its pull is partly geographic: both New York City and Philadelphia sit within a couple of hours' drive, which has made the Poconos a default weekend for millions of people on the East Coast. These are the twelve small towns that make the strongest case.

Stroudsburg

Colonel Jacob Stroud laid out Stroudsburg in 1799, and the Monroe County seat still sits where McMichaels Creek, Pocono Creek, and Brodhead Creek come together, about five miles from the Delaware Water Gap. Mountains, valleys, clear lakes, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail are all within reach, which is why the town shifted from mill work to tourism over the last century.

The Kitson Woolen Mill, now the Holland Thread Company Building, is worth a look: four brick structures raised between 1893 and 1904, comprising an east wing, a west wing, a boiler house, and an office. Downtown Stroudsburg is the only traditional downtown in the area and the commercial center for everything around it, with clothing shops like The Apple Tree, galleries like Gallery at 530 Main, and the Sherman Theater, which books concerts and theatrical productions and runs the annual StroudFest.

Lehighton

Lehighton sits on the Lehigh River in Carbon County, on ground the Moravian Brethren settled in 1746 as the mission station of Gnadenhütten. The town later ran on silk mills and the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and that industrial past is now the recreational asset.

The Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor runs through here, including the D&L Trail, a 165-mile multi-use route connecting Wilkes-Barre with Bristol. Nearby Beltzville State Park covers about 2,970 acres, and Beltzville Lake handles fishing, boating, and water skiing in summer, with ice fishing once it freezes. The Lehighton Amphitheater programs live music and community events through the warm months, and Country Junction, which bills itself as the world's largest general store, runs a pumpkin festival daily through late September and October.

Hawley

Named for Irad Hawley, the first president of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, this Wayne County borough sits near the meeting of Middle Creek and the Lackawaxen River at the north end of Lake Wallenpaupack. The reservoir runs 13 miles and carries most of the summer traffic, with fishing, boating, and swimming, plus hiking and wildlife watching along the wooded shoreline.

The Hawley Silk Mill, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been converted into a shopping and lifestyle complex holding boutiques like Art on the Edge, the Looking Glass Art Gallery, and Hopping Eagle Brewing Co. The Ritz Company Playhouse stages theater and musicals, and the Ledges Hotel sits directly above the gorge at Paupack High Falls, which is the kind of view most hotels have to invent.

Bushkill

Bushkill is an unincorporated Pike County community sitting midway between Milford and Delaware Water Gap, surrounded by the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Its headline attraction is Bushkill Falls, marketed as the Niagara of Pennsylvania, a chain of eight waterfalls reached by an extensive network of bridges and stairways. One practical note: the falls are privately owned and charge admission, so they are not covered by a national park pass.

Beyond the water, Poconos Park runs concerts at its outdoor amphitheater through the season, and Pocono Mountain Villas by Exploria Resorts handles lodging within a few minutes' drive.

Honesdale

American railroading started here. In 1829 the Stourbridge Lion made the first run by a commercial steam locomotive on a track in the United States, at Honesdale, which is why the town calls itself the birthplace of the American railroad. The Wayne County Historical Society and Museum keeps a full-size working replica, along with permanent exhibits on the canal era that made the town.

The Wayne County seat sits where the Lackawaxen River meets Dyberry Creek, about 30 miles northeast of Scranton, and takes its name from Philip Hone, first president of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. The Honesdale Residential Historic District holds most of the architecture worth seeing, including the county courthouse. For a view over the whole valley, climb the 300-foot Irving Cliff; for something flatter, Central Park downtown has the fountain, the walking paths, and the seasonal event calendar.

Milford

Grey Towers, the Pinchot family estate above Milford, is where American conservation policy was partly written. Gifford Pinchot founded the US Forest Service and served two terms as governor of Pennsylvania, and the house, gardens, and trails are open for tours as a National Historic Site. The town below was founded in 1796 by Judge John Biddis and is the Pike County seat, sitting on the Upper Delaware within the New York metropolitan area.

Raymondskill Falls, on Raymondskill Creek, drops in three tiers and is generally cited as the tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania. The restored Milford Theater screens classic films and stages live performances, and the Black Bear Film Festival takes over the town each October.

Delaware Water Gap

The Deer Head Inn has been running jazz since the 1950s and is billed as the oldest continuously operating jazz club in the country, which is an unexpected thing to find in a Monroe County borough of a few hundred people. The town calls itself the eastern gateway to the Poconos and sits right at the water gap itself, on the New Jersey line, where the Delaware River cuts straight through the Appalachian Mountains.

The Appalachian Trail crosses the river here, so the borough functions as a resupply stop for thru-hikers all season. The Antoine Dutot Museum and Gallery, in a 19th-century schoolhouse, holds artifacts from the town's resort heyday. Between the trail, the river views, and the inn, this is the smallest town on the list with the most going on.

East Stroudsburg

East Stroudsburg sits immediately next to Stroudsburg and runs on a different engine: East Stroudsburg University gives the borough a student population and a year-round pulse its neighbour does not have. The Pocono Indian Museum covers the Lenape through excavated artifacts and reconstructions, and the Dansbury Depot on Crystal Street, once a working rail station, now serves as an event and community space.

Yetter Park on the Brodhead Creek handles the outdoor side, with picnicking, fishing, walking trails, camping, and an 18-hole disc golf course. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a short drive away for hiking, paddling, and waterfalls.

Jim Thorpe

This town was called Mauch Chunk until 1954, when it merged with a neighbouring borough, renamed itself for the Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe, and had his remains brought here for burial, despite the fact that Thorpe had never set foot in it. The deal was struck with his widow in the hope of attracting tourism. It worked.

The Carbon County seat sits in a steep valley on the Lehigh River and has been called the Switzerland of America since long before the renaming, on the strength of its Victorian architecture stacked up the hillsides. The Asa Packer Mansion, built in 1861 in the Old Mauch Chunk Historic District, still holds its original furnishings, paid for by the Lehigh Valley Railroad fortune. Ride the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway up into Lehigh Gorge State Park, take an open-air trolley tour with the Jim Thorpe Trolley Company, and if you come in the first three weekends of October, the Fall Foliage Festival fills the streets.

Tannersville

Tannersville is a small community in Pocono Township that functions almost entirely as a family recreation hub. Camelback Mountain Resort is the reason, running four seasons on 166 acres of ski and snowboard terrain, roughly 40 snow tubing lanes, the Aquatopia indoor waterpark, the Camelbeach outdoor waterpark, and a zipline and mountain coaster operation.

Above it, Big Pocono State Park sits on the summit of Camelback Mountain and gives genuine 360-degree views across three states on a clear day. Back at road level, the Pocono Premium Outlets handle the shopping.

Mount Pocono

Mount Pocono sits near the geographic center of Monroe County and has long served as the transit and commercial hub of the region, a role it inherited from the grand resort era. Kalahari Resorts, a couple of miles off I-380, runs one of the largest indoor waterparks in the country at 220,000 square feet, plus an outdoor waterpark, a 230,000-square-foot convention center, a 40,000-square-foot entertainment center, and 977 guest rooms.

Mount Airy Casino Resort covers the adult end with gaming, live entertainment, dining, and an 18-hole golf course. Pocono Boulevard, the main street, is where the town keeps its own character, with consignment shops like The Olde Village Trader and old-school diners like the Pioneer Diner.

Lake Harmony

Big Boulder, just outside Lake Harmony, was the first ski area in the United States to make snow commercially, which is the reason skiing exists in a region this far south. It opened in 1947 and still runs slopes, tubing, and snowboarding for all skill levels.

The village itself is tiny, set in Kidder Township in Carbon County around its glacial lake, ringed by evergreen forest and low hills. Hickory Run State Park next door covers 15,990 acres with 44 miles of trail and the Hickory Run Boulder Field, a National Natural Landmark left behind by the last ice age and large enough to take twenty minutes to cross. Nick's Lake House handles dinner with the water in view.

Choosing Your Corner Of The Poconos

Twelve towns, four counties, and a fairly clean split by what you want. Jim Thorpe, Honesdale, and Milford carry the history, with a renamed coal town, the birthplace of American railroading, and the home of American conservation between them. Tannersville, Mount Pocono, and Lake Harmony are built for families and ski weekends, with the resorts and waterparks to match. Bushkill, Delaware Water Gap, and Hawley put you closest to the water, whether that is a chain of waterfalls, the river cutting through the mountains, or a 13-mile lake. Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg, and Lehighton are the working towns where people actually live year-round. Nothing here is more than about an hour from anything else, so a long weekend can reasonably take in three.