So my fiance and I are about to take a trip (a side trip from a larger one in New York) to see the Philadelphia/ Lancaster area to get an Idea for where we might like to move. (We're currently on the west coast, but I'm originally from the East.) We only have three days, and will bus to Philadelphia and rent a car to drive to Lancaster. We both drive, but haven't very much in the past 5+ years, so we want to take a pleasant, less highway oriented route. I've looked at maps and cant quite determine how to go, never having taken the drive before, but would anyone recommend route 322 for most of the way, and then branching off to back roads for the last stretch to Lancaster? Ideally we would like to take a more scenic route, but if that's not possible, a less congested one is all we need. Anyone who knows the area would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
Hello! I hope I can provide some assistance. I have lived in Philadelphia all of my life but briefly called Lancaster home for about 5 years while i went to school there. I attended Millersville University which is only about 3 miles from downtown Lancaster city. Turnpike, which is obviously the least scenic should take you about an hour and a half. Its fairly direct and never very congested (once you get out of the city). A more scenic approach would be to take route 30 or any of the roads running parallel to it, much farm land and the occasional Amish horse and buggy. Once you get closer to Lancaster city there are many shops/outlet malls/Amish bakeries/hotels right along route 30 before you get into the city. Another alternate way would be to take route 30 until you hit Gap, PA. Then get off and follow 741. This is certainly the most scenic direction although it will add some time onto your trip. A highlight along 741 is a town called Strasburg. It is a very historic town and often referred to as train town USA with several old train museums, a good place to stop and check out. 741 will take you the back way into Lancaster City, much more scenic than the first two routes. Once you are in Lancaster everything is within close proximity (30 mins) if you did want to see Strasburg but also hit the outlets as well. Hope this helped, feel free to reach out with any other questions!
Thank you so much! That is very helpful. I might take you up on asking more questions as we approach the trip in the next 12 days. We really appreciate it!
There are some towns with interesting names in Amish Country including Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse.
Lancaster is between my house and Philadelphia. Route 30, 322 and 222 are all scenic route. Chickie's Rock on Route 441 is gorgeous and if you don't mind some rough dirt roads Shenk's Ferry is beautiful.
Thanks, good information to have! I will keep this in mind when planning. We're gonna go different routes there and back, so perfect.
Longwood Gardens isn't that far from either city: it's on US Route 1, about 3 miles northeast of Kennett Square. If you're choosing another route back and want a half day looking around the grounds, I would recommend that as a stop.
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