Intercourse PA
Having lived in the Harrisburg area and left when I was going into graduate school, I never really got the opportunity to play tourist in Lancaster County much and do the whole Amish Country scene.
Well let me tell you it is a wonderful experience and such fun. Sure there is some commercialization of the scene but overall it is a great experience and appeals to all ages. There are ample hotel rooms and campgrounds in the area and no shortage of things to do for all ages.
We ended up driving our RV up to Intercourse from Coatesville, PA and spent the day there. We easily parked in a free parking lot and unloaded our bicycles and rode around exploring the town. It is fairly compact and well suited to visitors with amenities.
You never really know what the prime attraction is for an area until you experience it for yourself. For me, the tourist attraction in Intercourse PA that I couldn’t find anywhere else but here was a market called Stoltzfus Meat and Deli. The store is a treasure for anyone who enjoys food. There are things you won’t find anywhere else and they are all fresh and delicious. If you’re in the area, you owe it to yourself to stop in here.
It is on one of the side streets and not on the main street of Intercourse but it is well sign posted. We bought bacon and sausages as well as cheese and other things. I can’t imagine having this place within driving distance of my home – I’d be as large as a house. They also do the New Castle, Delaware Farmers Market for anyone who lives within easier range of that town. And to make this even better, it is across the street from the Intercourse Canning Company – another thing to not miss when in town!
Kitchen Kettle Village is another place we visited. It is loads of fun and we actually spent some time at the little petting zoo they have there with some of the most adorable baby goats. And it was free. There are horse and buggy rides that are conducted from here though we didn’t do it. We saw plenty of them coming and going interspersed with the Amish people and their buggy’s. The merchants are well worth exploring too.
Kling House Restaurant is at the Kitchen Kettle Village and is a great restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. It is popular and for good reason. The food and service is excellent. I can highly suggest the pretzels and mustard on the appetizers menu. Soft and delicious with excellent mustards. The sweet bolgna sandwich really took me back to childhood and I wish I could have one every week! The salads are beautiful and everything is fresh and delicious with a taste that is unique to Lancaster County.
There are other smaller shops up and down the main boulevard with homemade Amish or otherwise items and they are at very reasonable prices. So anyone interested in furniture or linens would also find plenty of interest here. And of course you can buy coffee cups, magnets and lighters that say Intercourse. Those are made in China.
There is a merchants association in Intercourse with a good web site to give you a further idea of what there is here. It is a small town but you can base yourself here and spend as much time as you’d like exploring the towns of Lancaster County PA and really enjoy it. As with all tourist destinations that are well developed, there are outlet malls should you tire of the more authentic experiences.
Nearby are the villages of Gap, Blue Ball, Paradise, Mount Joy and of course the City of Lancaster. If you live within several hours of this destination and haven’t been lately, you owe it to yourself to get away to the Lancaster area. It really is a joy.
RV Road Trip Note:
This is part of the series of blog posts on a fourteen day road trip from St. Petersburg, Florida to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania with stops along the way north and south with no real planned itinerary. We did this trip in our 30 foot class A motorhome in late July/early August with two bicycles strapped to the back. We traveled to Intercourse, Pennsylvania from Coatesville and from there we went to Dillsburg which is near Harrisburg.
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