Hershey, PA

A downtown Hershey Italian restaurant that has been feeding the town and its visitors since 1935, making it the oldest restaurant in Hershey and possibly its most beloved. The menu covers house-made pastas, classic Italian-American dishes, and a long list of daily specials in a warm, family-run room that radiates the comfort of a place that knows exactly what it is.

A beloved breakfast and lunch spot on Chocolate Avenue that has been the preferred morning destination for locals and savvy visitors for decades. The menu covers eggs, pancakes, French toast, and house-baked goods in generous portions that consistently outperform any hotel breakfast option in the area.

A downtown Hershey grill offering New American dishes in a comfortable setting that manages to feel local rather than tourist-targeted. The menu covers a range from burgers and sandwiches to more composed dinner plates, and the kitchen uses local ingredients with genuine care. One of the more reliable spots on Chocolate Avenue for an actual good meal.

Located in the historic Hershey Press Building in downtown Hershey, Devon offers fresh seafood sourced daily alongside prime steaks and an award-winning wine list in a setting that feels genuinely upscale without the corporate polish of a chain steakhouse. The crab-stuffed trout and Chesapeake Bay preparations are particular strengths.

A modern Italian restaurant in downtown Hershey drawing on Old World recipes with a contemporary presentation. The kitchen produces its own pasta and takes the Neapolitan pizza tradition seriously, with a wood-fired approach to both that distinguishes it from the standard Italian-American options in the area.

The grand dining room of Milton Hershey's 1933 hotel, with a circular layout, panoramic windows overlooking the gardens, and a formal Pennsylvania farm-to-table menu. Sunday brunch here — with an extravagant spread and a dessert cart that includes chocolate preparations — is one of the most celebratory meals in the Harrisburg region.

A craft brewery and pub in the Hershey area with a rotating selection of house-brewed beers alongside a menu that covers burgers, sandwiches, and bar staples executed with more care than the setting suggests. A good option when you want a local craft beer and a proper burger without the formality of the hotel restaurants.

The more casual of the Hotel Hershey's dining rooms, with a Pennsylvania-focused farm-to-table menu served in a lighter, less formal setting than the Circular Dining Room. Good for a dinner that still draws on local ingredients and the hotel's standards without the full ceremony of the grand dining experience.

A pub and restaurant near the Milton Hershey School grounds offering a comfortable neighborhood atmosphere with American comfort food — steaks, burgers, sandwiches, and a solid beer selection. The kind of unpretentious local spot that provides relief from the tourist restaurant circuit on Chocolate Avenue.

Hershey's most celebrated brewery — Tröegs produces some of the best craft beer in Pennsylvania, from their flagship Troegenator doppelbock and Perpetual IPA to an ever-rotating line of seasonal and barrel-aged releases. The brewery pub serves food that's calibrated to beer pairing rather than just filler, and the tasting room has the energy of a place that takes its product seriously.

A casual poolside restaurant and bar at Hotel Hershey named for Milton Hershey's personal assistant, who was among his most loyal and longest-serving employees. The menu is lighter and more casual than the hotel's formal dining rooms — salads, sandwiches, and outdoor plates suited to a warm afternoon by the pool.

A downtown Hershey Irish-American pub with a comfortable bar, outdoor courtyard seating, and pub food that covers the expected range reliably — fish and chips, shepherd's pie, burgers, and a decent selection of beers on draft. A straightforward option when you want a beer and a reliable meal in a relaxed setting.

A 13.5-mile trail passing through the countryside near Hershey, linking community parks and ending near Indian Echo Caverns. The flat to gently rolling terrain makes it accessible for casual hikers and cyclists, and the rural setting through farms and woodland feels genuinely removed from the Hershey tourist corridor.

A paved multi-use pathway following Spring Creek through Hershey and connecting to the surrounding Dauphin County trail network. Used daily by local joggers, cyclists, and families, the pathway provides a continuous green corridor through a largely suburban landscape and is the most convenient outdoor walk from Chocolate Avenue.

A 229-acre natural area in Harrisburg (20 minutes from Hershey) with six miles of trails, 1.5 miles of boardwalks through wetlands, and a nature center. The bird list here is exceptional — over 200 species documented — and the wetland boardwalks offer close encounters with herons, wood ducks, and turtles in a setting that belies its suburban location.

A moderately demanding 3.4-mile round-trip hike from Duncannon (about 30 minutes from Hershey) to Hawk Rock on the Appalachian Trail, with a 900-foot elevation gain and a summit view across the Susquehanna River that ranks among the most rewarding short hikes within easy reach of Hershey.

A state park an hour north of Hershey with eight miles of hiking trails around a 88-acre lake, plus a restored gristmill and covered bridge on the property. The park sees far fewer visitors than the Hersheypark area attractions and offers a genuinely peaceful half-day excursion for anyone wanting real nature time.

The walking paths through Hershey Gardens and the surrounding hotel grounds offer a gentle, scenic stroll through 23 acres of botanical plantings on a hilltop above Hersheypark. Not a trail in the backcountry sense, but a genuinely pleasant walking experience, particularly during rose peak in late spring.

Behind-the-scenes tours of the Tröegs brewery in Hershey that walk through the production process from grain to glass, finishing in the taproom. For anyone interested in craft brewing rather than just drinking the result, this is one of the most accessible and well-run brewery tours in central Pennsylvania.

A full-service luxury spa with treatments themed around chocolate and cocoa — whipped cocoa bath, cocoa massage, and a chocolate fondue wrap among others. The concept is kitsch but the execution is genuinely high quality; the spa regularly wins national recognition and delivers a proper spa experience with a memorable Hershey twist.

The Hershey Bears are the most successful franchise in AHL history and the primary development affiliate of the Washington Capitals, playing at Giant Center in Hershey. Home games are loud, affordable, and filled with fans who have been coming to Bears games for generations — a genuinely fun hockey atmosphere without NHL ticket prices.

The 121-acre amusement and water park that remains the centerpiece of Hershey's entertainment economy. The coaster lineup — Fahrenheit, Candymonium, Storm Runner, Skyrush — is one of the strongest in the mid-Atlantic, and the park operates a late-season Hersheypark in the Dark Halloween event that differs meaningfully from the summer experience.

A 1,904-seat theater opened in 1933 as part of Milton Hershey's plan for a complete civic center, with an ornate Italian Baroque interior featuring hand-painted ceiling murals, marble floors, and one of the largest pipe organs in Pennsylvania. The venue hosts touring Broadway shows, concerts, and community performances in a setting that was meant to rival grand urban theaters.

A thoroughbred horse racing track in Grantville (about 15 minutes from Hershey) with live racing, a casino, and a sports betting facility. Live racing brings a genuinely different entertainment crowd than the theme park and spa visitors, with infield tailgating culture on major race days that has its own distinct personality.

A regional professional orchestra performing a full season at Hershey Theatre and occasional outdoor venues. The orchestra's programming spans classical, pops, and family concerts and delivers a quality of performance that surprises those expecting a small-city chamber ensemble.

The gem panning attraction attached to Indian Echo Caverns lets visitors sluice through sand to find genuine mineral specimens — not planted plastic gems but real quartz crystals, amethyst, and other stones that are bagged and identified on site. A better activity than it sounds, particularly for kids who actually enjoy learning what they found.

A 23-acre botanical garden on the hill above Hersheypark, established by Milton Hershey in 1937 with a single rose garden that has expanded to include Japanese, Italian, and Children's gardens. The butterfly atrium in the Children's Garden releases hundreds of live butterflies during the warm season, and the rose peak in June draws serious flower photographers.

The story of Milton Hershey — industrial chocolate baron, utopian community builder, and philanthropist — told through artifacts, interactive exhibits, and a chocolate lab where you can make your own bar. The museum's dual focus on chocolate history and the man who created an entire planned town makes it more interesting than a standard candy-company museum.

A natural limestone cavern system near Hummelstown that has been open to tourists since 1929, with formations that took millions of years to grow and chambers that stay at a constant 52 degrees year-round. The guided tours cover the geology and local Lenape history, and the cavern itself is genuinely impressive — not a gimmick.

Milton Hershey's flagship hotel, built in 1933 on a hillside above his model town with views of the surrounding countryside. The Mediterranean-inspired architecture, formal gardens, and grand public spaces are worth touring even if you're not staying — the Fountain Lobby is particularly striking — and the Chocolate Spa is genuinely one of the more inventive spa programs in the mid-Atlantic.

The main commercial street of Hershey, with streetlights shaped like Hershey's Kisses and a walkable mix of locally owned shops, restaurants, and the kind of chocolate-themed kitsch you'd expect alongside things that are genuinely good. The street anchors the downtown and is the pedestrian core of the town Milton Hershey designed.

A 121-acre amusement park with over 70 rides including 14 coasters, a water park section, and live entertainment — the Fahrenheit inversion coaster and Candymonium hypercoaster are the flagship thrill rides. Built by Milton Hershey as a recreation space for his factory workers in 1907, it has grown into one of Pennsylvania's most visited attractions.

An 11-acre North American wildlife zoo attached to Hersheypark featuring over 200 animals from five distinct North American ecosystems. The zoo is independently accessible without a Hersheypark ticket and is a genuinely well-regarded wildlife facility that goes beyond the roadside-zoo model.

The campus of Milton Hershey's philanthropic masterwork — a school he and his wife Catherine founded in 1909 to educate children from low-income backgrounds, now one of the best-endowed schools in the world. The grounds are open for walking and the campus architecture reflects Hershey's vision of an educational environment that rivals private preparatory schools.