Start from 25 curated places around Scranton, PA, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Ipanema Grille
A Brazilian rodizio steakhouse in Scranton that's built a real following — the gauchos circulate with skewered meats carved tableside, the salad bar is legitimately good, and the all-you-can-eat format rewards groups who come hungry. The meat quality is noticeably better than what the price point would suggest.
The 16th Ward
A downtown Scranton spot serving dumplings, pierogies, and French onion pizza alongside an inventive cocktail list — the kind of creative menu that belongs in a bigger city but is happily here instead. The room is cozy and slightly retro, the staff is genuinely warm, and the cocktails are taken more seriously than the bar-snack-heavy menu might suggest.
Trails & outdoors
Nay Aug Park Davis Trail
A 2-mile loop through the Nay Aug Park forest that leads to the gorge overlook and the Dave Wenzel treehouse — the payoff for a modest amount of walking is one of the better viewpoints in a city park anywhere in Pennsylvania. Rock formations along Roaring Brook are impressive, and the trail is well-signed and family-friendly.
Nay Aug Park Loop
A 2.6-mile loop around the entirety of Nay Aug Park — the longest walk you can do without leaving the park, passing the greenhouse, historical monuments, playground, and multiple gorge viewpoints. A complete survey of what Scranton's flagship park has to offer.
Things to do
The Office Self-Guided Tour
Scranton is the setting for the American version of The Office, and the city has leaned into it — a self-guided 25-stop tour hits real locations including the Pennsylvania Paper & Supply tower from the opening credits, Poor Richard's Pub, and several downtown landmarks referenced in the show. The 'Scranton Welcomes You' sign inside the Marketplace at Steamtown is the most photographed stop.
Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple
A restored 1930 Masonic temple with some of the most impressive interior architecture in northeastern Pennsylvania — the main auditorium has hand-painted ceilings, marble floors, and a pipe organ. Hosts Broadway touring productions, concerts, and comedy shows. The building alone justifies the ticket price on any show.
Landmarks & sights
Steamtown National Historic Site
A free National Park Service site built on a real working railroad yard — the collection of steam locomotives and passenger cars is one of the most significant in the country, and you can actually board and walk through the cars. Seasonal excursion trains depart from the yard for day trips on historic rail lines; buy those tickets in advance. The technology museum attached explains the engineering without being dry.
Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour
A real anthracite mine where you ride a cable-driven coal hauler 300 feet underground, then walk the tunnels with guides who are often descendants of former miners. The air is genuinely cold (bring a layer), the scale is genuinely impressive, and the human story — what it was like to work here — is delivered without melodrama. One of the more honest industrial history experiences in Pennsylvania.