As you drive into the wooded corner of Lebanon County where Mount Gretna is nestled, “you can take a deep breath,” said Suzanne Stewart, executive and artistic director of Gretna Music. “It’s all so gorgeous and lush.”
The small borough is best known for being Pennsylvania’s Chautauqua, one of just a handful of remaining places nationwide oriented around a 19th-century movement aimed at fostering education, the arts, recreation, and religion (historically, Christianity).
Gretna and the surrounding area are rustic, with lots of foliage and gardens, low-slung wooden structures, and stone-lined paths. For me, it conjures up memories of Girl Scout camp. Within Mount Gretna itself, you won’t see supermarkets, hotels, gas stations, big box stores, or chain restaurants, although all of those can be found a short drive away. (It’s not exactly the middle of nowhere, despite the remote vibe.)
Mount Gretna is quiet in the cooler months, since some businesses are seasonal and part-time residents aren’t home. But it bustles from late spring through early fall, when its arts and cultural programming are in full swing.
A day isn’t enough to take it all in. Sue Hostetter, a resident since 2005 and president of the Mount Gretna Area Historical Society, cautions against coming to town and “rushing around and trying to do everything.”
“The point of coming to Mount Gretna is you get to come back again and again,” Hostetter said. “You come here to relax.”
Using advice from Stewart and Hostetter, PA Local put together a guide to enjoying a summer day in Mount Gretna. It offers a bounty of options — just make sure you don’t attempt to do them all at once.
Before you go
No two summer days in Mount Gretna are the same. Hostetter and Stewart both recommend checking the community calendar while planning your day. Many events are open to the public. Some are free or encourage donations, while others charge admission.
Some weekend offerings can keep you occupied for hours, including the Tour of Homes (this year on Aug. 1), the Outdoor Art Show (Aug. 15 and 16), or the International Film Festival (also Aug. 15 and 16). Other activities offered all week — like artist and author talks, performances, film screenings, and Christian lectures and services — are usually brief enough to leave room in the schedule for other things.
The weather is also worth checking in advance. Many things to do are outdoors, or require walking through woods, so be sure to have a plan B in case of rain.
Morning
To start, you’ll need to park. Parking is free, but spaces are limited, so for group outings Hostetter recommends carpooling rather than taking multiple vehicles.
Parking in the lot at the corner of Carnegie Avenue and Chautauqua Drive will get you close to many main attractions. Using the lot at Soldiers Field, just off Timber Road, puts you near a path to the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.
Several breakfast options are a quick walk from the central parking lot. Mount Gretna Coffee Cottage serves drinks, sandwiches, pastries, and salads, while Porch & Pantry offers alfresco dining with omelets, grain bowls, and other morning favorites. And while it might not sound like a morning spot, Mt. Gretna Pizzeria opens early and offers breakfast, Stewart said.
Once you’re fed, explore the area and its neighborhoods on foot to really get a sense of the place.
“From the outside eye … you’d probably be like, ‘What the heck, there’s nothing here,’” Stewart said of a cursory glance at Mount Gretna’s clusters of “little, tiny buildings” and relative lack of retail. “Because it’s all these little nooks and crannies, and you just have to kind of slow down and walk around and observe and take it in to really, truly appreciate it.”
As you stroll, you might hear birds chirping, run into some plein air painters from the Mount Gretna School of Art, or see residents sitting on porches, Hostetter said. There are also QR codes on local landmarks, which lead to facts from the Historical Society.
Some specific spots to aim for as you walk: the Mt. Gretna Community Library, grocery and gift shop MG Mercantile, the specialty tablecloth store La Cigale, and the fairy garden near the info center.
Afternoon
Organize your afternoon around your interests, whether that means attending Chautauqua programming or securing tickets to a matinee at the Mount Gretna Playhouse.
If your schedule is more open, catch a walking tour at the Historical Society on Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. (They’re free, though Hostetter noted that donations are appreciated.) You can also check out the society’s museum, which boasts artifacts such as carousel animals and organs on weekends.
Lovers of outdoor recreation have options aplenty. For swimming, check out Mt. Gretna Lake & Beach. For hiking, biking, or a nature walk, there’s the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail and nearby Clarence Schock Memorial Park at Governor Dick, where Stewart said an old fire tower offers beautiful vistas. There’s also throwback thrills at Mt. Gretna Mini Golf, which Hostetter described as very “old” but “a fun, bumpy little course to experience.”
Hungry? All the breakfast spots above have afternoon hours (though Porch & Pantry closes at 1 p.m.), and the Mount Gretna Hideaway — a tavern with a large deck — is open for lunch Wednesdays through Sundays.
Stewart also recommended two spots within 15 minutes of Mount Gretna: Ancestor Coffee & Creperie in Cornwall, and Colebrook Crossing.
If you’d rather stay local, sandwiches, salads, and wraps can be found at the Jigger Shop. But it’s really ice cream that this beloved local joint is known for — so leave room for some scoops, or more adventurous concoctions like a shoofly pie sundae or beignets sautéed in caramel and served over ice cream.
Evening
At dinnertime, try Timbers, which comes recommended by both Stewart and Hostetter. The restaurant has a seasonal menu and opens at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. On the first Friday of each month, the venue typically hosts area musicians and displays pieces by local artists.
If it’s a Friday or Saturday night and your energy isn’t completely spent, get your skate on at Mount Gretna Roller Rink, which is open to the public between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.
Or consider catching an evening performance at the open-air (but covered) Playhouse, which has several tenants offering different programming. Gretna Theatre brings plays, musicals, family-oriented entertainment, and other live performances to the stage, while Gretna Music specializes in high-caliber classical, jazz, chamber, and world musicians — and offers steep discounts for children, young adults, and adults accompanying kids. For a week in August, the Cicada Festival takes over the venue for a series of cover band concerts.
However you fill your day, Hostetter asks that you “help take care of this place,” which thrives in part thanks to hard work by local volunteers.
“Come and visit Mount Greta, but leave it in as good or better shape than you found it,” Hostetter said. “There’s a lot of love and care that has gone into maintaining this place. It’s very old, and that takes a lot of care and attention, and we’d like to keep it that way.”