There are so many things to do in Philadelphia, but sometimes you want to escape the city and take a day trip. In those times, you’ll be grateful to have this list of best day trips near Philadelphia handy! We looked all over Philly and compiled some of our favorite picks for fantastic adventures you can have within a short drive of the city, and a few that you can reach from PATCO or SEPTA, if you don’t feel like driving at all.

  1. Ringing Rocks State Park

Flickr / Gavin M. Roy Ringing Rocks State Park is one of the most interesting places in the area. It’s the one hike where you’ll want to take a hammer with you because you’ll arrive at a boulder field where the rocks, when struck, sound like bells. Read more about Ringing Rocks State Park in this feature article. Ringing Rocks County Park, Ringing Rocks Rd, Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972, USA

  1. Visit the charming town of Haddonfield, New Jersey.

Facebook / Downtown Haddonfield Haddonfield is home to one of the best British shops in the world, believe it or not. With world-class shopping, pretty parks, and delicious restaurants, this town is the perfect place to escape. Plus, there’s a PATCO stop right in town.Read more about this charming Garden State town in this article. Haddonfield, NJ, USA

  1. Dine in Collingswood, the best foodie town.

Facebook / Collingswood Life Collingswood is another town along the PATCO Speedline, and it’s one of the best destinations for foodies in the area. From Italian BYOBs to lively sushi bars, you’ll find whatever your taste buds are craving here. Read more about this foodie favorite in this article. Collingswood, NJ, USA

  1. New Hope and Lambertville

Flickr / Ron Bowan There’s no better pair of towns than New Hope and Lambertville. They are both historic towns full of charm, restaurants, shopping, and art. Read more about this dynamic duo in this article. New Hope-Lambertville Bridge, W Bridge St, New Hope, PA 18938, USA

  1. The Village of Arden, Delaware

The Arden Club Arden is a fairy tale village that you won’t believe is real. Attend their Shakespeare showings, join the dinner guild for supper, visit the Oddporium, or just admire the unique architecture. There’s no other town like this in the world.Read more about this charming village in this article. Arden, DE 19810, USA

  1. The Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion

Facebook / Insectarium This northeast Philly museum and butterfly house is a perfect place for a day trip without straying too far from the city. Visit their bearded dragon named “Trash Dragon,” and enjoy the butterfly pavilion where monarchs may land on your shirt!Check out this article to learn why The Insectarium is one of the best day trips near Philadelphia … Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion, 8046 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19136, USA

  1. Visit Jim Thorpe, the Gateway to the Poconos.

Flickr / Ameilie New York Jim Thorpe is one of Pennsylvania’s best towns! You can hike the wild Glen Onoko Falls trail, enjoy the scenic railway, stroll the town’s quaint shops, and dine at several delicious eateries. We wax poetic about Jim Thorpe in this article. Jim Thorpe, PA, USA

  1. Longwood Gardens

Flickr / Peter Miller Longwood Gardens is one of the best gardens in the entire country. It’s a place of magical walking paths, mesmerizing fountains, and stunning displays. No wonder it made our list of 10 Most Beautiful Gardens in Pennsylvania. Chester County, PA, USA

  1. Any Jersey Shore

Flickr / Peter Miller Of course, nothing can beat a trip to the shore! No matter the weather — something about salt air and sand on your toes is the cure for every ailment. If you want to go north, check out Asbury Park. If you choose to head south, Sea Isle is perfect. What’s your favorite Jersey Shore town?

Where is your favorite place to spend a day when you’re running away from the city? Share your picks for the best day trips near Philadelphia with us in the comments below!

Flickr / Gavin M. Roy

Ringing Rocks State Park is one of the most interesting places in the area. It’s the one hike where you’ll want to take a hammer with you because you’ll arrive at a boulder field where the rocks, when struck, sound like bells. Read more about Ringing Rocks State Park in this feature article.

Ringing Rocks County Park, Ringing Rocks Rd, Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972, USA

Facebook / Downtown Haddonfield

Haddonfield is home to one of the best British shops in the world, believe it or not. With world-class shopping, pretty parks, and delicious restaurants, this town is the perfect place to escape. Plus, there’s a PATCO stop right in town.Read more about this charming Garden State town in this article.

Haddonfield, NJ, USA

Facebook / Collingswood Life

Collingswood is another town along the PATCO Speedline, and it’s one of the best destinations for foodies in the area. From Italian BYOBs to lively sushi bars, you’ll find whatever your taste buds are craving here. Read more about this foodie favorite in this article.

Collingswood, NJ, USA

Flickr / Ron Bowan

There’s no better pair of towns than New Hope and Lambertville. They are both historic towns full of charm, restaurants, shopping, and art. Read more about this dynamic duo in this article.

New Hope-Lambertville Bridge, W Bridge St, New Hope, PA 18938, USA

The Arden Club

Arden is a fairy tale village that you won’t believe is real. Attend their Shakespeare showings, join the dinner guild for supper, visit the Oddporium, or just admire the unique architecture. There’s no other town like this in the world.Read more about this charming village in this article.

Arden, DE 19810, USA

Facebook / Insectarium

This northeast Philly museum and butterfly house is a perfect place for a day trip without straying too far from the city. Visit their bearded dragon named “Trash Dragon,” and enjoy the butterfly pavilion where monarchs may land on your shirt!Check out this article to learn why The Insectarium is one of the best day trips near Philadelphia …

Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion, 8046 Frankford Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19136, USA

Flickr / Ameilie New York

Jim Thorpe is one of Pennsylvania’s best towns! You can hike the wild Glen Onoko Falls trail, enjoy the scenic railway, stroll the town’s quaint shops, and dine at several delicious eateries. We wax poetic about Jim Thorpe in this article.

Jim Thorpe, PA, USA

Flickr / Peter Miller

Longwood Gardens is one of the best gardens in the entire country. It’s a place of magical walking paths, mesmerizing fountains, and stunning displays. No wonder it made our list of 10 Most Beautiful Gardens in Pennsylvania.

Chester County, PA, USA

Of course, nothing can beat a trip to the shore! No matter the weather — something about salt air and sand on your toes is the cure for every ailment. If you want to go north, check out Asbury Park. If you choose to head south, Sea Isle is perfect. What’s your favorite Jersey Shore town?

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.

The OIYS Visitor Center

Best day trips near Philadelphia June 22, 2022 Sarah M. What are some of the best day trips in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania is full of so many wonderful attractions and adventures, and we recommend broadening your radius to include more than just the above best day trips near Philadelphia! We put together this list of some of our all-time favorite day trips in Pennsylvania, and they’re the kinds of excursions that can be tackled any time of the year. Some of these unique day trips in Pennsylvania include Frank Llyod Wright’s Fallingwater House, which is open to visitors for guided tours; Longwood Gardens, which is considered to be one of the top botanical gardens in the country; the Amish Experience, located at Plain & Fancy Farms in Bird-in-Hand, a place that allows visitors to explore the area’s culture with guided tours of farmlands, a theater that plays “Jacob’s Choice.” and an Amish house and one-room school that is open for exploration. We also recommend traveling to Pittsburgh to visit the Carnegie Museums, a treasure that is actually comprised of four world-class attractions: the Carnegie Museum of Art, which was one of the first museums of modern art in the country; the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which has one of the most impressive collections of dinosaur skeletons in the world; the Andy Warhol Museum, and the Carnegie Science Center, which is the most-visited museum in Pittsburgh. In terms of more day trips in Philly, the Philadelphia Art Museum is always, always a good idea. It is among the largest and most impressive art museums in the country, and it is well worth the visit from anywhere in the state. If you aren’t much of an art enthusiast, there are other options. Check out the Franklin Institute, which is a huge science center, the Mutter Museum, which houses a plethora of medical oddities and preserved body parts, or the Please Touch Museum, a children’s museum that invites you to get handsy with an array of various objects.

The OIYS Visitor Center

Best day trips near Philadelphia

June 22, 2022

Sarah M.

What are some of the best day trips in Pennsylvania? Pennsylvania is full of so many wonderful attractions and adventures, and we recommend broadening your radius to include more than just the above best day trips near Philadelphia! We put together this list of some of our all-time favorite day trips in Pennsylvania, and they’re the kinds of excursions that can be tackled any time of the year. Some of these unique day trips in Pennsylvania include Frank Llyod Wright’s Fallingwater House, which is open to visitors for guided tours; Longwood Gardens, which is considered to be one of the top botanical gardens in the country; the Amish Experience, located at Plain & Fancy Farms in Bird-in-Hand, a place that allows visitors to explore the area’s culture with guided tours of farmlands, a theater that plays “Jacob’s Choice.” and an Amish house and one-room school that is open for exploration. We also recommend traveling to Pittsburgh to visit the Carnegie Museums, a treasure that is actually comprised of four world-class attractions: the Carnegie Museum of Art, which was one of the first museums of modern art in the country; the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which has one of the most impressive collections of dinosaur skeletons in the world; the Andy Warhol Museum, and the Carnegie Science Center, which is the most-visited museum in Pittsburgh. In terms of more day trips in Philly, the Philadelphia Art Museum is always, always a good idea. It is among the largest and most impressive art museums in the country, and it is well worth the visit from anywhere in the state. If you aren’t much of an art enthusiast, there are other options. Check out the Franklin Institute, which is a huge science center, the Mutter Museum, which houses a plethora of medical oddities and preserved body parts, or the Please Touch Museum, a children’s museum that invites you to get handsy with an array of various objects.

The OIYS Visitor Center

The OIYS Visitor Center

Pennsylvania is full of so many wonderful attractions and adventures, and we recommend broadening your radius to include more than just the above best day trips near Philadelphia! We put together this list of some of our all-time favorite day trips in Pennsylvania, and they’re the kinds of excursions that can be tackled any time of the year. Some of these unique day trips in Pennsylvania include Frank Llyod Wright’s Fallingwater House, which is open to visitors for guided tours; Longwood Gardens, which is considered to be one of the top botanical gardens in the country; the Amish Experience, located at Plain & Fancy Farms in Bird-in-Hand, a place that allows visitors to explore the area’s culture with guided tours of farmlands, a theater that plays “Jacob’s Choice.” and an Amish house and one-room school that is open for exploration.

We also recommend traveling to Pittsburgh to visit the Carnegie Museums, a treasure that is actually comprised of four world-class attractions: the Carnegie Museum of Art, which was one of the first museums of modern art in the country; the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, which has one of the most impressive collections of dinosaur skeletons in the world; the Andy Warhol Museum, and the Carnegie Science Center, which is the most-visited museum in Pittsburgh.

In terms of more day trips in Philly, the Philadelphia Art Museum is always, always a good idea. It is among the largest and most impressive art museums in the country, and it is well worth the visit from anywhere in the state. If you aren’t much of an art enthusiast, there are other options. Check out the Franklin Institute, which is a huge science center, the Mutter Museum, which houses a plethora of medical oddities and preserved body parts, or the Please Touch Museum, a children’s museum that invites you to get handsy with an array of various objects.