Pennsylvania
7 Towns In The Poconos With Thriving Local Businesses
The Poconos is a spectacular subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. It is located in the northeastern United States between the Coal Region of Pennsylvania and the borders of New York and New Jersey. Although known for its nature, the Poconos contains communities with countless commercial attractions. From a curiosity shop to a candy cottage to an NYC-style street grill to a winsome winery to an award-winning brewery, the Poconos’ settlements have something to offer every type of tourist. Here are seven to visit sooner rather than later.
Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania
Named after the legendary multi-sport athlete, Jim Thorpe is a versatile community in the Pennsylvania Poconos. In addition to natural wonders like Lehigh Gorge State Park, which can be explored via the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, this 4,500ish-person borough offers access to amazing shops, bars, restaurants, and architecture. The Emporium Of Curious Goods sells curious goods to curious residents and curious tourists; the Stone Row Pub & Eatery is a progressive space peddling craft cocktails and boutique dishes; Tommy’s Subs is a shop serving diverse and delicious sandwiches; and Molly Maguire’s Pub & Steakhouse is a vibrant bar, restaurant, and historic landmark, since it operates in the Hotel Switzerland, which is the oldest commercial building in town. Tours of such attractions are provided by the Jim Thorpe Trolley Co.
Honesdale, Pennsylvania
Like Jim Thorpe, Honesdale is a Pennsylvania borough with roughly 4,500 residents. It provides peregrinations into Poconos preserves such as Prompton State Park, plus dozens of booming businesses. They range from a bar and grill called the Twisted Rail Tavern to a hip hot dog joint called Paulie’s Hot Dogs to an eclectic bakery called Camp Umpy’s Bagels & Stuff to a brewery and eatery called Here & Now Brewing Company to a herbal gift shop called Mount Pleasant Herbary. Honestly, Honesdale’s best business might be Native, an upscale yet rustic restaurant on Main Street. Venison tartare, smoked duck rueben, Spanish octopus, seared noble road, and ricotta cavatelli are just some of the dishes served with local ingredients in a low-key space. Go native in Honesdale.
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Stroudsburg is a southern Poconos settlement of around 6,000 people. Its population is nearly matched by its attractions, which include the Olde Engine Works, Cure Cafe, Teddy’s University 1984, Café Duet, Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop, NYC Street Grill, Sherman Theater, Compton’s Pancake House, Carroll & Carroll Booksellers, Quench Cafe and Juice Bar, Sarah Street Grill, Benvenuto Pizza & Italian Restaurant, and Fitzpatrick’s Irish and Celtic Store. Also, if you never pegged the Poconos as a winederland, let Stroudsburg change your mind and stimulate your senses with Tolino Vineyards, The Renegade Winery, and RAW Urban Winery & Hard Cidery.
Milford, Pennsylvania
Consistently ranked one of the coolest towns in America, Milford is actually a borough in the northeastern Pennsylvania Poconos. Over 1,000 residents and many thousands of tourists enjoy natural attractions like Raymondskill Falls, historic landmarks like the Grey Towers National Historic Site, and numerous highly-rated businesses. Among them are the Waterwheel Cafe, Bakery & Bar, which is a triple threat of tastiness; Spoonful Soups & Eats, whose made-from-scratch meals include food bowls, paninis, soups, and pastries; Earthly Treasures, a “metaphysical shop” that sells everything from crystals to incense to jewelry to statues; and the Candy and Gift Cottage of Milford, which peddles bottle caps, Beemans gum, and Abba-Zaba, among many other gifts/sweets. One can stay at The Historic Dimmick Inn while marveling at Milford’s marvels.
Narrowsburg, New York
Narrowsburg is narrow in population but thick in attractions. This 380ish-person community straddles the border between Pennsylvania and New York and thus sits between the Pocono Mountains and the Catskill Mountains. Both ranges offer hiking, climbing, biking, camping, skiing, snowboarding, swimming, boating, paddling, birding, fishing, hunting, and all-around sightseeing. Let Narrowsburg be your launch pad for outdoor recreation and also a refuge for rest and libation. The Heron Restaurant provides great cocktails, The Tusten Cup provides great coffee, The Laundrette provides great pizza, the Narrowsburg Farmers’ Market provides great produce, and One Grand Books provides great reads. Lastly, the Fort Delaware Museum can make you feel like a pioneer with its recreated 18th-century settlement. Demonstrations are offered of gardening, smithing, baking, weaving, candle making, cannon firing, and other staples of colonial life.
Hawley, Pennsylvania
Located southeast of Honesdale and southwest of Narrowsburg, Hawley is a hub of Poconos activity. This borough sits on the Lackawaxen River, which runs into the 13-mile-long Lake Wallenpaupack and its 52 miles of shoreline for swimming, sunbathing, and sightseeing. After diving into the water and exploring the surrounding greenery, a tourist can unwind with a hoagie from the family-owned Lake Wally Cafe, a burger from casual Pat’s Bar, a “lousy” steak from the eccentric Crazy Country Club, and a beer from the award-winning Wallenpaupack Brewing Company. But you can get almost all those things at The Settlers Inn, a luxurious Main Avenue bed & breakfast in an authentic 1927-built Arts and Crafts-style lodge. It is the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel of Hawley-wood.
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
A growth on the eastern flank of Stroudsburg, East Stroudsburg is actually larger—and arguably livelier—than its host. Nearly 10,000 people call this borough home, while thousands of others call it a fantastic weekend, week, or even a months-long retreat. Weekenders can hit up the Trackside Station Grill & Bar and then crash at the Cherry Valley Manor just south of town; over weekers can set up camp at the Delaware Water Gap-Pocono Mountain KOA and then explore the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area; and those months-long mainstayers can enroll at East Stroudsburg University, which is a public institution with about 5,500 students. Regardless of the length of stay, you would be wise to see the Silverback Distillery and the Pocono Indian Museum. The former is the “only mother-daughter distilling duo in the nation crafting high quality, award-winning spirits” and the latter is the “only museum in northeastern Pennsylvania dedicated to showing the history of the Delaware Indian.”
Although the Poconos is famous for its nature, this region in the northeastern United States is full of life in a different way. Its low-key communities have lively, independent businesses like shops, restaurants, bars, breweries, wineries, markets, cafes, and hotels. The best of these can be found in Jim Thorpe, Honesdale, Stroudsburg, Milford, Narrowsburg, Hawley, and East Stroudsburg. Go poking around the Poconos for commercial wonders.
Here’s what we know now about school cellphone bans
More states are implementing or considering phone bans in schools following guidance from the U.S. Surgeon General on children and social media.
If Pennsylvania sees statewide restrictions on cellphones in schools, would anything change in Pittsburgh?
It’s too early to say for sure.
On June 1, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed legislation that would require school districts to adopt phone restrictions, leaving the details of the exact policy’s implementation up to individual districts, according to USA TODAY. Now, if cleared by the Senate — which already passed another version of the proposal with almost unanimous support — it will go to Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has repeatedly said he supports getting cellphones out of classrooms with a bell-to-bell ban.
“Here in Pennsylvania, Democrats and Republicans agree: We need to let our kids be kids again,” Shapiro said in a June 4 post to his X account.
But Pittsburgh’s already ahead of the curve when it comes to banning cellphones during school hours because of a school board policy approved in late 2025.
Here’s what to know.
Are cell phones banned in Pittsburgh schools?
Yes, cellphones are banned during the school day at Pittsburgh Public Schools.
In December 2025, Pittsburgh Public Schools Board voted to ban the use of phones by students during the school day, Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
Under the policy, the possession of phones by students is prohibited. While they may bring cellphones to school, the devices must be turned in to school personnel during the school day.
There are exceptions to the policy in cases where a student may need a phone for instructional activities, an Individualized Education Plan, a Section 504 Plan or for other reasons approved by a school administrator.
Why are schools banning cellphones?
Numerous states have already banned cellphones in schools, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and others, according to ABC News.
This year, Indiana and Kansas banned phones during the day, implementing policies that require students to keep their phones in inaccessible locations through the entire school day, USA TODAY reported.
Recently, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming passed or updated less restrictive legislation on phones in schools, according to an analysis by the Becca Schmill Foundation, the Institute for Families and Technology, Smartphone-Free Childhood US and Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation.
Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania may follow suit.
Do cellphone bans work?
Yes and no.
Cellphone bans keep kids off their devices, but they don’t appear to impact test scores, attendance, self-reported classroom attention or perceived online bullying, according to a study published in April by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Additionally, researchers found that during the first year of a cellphone ban, disciplinary incidents rose and students’ reported well-being fell, though the effects subsided as the years passed.
Still, there’s a push for bans nationally, with the U.S. surgeon general’s office warning on May 20 that “compulsive” screen use is linked to poor sleep, substance abuse, developmental disruptions and social, mental and behavioral issues. The office suggested that cellphone bans in schools are a way to help put excessive screen time in check.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
In an era of pricey theme parks and gated admission, one Pennsylvania amusement park is still letting guests in for free.
Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, has been admission-free since it opened nearly a century ago.
Knoebels opened its doors on July 4, 1926 — and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, as the nation celebrates America’s semiquincentennial.
Many of the earliest amusement parks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries operated without admission fees, especially so-called “trolley parks,” which made money from charging guests for rides, food and drink.
Park owner Brian Knoebel, 52, recently told PA Local he “had to pinky-swear” to never change the free-admission model.
“It’s who we are,” he said. “It’s that traditional park.”
Knoebel said he recognizes that grandparents “get more satisfaction out of watching their grandkids ride the rides than they do themselves.”
“And Grandma and Grandpa are on a limited income,” he said. “So they don’t pay to park. We don’t force you to buy food in the park — if you want to bring a picnic lunch, then bring a picnic lunch.”
Knoebel, who said his ancestors came to America from Germany and worked as lumberers, said the amusement park began as a modest venture.
“After church on Sunday, they’d come down and park their horse and buggy off to the side, and frolic in the stream and have a little picnic,” he told PA Local.
“My great-grandfather would feed and stable your horses for, I believe, a quarter.”
Knoebel added, “Little by little, he started building some picnic tables and park benches, and on July 4, 1926, we opened a swimming pool, a restaurant — appropriately named ‘The Restaurant’ — and we rented a steam-powered carousel.”
Despite the park’s growth, Knoebel said its old-fashioned atmosphere has remained intact, including the canopy of trees, shaded walkways, creekside seating and classic attractions.
“How has it changed? We started with one ride, and one food stand, and the pool,” he said.
“We now have 60 rides, I believe 38 food stands, 24 games, and water slides … Quarter-mile down the road, we own the 18-hole golf course, complete with a bar and tavern.”
Overall, Knoebel said that he and his family “absolutely know our brand.”
“We know our fans,” he said.
“And that throwback amusement park from yesteryear is exactly who we continue to be,” he added.
“We don’t have roller coasters that reach the clouds. We have rides for thrill seekers … but, of course, we have more traditional rides.”
Knoebels is the largest free-admission park in the United States. “Knoebels does not have a gate, and you only pay for what you want once you are at the park,” the venue says on its website.
PENNSYLVANIA (WJAC) — Pennsylvania hunters can soon start planning for the upcoming season.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission says 2026-27 general hunting and trapping licenses will go on sale Monday, June 22nd.
The licenses will be valid from July 1st through June 30th of next year.
Hunters can purchase licenses online or at authorized license issuing agents across the state.
The Game Commission is encouraging hunters to verify their account and mailing information before purchasing — to avoid delays.
Antlerless deer licenses also will be available through the state’s licensing system.
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