Battlefields, mills, cloisters and living history villages, with the drive from Reading and admission for each.
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Ephrata, PA · 30 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
Historic Ephrata Cloister is a preserved 18th-century religious community in Ephrata, PA, established in 1732 and run by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. It is a National Historic Landmark.
Lancaster, PA · 37 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum in Lancaster, PA is the state's museum of Pennsylvania German history, heritage, lifeways and farming, administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Lancaster, PA · 46 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person
LancasterHistory is a history museum and research center in Lancaster, PA, on an 11-acre campus with President James Buchanan's Wheatland, the 1828 home of the 15th U.S. president, and the Tanger Arboretum.
King of Prussia, PA · 56 minutes from Reading · Free
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the Continental Army's 1777 to 1778 winter encampment in King of Prussia, PA, with 3,500 acres of grounds, monuments and trails.
Willow Street, PA · 57 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
The 1719 Museum is a history site in Willow Street, PA, built around the 1719 Herr House, the oldest surviving homestead in Lancaster County, and a full-sized reproduction of a Native longhouse.
Bethlehem, PA · 1 hour 2 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites runs museums and historic sites in Bethlehem, PA: the Moravian Museum, the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, the Colonial Industrial Quarter and Burnside Plantation, in the city's World Heritage site.
Philadelphia, PA · 1 hour 18 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person
Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site is America's first penitentiary, now a museum on Fairmount Avenue in Philadelphia, PA. One admission covers the tours, exhibits and art installations.
Harrisburg, PA · 1 hour 19 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person
The National Civil War Museum is a museum of the American Civil War in Reservoir Park in Harrisburg, PA, open since 2001 on the highest point in the city.
Jim Thorpe, PA · 1 hour 20 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person
The Asa Packer Mansion is an 1861 Victorian mansion museum in Jim Thorpe, PA, the home of philanthropist, railroad magnate and Lehigh University founder Asa Packer.
Wilmington, DE · 1 hour 20 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person
Hagley Museum and Library is the site of the original DuPont powder yards in Wilmington, DE: 235 acres with the historic powder yard, the Nation of Inventors exhibition, and the Eleutherian Mills residence and its gardens.
Jim Thorpe, PA · 1 hour 20 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
The Old Jail Museum is the 1870 Carbon County jail in Jim Thorpe, PA, tied to the Molly Maguires of the anthracite coal fields and known for the handprint in Cell 17 that has stayed on the wall through every attempt to remove it.
Camden, NJ · 1 hour 22 minutes from Reading
Battleship New Jersey Museum & Memorial is the battleship USS New Jersey, moored on the Camden, NJ waterfront and open for self guided and guided tours of the ship.
Weatherly, PA · 1 hour 24 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
Eckley Miners' Village Museum is a preserved 19th-century anthracite company town in Weatherly, PA, run by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Doylestown, PA · 1 hour 31 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person
Fonthill Castle is the poured-concrete home that Henry Chapman Mercer began building in 1908 in Doylestown, PA, with 44 rooms set with his own handmade tiles.
Carlisle, PA · 1 hour 35 minutes from Reading · Free
The U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center is a free Army museum and archive in Carlisle, PA, with galleries and the Army Heritage Trail, about a mile of outdoor exhibits and large artifacts covering nearly every era of Army history.
Morrisville, PA · 1 hour 36 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
Pennsbury Manor is the reconstructed summer home of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, on a 43-acre estate along the Delaware River in Morrisville, PA.
Gettysburg, PA · 2 hours 2 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
Gettysburg Heritage Center is a museum on Steinwehr Avenue in Gettysburg, PA, that tells the story of the battle from the townspeople's and the soldiers' points of view, run by the nonprofit Gettysburg Nature Alliance.
Gettysburg, PA · 2 hours 2 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
Seminary Ridge Museum & Education Center is a Civil War museum in Gettysburg, PA, inside the seminary building whose cupola Union Gen. John Buford and his staff used to survey the ground on the first day of the battle.
Gettysburg, PA · 2 hours 3 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person
The Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center is the starting point for the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, PA. Entry, parking and the battlefield are free; the film, Cyclorama painting and museum take a ticket.
Scranton, PA · 2 hours 8 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person
The Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum is a state history museum in McDade Park in Scranton, PA. It tells the story of hard coal mining, the industries around it and the immigrant culture of northeastern Pennsylvania.
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