Day trips from Berks County to the Poconos and Jim Thorpe

Lansford, PA · 1 hour 10 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

No. 9 Mine Museum is a guided coal mine tour and museum in Lansford, PA.

Lehighton, PA · 1 hour 15 minutes from Reading · Over $50 a person

Jim Thorpe River Adventures is a guided whitewater rafting outfitter on the Lehigh River, based at the Lehighton Outdoor Center in Lehighton, PA. Trips range from an easy family float to the 13-mile BigTime Whitewater run.

Lehighton, PA · 1 hour 19 minutes from Reading · Free

Country Junction is a general store and family fun center on Interchange Road in Lehighton, PA, with nearly two acres under one roof, outdoor amusement rides, a petting farm and a fall pumpkin festival.

Jim Thorpe, PA · 1 hour 19 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway is a tourist train ride from the station in Jim Thorpe, PA, run by the Reading & Northern Railroad along the Lehigh River into Lehigh Gorge State Park.

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.

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.

Jim Thorpe, PA · 1 hour 23 minutes from Reading

Penn's Peak is a mountaintop concert venue in Jim Thorpe, PA, with a full-service restaurant and bar, Roadies, on site.

Jim Thorpe, PA · 1 hour 26 minutes from Reading · Over $50 a person

Pocono Whitewater Rafting runs guided raft trips on the Lehigh River from its base on Route 903 in Jim Thorpe, PA. Dam Release trips cover 12 miles of Class II and III rapids; Family Style trips cover 8 easier miles.

Palmerton, PA · 1 hour 27 minutes from Reading

Blue Mountain Resort is a ski, snowboard and snow tubing resort in Palmerton, PA, with a mountain bike park, ziplines, a ropes course and scenic lift rides in the warm months.

Saylorsburg, PA · 1 hour 33 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

Hotel of Horror is a pair of haunted house attractions, Hotel of Horror and Altered Nightmares, inside the former Lake House Hotel in Saylorsburg, PA.

Albrightsville, PA · 1 hour 34 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

Skirmish Paintball is a paintball park in Albrightsville, PA, in the Poconos, with more than 50 playing maps spread over 750 acres of woods, fields and creeks. It is open year-round for all-day play.

White Haven, PA · 1 hour 36 minutes from Reading

Jack Frost Big Boulder is a two-mountain ski area in the Poconos: Jack Frost in White Haven and Big Boulder in Lake Harmony, PA. Both run skiing, snowboarding and snow tubing in winter.

Long Pond, PA · 1 hour 36 minutes from Reading · Over $50 a person

Pocono Outdoor Adventure Tours runs guided UTV trail tours on the Pocono Raceway property in Long Pond, PA. You drive your own side-by-side behind a guide for about an hour.

Long Pond, PA · 1 hour 36 minutes from Reading · Over $50 a person

Pocono Raceway is a triangular motorsports track in Long Pond, PA, known as The Tricky Triangle. Its NASCAR weekend runs in June, and the track hosts driving experiences and free staff-led tours through the rest of the season.

Stroudsburg, PA · 1 hour 44 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm is a living history museum in Stroudsburg, PA, that preserves a Pennsylvania German farm of the 1800s.

East Stroudsburg, PA · 1 hour 49 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

Pocono Snake & Animal Farm is a small interactive zoo in East Stroudsburg, PA, where visitors feed and pet animals and see reptiles. The site says a visit takes about an hour.

Scotrun, PA · 1 hour 50 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

Great Wolf Lodge Pocono Mountains is a resort with a 120,000-square-foot indoor waterpark in Scotrun, PA, kept at 84 degrees all year. Day passes to the waterpark are sold to visitors who are not staying overnight.

Tannersville, PA · 1 hour 53 minutes from Reading

Camelback Resort is a mountain resort in Tannersville, PA, with the Aquatopia indoor waterpark, the Camelbeach outdoor waterpark, a ski area with snow tubing, and a Mountain Adventure Park. Day tickets are sold apart from hotel stays.

Shawnee on Delaware, PA · 1 hour 55 minutes from Reading

The Shawnee Playhouse is a historic theater in Shawnee on Delaware, PA, built in 1904 as Worthington Hall and staging plays, musicals and children's shows all year.

Pocono Manor, PA · 1 hour 56 minutes from Reading

Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Poconos is a resort with an indoor waterpark of more than 250,000 square feet in Pocono Manor, PA. A limited number of day passes let visitors use the waterpark without staying overnight.

East Stroudsburg, PA · 2 hours from Reading · Over $50 a person

Shawnee Mountain Ski Area is a family-owned ski area and snow tubing park in East Stroudsburg, PA, in the Pocono Mountains.

Bushkill, PA · 2 hours 12 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

Bushkill Falls is a series of eight waterfalls in the Pocono Mountains in Bushkill, PA, reached by a ticketed network of hiking trails and bridges.

Skytop, PA · 2 hours 16 minutes from Reading · Over $50 a person

The Skytop Lodge Adventure Center is an outdoor activity center on the Skytop Lodge estate in Skytop, PA, open to the public as well as lodge guests.

Lake Ariel, PA · 2 hours 38 minutes from Reading · $20 to $50 a person

Claws 'N' Paws Wild Animal Park is a walk-through zoo on Route 590 in Lake Ariel, PA, 4 miles east of Hamlin, with what the site counts as more than 120 rare and exotic species along woodland trails.

Hawley, PA · 2 hours 46 minutes from Reading · Under $20 a person

Costa's Family Fun Park is an outdoor family fun park on Route 6 just east of Hawley, PA, near Lake Wallenpaupack, with go-karts, water slides, mini golf, laser tag and bumper boats.