Places to go overnight that your able to drive from Lakewood:

Poconos:

Driving distance from Lakewood: 2hrs-2.45hrs depending which area you are going to.

Places to stay:

There are many places to stay, that have Airbnb’s, lodges, cabins, and hotels, this list is of places that are the main areas with a ton of options to stay and have lots of activities nearby.  

East Stroudsburg, PA- in the center of the Poconos, it is the largest town with the most hotel options, it has tons of activities to do there.

Mount Pocono, PA- Right near to Stroudsburg, a much smaller quieter area but also has lots to do there.

Jim Thorpe, PA – Historic town with lots of activities especially water activities.

Lake Harmony, PA – This town has a beautiful lake, there’s tons of activities to there year-round including hiking, boating, water parks,and several ski resorts. This is also the location of the Split Rock Resort.

Lake Wallenpaupak, PA – Situated around a very nice lake there’s a bunch of waterfront resorts around it.

Milford, PA – Historic town near the border with New Jersey, there is a lot of outdoor things to do including hiking, and waterfalls.

Links for places to stay in the Poconos:

Great wolf lodge-https://www.greatwolf.com/poconos

Split Rock Resort-https://splitrockhotel.com/

Kalahari Resort-https://www.kalahariresorts.com/pennsylvania/

Camelback resort-https://www.camelbackresort.com/

Cove Haven Resort-https://www.covepoconoresorts.com/our-resorts

The Shawnee Inn-https://www.shawneeinn.com/

https://www.poconomountains.com/places-to-stay/

https://www.booking.com/city/us/east-stroudsburg.html

https://www.airbnb.com/jim-thorpe-pa/stays

https://kvation.com/location/monroe-county/

Place to stay for Shabbos near a shul:

The Am Echad Shul in Canadensis, PA has Airbnbs within walking distance to the shul; either you can book it through them or through Airbnb. (If you book through them, it is cheaper.) You can also order kosher food through them.

https://www.poconoskosher.com/

Minyanim:

Chabad  Of The Mountains - 997 Route 940, Pocono Lake, PA – they do not have minyanim on Shabbos. https://www.chabadofthemountains.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/5832377/jewish/Minyanim.htm

Am Echad shul - 104 Keter Dr, Canadensis, PA – They usually have minyanim in the summer, call (917) 373-4148 for more info and to find out about specific days.

Machazikei Hadas - 600 Monroe Avenue, Scranton, PA - (570) 342-6271

Yeshiva Beis Moshe - 930 Hickory Street, Scranton, PA -  (570) 346-1747

 Kingston Mesivta - 44 Pierce St Second floor, Kingston, PA - (570) 212-9408

Kosher food:

Am Echad Shul – you can order food packages through on their website - https://www.poconoskosher.com/

Kingston Kosher – a small grocery store that has all the basics you need, they also have a pizza store and a small takeout as well. - 425 Tioga Ave, Kingston, PA - (570) 234-2220

Yeshiva Co-op – a small grocery located on the grounds of yeshiva of Scranton; they also have a takeout and bakery. - 1135 Capouse Ave, Scranton, PA - (570) 963-5699

Bagel Bar - café and bakery. - 378 Pierce St, Kingston, PA - (570) 515-7543

*If you know of any more places, please let us know so that we can update it.

Things To Do In The Poconos:

Parks and Hikes:

Delaware water gap:

Bucks County, PA:

-Bucks county is not in the Poconos, but it has some things to do there that you can do either coming from the Poconos or from Lakewood. –

Lancaster, Pennsylvania:

Driving distance from Lakewood: 2hrs and 15 minutes’

Things to do:

1 Old windmill Farm – 262 Paradise Lane, Ronks, PA - take a one-hour tour of an Amish farm. $28 per person, under four is free.

2

Boiling Springs PA-

Saratoga Springs, New York:

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia:

Ocean City, MD:

Killington, VT:

Vermont Getaway- Jewish retreat- lodging, minyanim. 

Jimny Peak- might find minyan there, lot of Jews there, lot of activities there. Water park, alpine sliding, hiking. Lodging options as well.

Bromley- alpine sliding, boating/ rafting (also a lot of Jews there) 

Also jimny peak is a ski resort/ hotel so that's an option

Activities:

K1 Express gondola  - take gondola to the top of the mountain.\

Killington Adventure Park 

Gifford woods State Park 

Thundering Brook falls trail 

Coolidge State Park 

ATV Vermont!

Killington bike Park - mountain biking 

Appalachian trail and the Long trail

Vermont River tubing company - tubing 

King of Prussia, PA:

King of Prussia/ Simon Mall- really fun mall to walk around

Thrillz High adventure park

Hotels: Crowne plaza, Fairfield Inn

Parks: Valley Forge Historical Park

Kaaterskill Falls/ Tannersville Trip:

Kaaterskill Mountain scenic byway.

Hiking to falls and all the way down to rt 23.  Also, there are other hikes to do there

Hunter mountain is also nearby.

Hotels: Saugerties has a bunch of hotels like holiday Inn, comfort Inn and Howard Johnson.

In Tannersville, there’s a lot of Airbnb’s.

Minyanim: Chabad of Tannersville, Spring Street Minyan and Lake Street Minyan

.

• New Hampshire:
• Many of the places get booked up fast.
• In order for it to really be worth the drive and to cover the area, give four or 5 days.
• Loon mountain resorts is a place to stay, lodging.  You can spend one day on Loon mountain. There's ski lift trails, rock climbing, and ziplining. 

Clarks is another favorite. There's an awesome bear show there. (a lot of things are for kids but still plenty to enjoy as adults!)(costs, but worth it)

• -  Cannon mountain- there's Flume Gorge which has gorgeous waterfalls and scenic path. On Cannon there’s also Aerial Tramway, which takes you to the top in 10 minutes. At the top there's some more scenic routes.
• -  Tons of free hikes all over
• -  There's always minyan in Loon. 
• -  Food: Walmart 20 min away and I think grocery store started selling kosher food now. PMR.
• NH Bethelem has a Jewish community. White mountain national Forest, mount willow- scenic drive. Hiking, biking, scenic trails etc. 
• It is a pretty nice drive. I've done it multiple times. 
• Places to stop on the way to New Hampshire 
• Waterbury for food 
• Cabelas sporting goods in Hartford Connecticut which is the exact half point to New Hampshire. In it there is a massive aquarium, laser shooting gallery.. 
• Sonny's place in Somers Connecticut- it has an arcade and an amusement complex. 

Accommodations:

• Days inn 
• Woodwards inn suites
• Indian Head resort 
• Mountain club hotel 
• Nordic inn
• Coolidge falls
• Presidential mountain resort in bethlehem. It's about 20 minutes away. The above are within a walking distance to chabad.
• Hunter Mountain:
• If you don't want to hike you can take a ski lift to the top. 
• North-southlake- it's a nice lake that has a hiking trails, swimming beaches and boat rentals
• Bailiwick animal park and riding stables - it's a it's a zoo and horseback riding and pony rides. 
• Dolnas lake- boating 
• There's also zip lining in Hunter mountain. 
• Saugerties marina- kayak and pontoon rentals 
• 
• -you can go to kaaterskill falls it's on the way to Hunter, there's a bunch of different trails you could do there.
• Hunter mountain itself is a hard mountain. There is the Becker hollow trail that is extremely steep and it takes around 4 and 1/2 hours, it's 5 mi round trip. Then there's also the fire tower trail.
• Spruton trail it's 7 miles round trip and it is the most straight direct. 
• If you want to shorter trail to the summit then you can take the ski lift to the middle of the mountains and you can take the colonial trail. 
• Devils path is 25 miles and it goes through the summit of six peaks including Hunter if you're interested in something really long. Let me know if you have any other questions!
• 
• Newport, RI:
• usually when people go to RI, they mostly go to Newport. There are the mansions- many of them have tours, Cliff Walk, Touro Synagogue, and some cute shops along the water. Touro S has minyanim in the summer and then there are minyanim in Providence (around 45 min from newport). Theres not much of kosher food. I believe you can order from Ahava Catering in Providence. 
• There is Kosher food, minyanim and lots to do in boston which is an hor north of providence if you want to head up that way. 
• Lake anna
• In lake Anna there is boating and water 
• Dukes Creek marina- pontoon rentals. 540 895 5065
• Sturgeon Creek- more boating
• Sunshine swan boat excursion
• Lake Anna State Park- 15 miles of trails there, horseback riding, and I think it also offers Tours for gold mining check that out.
• Pleasant landings at lake Anna
• Anna point Marina 
• Boardwalk miniature golf 
• Kings Dominion and soak city-; theme park with rides etc it's in Richmond Virginia so see if it's close enough. 

Finger Lakes /Ithaca, NY

• Check out Fall Creek gorge natural area 
• Edward lake Cliff area 
• Finger lakes trail 
• Ithaca falls 
• Taughannock fall State Park
• Cascadilla gorge natural area 
• Beebe lake
• Baking options are the Black diamond trail- old railroad 
• Or
• Cayuga lake
• Alltrails or trail link is where you find info
• Cornell botanical gardens 
• Discovery trail 
• Ithaca Farmers market which is only open on Sunday. Check the website.

• 
• Baltimore area:
• Inner harbor- take a water boat around The Bay and also you could explore world war II submarines and and battleships. Also the Baltimore world trade center is there.
• Fort McHenry- fort from 1812. Interesting place to explore. 
• You are also not too far from Washington DC and there's a lot to do there like the wax museum, white house etc.
• Chesapeake Bay- boating and the C&O cannal trail system, lighthouses. 
• Minyanim and minyanim chats etc

National Parks

*Note: Things in the National Parks are contantly changing, due to weather, construction or others. This can shut down specific attractions or even an entire park. BEFORE visiting any national park, go to nps.gov to stay updated on all information.

*This list is places we have thoroughly explored. As time goes on we will be adding on more. If you want to know info about any park that is not on the list, please feel free to reach out!

1.Smokey Mountains National Park: 

Location: Tennessee and North Carolina

Flight time: two hours. Driving distance from Lakewood: 11 hours.

Overview:

Smokey’s is in Blue Ridge Mountains and is known for its scenic experience. Hiking, waterfalls, outdoor recreation, and overlooks are what draws people there. Outside the park, on the Tennessee side, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are popular tourist areas. There is amusement parks, ziplining, moonshines and other activities.  

Airports:

1. CLT (Charlotte, NC)- usually a cheaper flight- 3 hours to SMNP from the NC side
2. TYS (Knoxville, TE)- one hour from the SMNP from the Tennessee side
3. AVL (Asheville, NC) – one hour from the NC side

Places to stay:

Tennessee side-

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are the most centrally located areas outside the park. Most hotels and lodges are located there.

Hotels- Holiday Inn, Marriott, Hilton etc. 

-Lodges- 

Wears Valley- a  quieter, less touristy area also close to the entrance of the park.

Townsend- outside a quieter entrance of the park, also located in Tennessee about 45 minutes from Gatlinburg.

North Carolina side-

Maggie Valley and Cherokee- no hotels there, just lodges and Airbnb.

In the park-

Camping- all campsites have to be reserved 6 months in advance on recreation.gov.

Lodges- LeConte Lodge- it is only accessible through hiking, around a 4 hour hike. Note: it also books out at least 6 months in advance.

Entrances:

There are three entrances to the Park. Oconaluftee Entrance, which is located by the gateway town Cherokee, NC and the second is Sugarland’s Entrance which is by the gateway town Gatlinburg and the third, more remote entrance is Townsend Entrance which is by the gateway town of Townsend.

New Found Gap Road- is the main road through the park that connects Oconaluftee till Sugarland’s entrance. Most of the hikes and attractions are off this road.  

Visitor Centers:

There are 3 Visitor Centers, one by each entrance. There you can find maps, souvenirs and ask for information.

Entrance Fees:

There is no parking fee, but there is a $5 a day parking fee, which must be displayed on the dashboard. (ticket can be bought at any Visitor Center)

Seasons and Weather:

The park is open 24/7/365; you can go in and leave whenever you want. However, not all attractions will always be open. The main season for the smokey mountains is June- September. The following lists of attractions, lodges and campgrounds are for the summer months.

 Smokey mountains is the most visited national park and during the summer months it can get pretty busy, there can be traffic in Gatlinburg, and trailhead parking lots can get full ealy, therefore you should start your day early and have a plan where you want to go, and stay as close as possible to the park.

Winter- brutally cold, with a lot of snow.

Summer- averages around 70 degrees.

 https://www.chabadknoxville.org/

Hikes:

There are over 150 hikes in the park. This is a small sample of the most popular ones.

Gatlinburg-  is right outside a Smoky mountains park with a ton of family-centered attractions and activities. Especially at night, it is brightly lit up and there's a lot to explore.

-Anakeesta mountains- an amusement park on top of the mountain and you could either take a gondola or the ridge rambler truck. This includes observation points, skywalk, zip line, ropes courses, obstacle course and more.

- Gatlin’s smoke mountain fun- indoor amusement

-Laser port fun center

-Ax house tavern

-Arcadia 

-Gatlinburg Sky Lift

Pigeon Forge- Also right outside smokeys.

 -Dollywood- which is a massive amusement park

-The Island- which is another big amusement park

-Rocky top coaster.

-Wonder works.

-Three bears general store- with a ton of souvenirs and live bear feedings.

-Moonshine

Things to do in Smokey Mountains National Park itself:

-Cades Cove- Scenic loop, drive, or bike. (closed for cars on Wednesdays, often traffic)

-Clingmans dome- highest point of smokies

-Drive the newfound Gap road- Main park road- many trails off it

-Foothills parkway, Blue ridge parkway, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail (scenic drives)

-Chimney’s Picnic Area

-Campbell Overlook

Hikes:

-

Additional Activities:

Climb Works Smokey Mountains Zipline tour- ziplining.

Raft Outdoor Adventure*

SM Outdoors*

Rafting in the Smokey’s*

River Rat*

Wild Water LTD*

*tubing/ white water rafting

Biking: Vee Hollow, SM Outdoor Center, SM Ebike Adventures

Horse Back Riding: Cades Cove Riding Stables, Smoke Mont Riding Stables, Sugarlands Riding Stables, Davy Crockett Riding Stables, Next to Heaven Ranch

Townsend- is a quieter Town nearby to the Smoky mountains. They have boating and tubing and the Tuchaleeche Caverns. 

2.Yellowstone National Park:

Yellowstone is known for its unique wonders such as geysers, mud volcanos, and the famous Grand Prismatic Springs.

The closest airport is Bozeman, Montana, about an hour away.

Old Faithful Area-

Old Faithful- massive geyser that shoots out at predictable times

Upper Geyser Basin- boardwalk from behind Old Faithful with multiple geysers

Across the street from Old Faithful is Biscuit Geyser

Further down the road is Black Sand Basin- the southern area of the park.

Go further up the road, you’ll hit the Midway and Lower Geyser Basin Area, which includes Grand Prismatic springs. Fire hole Canyon Drive- one way driving loop with tons of geysers.

Continuing up north is Noris Geyser Basin Area. Further is Monmouth Hot Springs Area with Gibben Falls.

3.Grand Teton National Park:

4.Everglades National Park: 

5.Biscayne National Park:

6.Yosemite National Park:

7.Death Vally National Park :

8.Shenandoah National Park:

the primary thing to do in Shenandoah is drive the skyline drive which has 76 overlooks and hiking there. So a few good hikes to do there is dark hallows falls it's less than a mile not too hard but it is steep going up, at the bottom is a waterfall. Hawk's bill summit hike- it goes to the highest peak in Shenandoah about two and a half miles but they are shorter trails but are more strenuous. Old rag is a crazy 8 mile hike.  If you want more information about different hikes there let me know. It is also a great place for camping and it can be done even with all ages) let me know if you want more details on that. Bye Big Meadows there is a visitor center where you could get maps and information and basic food and different items. Outside of the park you could go rafting by the South fork of Shenandoah river. It's called Shenandoah river outfitters. 

You can drive to Luray caverns. It's a cool cave system. Also there is car and carriage museum, toy town junction, Shenandoah heritage village. Gem sluice- mining/pan for gold. Rope adventure park. The singing tower

In Harrisonburg there is Melrose caverns. 

Wild guide adventures- Rock climbing, repelling, canoeing and

wild caving. 

  9. Acadia National Park:

Park Overview- Acadia National Park is in Maine. There are three sections of it.

1. The biggest section, which is the main part is located on Mount Desert Island. Most things to do and hikes are there.
2. Schoodic Peninsula- located on the mainland across the bay for Mount Desert Island. It’s a smaller, quieter areas but really gorgeous.
3. Isle de Haut/ Duck Harbour- a small, remote island, only accessible by a mailboat from Stonington, MA, about and hour from the main section of the park.

Mount Desert