We’ve been visiting the Poconos for over 10 years now but more as a chance to visit family than an actual vacation. We have family that have a vacation home there, so our visits usually consist of visiting for a holiday or other special occasion and staying at their house with them. Our activities are normally set around the house, and I don’t think we’ve ever stayed more than 2 nights. So I was excited to experience an actual Poconos vacation for family when we were invited to visit a couple weeks ago by the Poconos Mountains Visitors Bureau.
I knew there was so much we were missing in terms of activities and scenery, and boy, was I right! This was the perfect vacation spot for a family like ours where we are pretty evenly split with 2 of us enjoying relaxing, calm activities and the other 2 enjoying active, adventure activities. Of course, we all enjoy eating delicious food and we weren’t disappointed there either!
Poconos Vacation for Family
We currently have 2 teens (gasp, I know… that’s totally crazy), so our activities are centered around their interests. But pretty much everything we did could be modified for younger kids or there are alternate activities available for them as well! It really is tailor-made for families of any size or ages!
Traveling There
One of the perks of the Poconos, and why it’s such a popular year-round vacation destination, is its location. It’s within a 1-3 hour drive of some major hubs: New York City, Philadelphia, Central PA, New Jersey and more. It’s incredibly convenient and you’ll get some awesome views just while driving there! I’m always a fan of vacations where the scenery driving there gets you even more excited for the actual vacation!
Activities
We’ve always stayed in the Lake Wallenpaupack area and just love it! There are so many activities to do no matter what your interest! It’s the 3rd largest lake in PA and has 52 miles of shoreline. I promise, you will not be bored!
We started our Poconos vacation with a pontoon boat ride with Pocono Action Sports through Lighthouse Harbor Marina. My kids had actually been to this marina the previous year for the Polar Plunge! It was the perfect start to our vacation because we got great views of the shoreline while the driver was able to give us all kinds of history about Lake Wallenpaupack.
If you’re into water activities, this is the place to stop! From calm, scenic boat rides to more action-packed jet skiing… our entire family had a great time! Plus, you can get some fantastic landscape shots from the boat! The views are incredible and ones you’ll never see if you stay on land!
Accommodations
Be sure to plan where you’re staying based on what activities you like to do! There are so many options for lodging in the Poconos from renting a house to staying at a resort on the water to an air bnb or a luxury resort on a mountain! Think ahead of time about the activities that your family enjoys and if your family enjoys eating out or cooking in… and plan where you stay accordingly.
Silver Birches Resort
For this visit, we spent the first part of our trip at Silver Birches Resort. This is the perfect location for those who enjoy a water view and lake activities. We stayed in the bunkhouse which worked perfectly for our family of 4! A bedroom with a queen size bed, dining area and fridge/microwave. There was a 2nd bedroom for the kids that had a full and twin bed. I can’t even tell you how much smoother our vacation goes when the kids have separate beds!
We had a gorgeous view of Lake Wallenpaupack from our front porch rockers, that we took full advantage of. The property itself is gorgeous with a pool overlooking the lake…
Adirondack chairs around fire pits (yes, they even do s’mores for the guests some nights!),
and lots of piers to watch the boats come in and out!
One of our favorite parts of Silver Birches Resort was that Pocono Action Sports partners with them so you can rent their equipment and they deliver it right to the resort. They also offer parasailing right off the dock, and my 3 were more than happy to take advantage of this!
It was their first time parasailing and they LOVED it! It would not take much convincing to get them back up there!
For dining, right beside the resort is The Dock restaurant with one of the most gorgeous views of the lake!
The decor itself isn’t too shabby either! 
Although, none of that is too important if the food isn’t delicious, and this was on-point!
Skytop Lodge
For the second half of our trip, we moved on to Skytop Lodge which is perfect for the outdoor adventurer AND the vacationer who loves to relax (can you say spa?!).
We started our stay there at the treetop ropes course with a little ziplining! Yet another first for my husband and kids, and most likely not the last time.
After finishing up at the adventure center, we headed up towards the lodge. Ummm, I’m not sure that you can call this place a lodge. It was seriously jaw-dropping. There may have been a “holy crap” uttered as we pulled up in front of it.
And then… THEN… we got to our “room”.
We were in a Stream Side Cottage, and we still hadn’t picked our jaws up off the floor. Each cottage has 4 bedrooms that connect from the inside. We had 2 of the bedrooms, which each had a king-sized bed, pull-out sofa bed and enormous bathroom.
And, of course, the porch. Guys, wherever you end up staying in the Poconos… sit outside and enjoy nature!
You will not be bored at Skytop Lodge! In fact, I won’t bore you with more words, I’ll just let you take a little picture tour yourselves:
It’s so nice to only have to drive a couple of hours and have access to such an incredible vacation spot! We only touched the tip of everything the Poconos has to offer! Be sure to follow the Pocono Visitors Bureau on Facebook and Instagram for even more fun activities and events!
