Summer in Happy Valley, PA: 14 Activities near State College

While school’s out for the summer, the fun doesn’t stop in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania! With arts festivals, fresh ice cream, and lots of hiking, summer is a great time to visit. Here are some of my favorite things to do in summer in Happy Valley.

If you’re interested in the arts (like local artist and national music acts), love hiking the trails (with mountain views — my favorite!), and want to cool off with some fresh, locally-made ice cream, then you’ll love visiting State College in the summer.

And while the Penn State students are away for the summer, the campus is far from quiet! State College, and all of Happy Valley, is fully alive in the summer months. I made the trip up to Centre County to experience the vibrant arts scene and taste the local flavors.

Here are a few of my favorite things to do during summer in Happy Valley, PA!

A special thanks to the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau for sponsoring our trip! As always, all opinions are my own.

Best Summer Activities in Happy Valley

1. Attend the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts

The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts (the Arts Festival) is the highlight of summer in Happy Valley. This annual summer arts festival takes place the week after the 4th of July.

The Arts Festival is all about art, music, and fun. There’s a juried arts fair, a sidewalk sale with independent artists from across the country, live musical performances both indoors and outdoors, food vendors, a children’s sidewalk sale, and a banner competition for the colorful banners hanging over South Allen Street.

Be sure to walk all the booths, both on the Penn State campus and along the streets of Downtown State College; it’s pretty sprawled out, so it can be easy to miss parts of the festival.

One of the highlights is the puppet march on Kids Day when the festival opens on Wednesday. During the puppet parade (formally called the Children & Youth Day Grand Procession), the whole family can don giant papier-mache puppets (and smaller ones as well) and march from Old Main Lawn to Sidney Friedman Park.

I got to put on the giant blue Nittany Lion puppet for a while, which was huge and fun. For the parade, I chose a lighter bunny rabbit and Kevin chose the wizard.

2. Go Hiking at Rothrock State Forest

Rothrock State Forest has over 96,000 acres and nearly 300 miles of hiking trails. The state forest is named for Dr. Joseph Trimble Rothrock, the first forestry commissioner in Pennsylvania, and considered the “Father of Forestry” in Pennsylvania.

Some of the best trails in Rothrock State Forest can be accessed behind Tussey Mountain in Boalsburg.

Bear Meadows Natural Area

We chose Bear Meadows Natural Area for our summer hike (if you remember on our winter trip to Happy Valley, we attempted to get here but the roads were icy so we did a part of Galbraith Gap instead).

Besides being a natural habitat for black bears (which I unfortunately did not see any of), Bear Meadows Natural Area is a rare mountain-top wetland and bog ecosystem.

There’s a 3.5-mile loop trail, the Bear Meadows Loop to Jean Aron Path, that’s a moderate hike through the bog. When we hiked it, the rhododendron were just past peak bloom, so we still had some nice flowers.

The trail can get muddy, especially after a rain, since this is a wetland after all. Be sure to bring along some bug spray!

3. Eat a ton of Ice Cream

Happy Valley is known for their cow-to-cone ice cream. With all the agriculture here, you can easily find farm fresh dairy and tons of delicious ice cream. Happy Valley has even started a Dairy Delights Trail so you can discover the farm-fresh flavor.

We’re big fans of ice cream here, so Kevin and I sampled a ton of different flavors in the name of research. Here’s some ice cream spots you won’t want to miss this summer:

• The Dairy Barn at Nittany Valley Creamery is an Amish-owned family farm. They have some of the best ice cream, at the best price, and with the best views. Choose from over 20 different flavors. We tried the Teaberry, Twisted PB Cup, and Butter Pecan.
• Penn State Berkey Creamery is the university’s famous creamery that’s been a tradition since 1865. We had huge scoops of their Death By Chocolate and Grilled Stickies.
• Meyer Dairy has ice cream flights where you get to try four different flavors, and there are over 40 flavors to choose from. We tried their Oreo, Black Raspberry, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Butter Pecan.
• Wasson Farm Market has a seasonal ice cream stand with a lot of classic flavors. Their Banana Split flavor is very popular. We tried a Sundae with Cookies n’ Creme, Chocolate, and Peanut Butter Cup.

4. Attend the People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts

The People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts & Crafts at Grange Park spun off of the Arts Festival so that they could focus on more local and smaller artists.

This festival is still filled with art and an artist market, live music and entertainment, food vendors, and a children’s area full of fun.

One thing I loved about this festival was their Pennsylvania winery booths. A dozen regional wineries, distilleries, meaderies, and cideries were offering tastes of their best wines. We brought bottles home from Happy Valley Vineyard & Winery and KingView Mead.

5. Grab a Drink on the Central PA Tasting Trail

Happy Valley is home to the Central PA Tasting Trail with plenty of craft breweries distilleries, wineries, and cideries where you can get a taste of local spirits. Many of the locations on the trail also have cocktails and mocktails as well.

Here are a few stops along the tasting trail that we’ve tried:

• Boal City Brewing — Craft beer with a taproom and beer garden at the base of Rothrock State Forest in Boalsburg.
• Otto’s Pub and Brewery — An impressive selection of craft beers on tap in State College.
• Robin Hood Brewing Co. — Award-winning IPAs, wheat beers, and experimental brews in Bellefonte.
• Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks — Local music and craft beers brewed in Millheim.

6. See a Show at The State Theatre

The State Theatre is a hub for performance art in State College. There’s always something new and interesting showing.

The theater opened in 1938 as a cinema to test market Warner Brothers films. The theater was renovated in the early 2000s and reopened as a community-owned non-profit theatre.

You can catch live music, musicals, dramas, movies, and more. When we visited, we saw Rosanne Cash with John Leventhal as part of the Arts Festival.

7. Visit Art in the Orchard at Way Fruit Farm

Art in the Orchard at Way Fruit Farm is an annual family-friendly arts and crafts festival that features local artists, food trucks, and live music.

The festival takes place at Way Fruit Farm, a family-owned, local fruit farm known for their apples, strawberries, cherries, peaches, plums, pears, and other seasonal fruits. They have a cafe and bakery serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a store with local produce.

In addition to the arts and crafts, Art in the Orchard also features a bunny barn, hot air balloon rides, a petting zoo, face painting, and live sand sculpting.

8. Tour the Columbus Chapel & Boal Mansion Museum

The Columbus Chapel & Boal Mansion Museum is a surprising find in Boalsburg: it includes the 16th century chapel from the Columbus Castle imported from Asturias, Spain.

The Boals, the namesake of Boalsburg, held onto a lot of historical pieces over their 200 years on the Boal Estate. The Boal Mansion Museum is full of incredible artifacts and contains original furnishings, papers, portraits, tools, and weapons from nine generations of Boals.

A guided tour of the museum can easily take 2 hours because there’s so much to see and the docents are so passionate about the collection.

The highlight of the museum is all of the material related to Christopher Columbus. The chapel contains an admiral’s desk said to have belonged to Columbus, 15th century religious statues, 16th century Renaissance paintings, and even two pieces of the True Cross of Jesus.

9. Go Hiking at Black Moshannon State Park

Black Moshannon State Park covers 3,394 acres of forests and wetlands, and it’s surrounded by Moshannon State Forest.

This state park is popular during the summer for hiking, swimming and kayaking on the 250-acre Black Moshannon Lake, horseback riding, and mountain biking.

Bog Trail

We chose the 0.5-mile out-and-back Bog Trail for our first hike. This accessible boardwalk winds through the wetlands along Black Moshannon Lake. It’s an easy and beautiful hike that’s perfect for wildlife viewing.

Ralph’s Majestic Vista (on the Allegheny Front Trail)

We also hiked to Ralph’s Majestic Vista along the Allegheny Front Trail. The Allegheny Front Trail is a 41.9-mile loop along the Allegheny Plateau, but you don’t have to hike much of it to get to Ralph’s Majestic Vista, which is only about a 1.4-mile out-and-back hike.

We parked along Underwood Road and followed the yellow blazes south to the viewpoint. This is a moderately difficult trail with a rock chasm that you have to traverse, but it’s easier on the way up than on the way down.

Ralph’s Majestic Vista offers a great mountain-top view of Happy Valley below. This is a great spot in the summer when the landscape is a lush green.

10. Stay at the Graduate State College

The Graduate State College is the perfect hotel in Happy Valley with studious vibes even when school is out for the summer.

This was our second time staying in this hotel. The rooms have the feel of an elevated dorm room with plaids and pinstripe décor, football motifs on the headboard, a football player lamp, a Nittany Lion floor lamp, and throw pillows with Penn State’s iconic “We Are” phrase embroidered across them.

Even the keycards look like old student IDs from Penn State alums. This time, we had businesswoman Betty James who came up with the name for the Slinky, and TV journalist Lara Spencer.

You can read my full review of the Graduate State College here.

Book your stay at the Graduate State College here.

11. Watch Live Performances at the Speakeasy

The live musical performances aren’t just at the big festivals during the summer. You can also find local music in surprising places, like the Speakeasy at The Gamble Mill in Bellefonte.

This intimate space hosts live music, charity performances, storytelling, and readings.

We got to experience their Irish Music Nights when we visited. Grab a drink from The Republic bar and enjoy free live music.

12. Attend Philipsburg Heritage Days

Philipsburg Heritage Days is an annual festival to celebrate the history of Philipsburg each year the week following the 4th of July. This 5-day event follows a similar schedule to the Arts Festival in State College.

This festival has live music, food vendors, a kids zone, contests, dancing, theater performances, a parade, and fireworks.

We visited during the Grand Parade on Saturday. During the parade, there are marching bands playing live music and decorated floats. Members of the parade throw candy to the parade-watchers, and the kids go crazy for it.

13. Try Goat Yoga at Nittany Meadow Farm

Nittany Meadow Farm in Boalsburg is a small, family-owned farm with a herd of dairy goats. They have a ton of goat-related activities like goat yoga, goat visits, goats & art, and even goat line dancing.

Plus, you can buy goat milk, goat cheese, and goat milk soap (I’m waiting on their goat ice cream).

We attended a goat yoga session where the thrill is having a goat jump all over you as you stretch. It’s not the most focused yoga class, but it’s fun!

14. Eat Around Town

The food in Happy Valley is one of the best parts of visiting, and during the summer you get all the best local ingredients.

Here’s where we ate during this trip:

• Allen Street Grill — Upscale steak and seafood restaurant in State College, perfect for a date night.
• Café Lemont — Funky coffee shop in Lemont decked out with art, open for breakfast and brunch.
• Way Fruit Farm Café — Local farm cafe in Port Matilda serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner and homemade apple cider.
• Creekside at The Gamble Mill — Global-inspired menu inside a historic mill in Bellefonte.
• Breakfast on Boal — Popular breakfast spot in Boalsburg for a classic Pennsylvania breakfast.
• Otto’s Pub & Brewery — Local brewpub in State College serving up pub classics and in-house beers.
• Flour & Stone — Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in Pine Grove Mills serving breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner.
• Brother’s Pizza Philipsburg — Casual pizza parlor in Philipsburg for a quick meal.
• Philipsburg Elks Lodge & Country Club — Casual lunch and dinner in Philipsburg, open to the public, overlooking the golf course.
• The Naked Egg Cafe — Cozy cafe in State College serving breakfast and lunch.

15. Enjoy Penn State’s Quiet Campus

Summer is a great time to walk around Pennsylvania State University. There are fewer students on campus during the summer, and it makes a great place for a sunset walk.

Explore top spots like Old Main, the Nittany Lion Shrine, the Hintz Family Alumni Center and its gardens, and “The HUB” HUB-Robeson Center art galleries.

Where is Happy Valley, PA?

Happy Valley, PA is what the locals call Centre County, Pennsylvania. It’s at the heart of Pennsylvania, right in the center, and includes the area surrounding State College and Penn State University.

Towns like State College, Boalsburg, Bellefonte, Pine Grove Mills, Philipsburg, Port Matilda, and Lemont make up Happy Valley.

How to Get to Happy Valley, PA

Getting to Happy Valley is super easy, whether you’re road-tripping or flying in.

If you’re driving, State College is a breeze to reach via I-99 and US-322. Nearby towns like Boalsburg and Port Matilda are right off those same routes, and Bellefonte is just off I-99 near the I-80 junction.

If you’re flying, the most convenient airport is State College Regional Airport (SCE). You’ll find direct flights from Philadelphia, from Washington DC, and from Chicago with American Airlines and United Airlines.

Another option for flying in is the Altoona–Blair County Airport (AOO) in Martinsburg, PA. It’s about an hour’s drive to State College, but flights to and from Charlotte are super affordable (the most I’ve paid was $175 round-trip, but tickets start as low as $74 per flight). Just know you’ll need to rent a car from there — but honestly, you’ll want one anyway.

Whichever way you arrive, I highly recommend having a car for this trip. There’s just so much to explore, and you’ll want the freedom to hop between Happy Valley’s charming small towns and scenic spots. Be sure to rent a car either at SCE or at AOO.

Happy Valley Summer Activities Map

Ready to explore Happy Valley in summer? Use the map below to find all these fun summer locations listed in this post.

I hope you have an amazing summer vacation with these fun things to do in Happy Valley, PA in summer!

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Cheers!

Paige

What are your favorite things to do in Happy Valley in summer? Let me know in the comments!