Independence Day Parade, Philadelphia. All photography is ours.
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Pennsylvania with Kids
If you can time a Philadelphia trip for the Fourth of July, do it. We spent July 3rd and 4th there on our way to London and it turned into one of our favorite family travel memories. Seeing the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall on the country’s birthday is quite a spectacle. Add in a parade, free museums, and fireworks over the parkway, and it’s a party.
After half a day in Philly, our whole family was hooked on the town. Reading Terminal Market, the Betsy Ross House, and a city that’s easy to do without a car. Hershey, Gettysburg, and Pittsburgh are still to-do’s for us.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited June 2019
Best months
May–June, Sept–Oct
National parks
0 + 19 NPS sites
Fly into
PHL · PIT · MDT
How long
A long weekend, a week with Hershey
Book ahead
Independence Hall tickets · Hersheypark lodging · Fallingwater tours
Our Pennsylvania trip was Philadelphia over the Fourth. We arrived on the 3rd, checked in, and went straight to Reading Terminal Market. The 4th started at the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Then came the parade and Betsy Ross’s birthday party. Many museums were free that day, so we added the National Museum of American Jewish History. We finished with the concert and fireworks on the parkway.
Check out our list below with more family-friendly Pennsylvania.
Your Pennsylvania guide
Enjoy exploring Pennsylvania with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three road trips, and where to stay.
Essential Pennsylvania
Why we love Pennsylvania
We think you’ll love it too.
Pennsylvania is where we’d send a family that wants American history the kids can actually walk through. Walking around the city, you can’t help but wonder what it was like here when the Framers decided to split from England.
When the kids need a break from all that history, enjoy some really great food (cheesesteaks come in all sorts of ways), recreate your favorite Rocky scene, or just enjoy one of Philly’s museums in the air conditioning. Keep scrolling for essential Pennsylvania and other parts of the state to explore.
Independence National Historical Park Guide
Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Franklin Court are all free. We were in the Assembly Room on July 4th, and being there on the Fourth made the experience even more fun.
The Fourth of July in Philadelphia Guide
Our guide covers the parade, the free museums, Betsy Ross’s birthday party, and the fireworks. It’s everything you need to do the holiday with kids in the city where it started.
The Betsy Ross House Guide
The Betsy Ross House is a small house with a big story, and on the Fourth there’s a birthday party with cupcakes out front. We all had a great time here.
Reading Terminal Market Guide
Reading Terminal Market was our first stop after checking in. A hundred stalls under one roof make it the easiest way to feed a family with different opinions. Miller’s Twist was a favorite.
And the rest we’d cross the state for
The Liberty Bell Guide
No ticket is needed for the Liberty Bell. The line moves quickly, and the bell is right there at the end of it.
National Museum of American Jewish History Guide
The museum was free on the Fourth and one of the surprises of our day. It’s right on Independence Mall.
The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute has the giant walk-through heart, the planetarium, and enough hands-on exhibits to lose a day. It’s on our list for next time.
Hershey
Hershey has Hersheypark, Chocolate World, and a hotel with chocolate on the pillow. Give it two days.
Gettysburg
Gettysburg has the battlefield auto tour and the cyclorama. Hire a licensed guide to ride along in your own car for the best version of the story. Are you looking for more national park sites? See our guide to Pennsylvania national parks.
Valley Forge
Valley Forge is where Washington’s army spent the winter, thirty minutes from Philly. Drive the encampment tour road and let the kids step inside the log huts. Want more NPS sites nearby? Check out our Pennsylvania national parks guide.
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has the Duquesne Incline, the Carnegie museums, and the Children’s Museum. It’s an easy city weekend with kids.
Fallingwater
Fallingwater is Frank Lloyd Wright’s house over a waterfall in the Laurel Highlands. Tours book out weeks ahead.
Browse
Find your next adventure in Pennsylvania
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AftT’s Guide to the 4th of July in Philadelphia with Kids
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Routes
Three Pennsylvania road trip itineraries
This is one state with three very different trips. Pick Philadelphia and the Revolution, Hershey and Gettysburg, or Pittsburgh and the Laurel Highlands. See all the best stops on a map.
Home base
Center City
Fly into PHL. We stayed downtown and walked everywhere. Our Fourth of July guide has the order of the day.
Then head to
Independence Mall
See Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell first thing, then the parade route and the Betsy Ross House.
Finish
The parkway
Catch the concert and fireworks at the Art Museum. Get there early and bring a blanket.
Home base
Hershey
Fly into MDT or drive two hours from Philly. Spend two days at Hersheypark, with Chocolate World on the way in.
Then head to
Gettysburg
It’s an hour southwest. Start at the visitor center and the cyclorama, then hire a licensed guide to ride along in your car.
Add on
Lancaster County
It’s an hour east. Ride the Strasburg Rail Road, take a buggy ride, and book a farm stay.
Start
Pittsburgh
Fly into PIT. Visit the Duquesne Incline, the Children’s Museum, and the Carnegie Science Center.
Then head to
Fallingwater & Ohiopyle
It’s ninety minutes southeast. Book the Fallingwater tour first, then raft or bike the Youghiogheny.
Finish
Flight 93 Memorial
It’s an hour east near Shanksville. Spend an hour at the memorial, then head on to Gettysburg.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
We were in Philadelphia in early July and it was hot, but the Fourth made it worth it. Pennsylvania has four full seasons. The cities are humid in summer, the mountains are cooler and get real snow, and the shoulder months are lovely everywhere.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
May – June
Hersheypark opens, the battlefields are green, and Philadelphia is warm without being sticky.
July – August
It’s hot and humid in the cities. The Fourth of July in Philadelphia is worth it anyway, and we’d do it again. The Poconos and the Laurel Highlands are ten degrees cooler.
September – October
Expect fall color in the Poconos and Laurel Highlands by mid-October, Hersheypark’s Halloween weekends, and thinner crowds at Independence Hall.
November – April
Cold, and often snowy in the mountains. Hershey’s Christmas Candylane runs through the holidays and the museums are the play.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your Pennsylvania adventure
Pennsylvania is easier when you pick one region. Here’s where we’ve stayed and where we’d stay next.
City trips
Philadelphia
We stayed downtown and walked to Independence Mall, the market, and the parkway. Center City is full of chain hotels, so points work well, and weekend rates drop.
- Where we stayed for the Fourth
- Old City for Independence Park
- Book the Fourth of July months ahead
Theme park trips
Hershey
The Hotel Hershey and Hershey Lodge get you early entry and shuttles. The chains along Route 422 are half the price and ten minutes away.
- Hershey Lodge for families
- Hotel Hershey if the budget allows
- Harrisburg chains on points
History trips
Gettysburg & Lancaster
Gettysburg has inns on the battlefield’s edge and chains on the highway. Lancaster County runs on farm stays and B&Bs.
- Gettysburg near the visitor center
- A working farm stay in Lancaster County
- Strasburg for the railroad
Good to know
Questions families ask us about Pennsylvania
Yes, it is. It’s the one city where the holiday means something specific, and the day is built for families. Kids get the history in the morning, then a parade, a birthday party, and fireworks. With many museums free that day, a slow afternoon turned into a full one. Here’s how we did it.
From March through December, you do. They’re free, released on recreation.gov, and go fast in summer. A few walk-up tickets are held each morning. The Liberty Bell needs no ticket. Our guide covers the rest of the park, including Franklin Court and Congress Hall.
Fly into PHL for Philadelphia, Hershey, and Lancaster. Use PIT for Pittsburgh and the Laurel Highlands. Harrisburg (MDT) is closest to Hershey and Gettysburg. We flew into Philadelphia and out to London from the same airport.
You don’t need one for Philadelphia. We walked everywhere and the train runs from the airport. For everything else, you do.
Yes, it is. The historic park is compact and free, and Reading Terminal Market solves every meal. The Betsy Ross House is small enough for a short attention span. After half a day our whole family was hooked. With more time, we’d add the Franklin Institute.
Map
Essential Pennsylvania, mapped
Keep exploring
Where to go next
West Virginia with Kids
West Virginia has New River Gorge National Park, straight south from the Laurel Highlands.
