Things to Do in Hershey

If you’re searching for a small-scale amusement park vacation, this place will definitely hit your sweet spot. Hershey is known for chocolate, since it happens to be the place candy maker Milton Hershey first opened his factory in 1905. Nowadays, you and your chocolate-loving family get to reap all the benefits!

Hershey Heritage and Candy Factory

A visit to Hershey's Chocolate World begins with a free tour of the transformation of the cocoa bean, followed by a tasty chocolate sample. Then solve a 4-D chocolate mystery, give a chocolate tasting a try, take a guided tour through the town in a trolley, and create your own candy bar and design your own wrapper. Had enough chocolate yet? Visit the Dessert Creation Studio or pop into the bakery with its dipping station. Roll on out of there to the Hershey Story Museum, an interactive experience about the life of Mr. Hershey, the town he built and his early candy-making machine.

Heights and Highlights—Hersheypark

Hersheypark is essentially the main reason people visit here, and it won’t disappoint you. There are over 10 rollercoasters to select from. There’s even a gentler one for your younger kids, the Cocoa Cruiser, as well as classics like spinning teacups, a carousel, and games such as whack-a-mole. Some rides, however, do have height restrictions. The park is open daily all summer with special events during the off-season. After getting your fix of adrenaline-pumping rides, get up close and personal with owls, turtles and alligators at the 11-acre ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park, located adjacent to Hersheypark.

Stars Among Cars

Take in the spit-shined antique wheels at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum. This museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, exhibits vintage vehicles from the 1890s to the 1980s—cars, buses, motorcycles, hearses and funky trucks. Check out the 1895 Chicago Benton Harbor with lemon-yellow wheels that looks like a horse-drawn buggy without the horse. Ford's Model A is here, along with the rest of his automobile alphabet. The jazzy Tucker '48 even has its own gallery. You can also dress up in period clothing and have your picture taken sitting next to vintage rides.

Chocolate-Dipped or Cedar-Planked

You can't live on chocolate—well, maybe you can, but a little variety is refreshing too. Palermo's Pizza II delivers subs, gourmet stuffed pizzas and other savory treats to your hotel when the kids are hungry, cranky and not fit for a meal out. Try the garlic knots. The Chocolate Avenue Grill serves wraps, portobello burgers, salads, wings, seafood, pasta and more for lunch and dinner. The Mill Restaurant surrounds you with rustic beams, plank floors, brick walls and original mill machinery as it serves up local ingredients in contemporary American cuisine for brunch, lunch and dinner.

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