Spending the Day in Hershey, PA – for Free!

When circumstances brought us back to Pennsylvania in the spring, we capitalized on it for a repeat trip to Hershey. We adored the city on our visit last fall and there were a few more places on our wish list. Our Ford-Edison annual passes included them, as well, so we knew we’d work them in some time this year. I (Sonya) have been to this area several times in my life since family on my mom’s side is from PA, around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas.

Luther had a project he needed to work on for school, and museums and gardens aren’t high on his list of things he seeks out, so we capitalized on it and BJ and I got an afternoon together. Yes, it’s educational, but he is in a different genre for learning right now, so we didn’t want to sidetrack him as he was wrapping up a section.

We started off at the Hershey Story Museum. This museum is nicely laid out and not an overwhelming exhibit, which was nice. Various artifacts from his life and Hershey are on display. They also have displays and working models of how the equipment and his process works, which is neat to see. There is also a timeline along the wall showing various highlights throughout American history and significant events in Hershey’s story, both as the person, and the company. We loved seeing old commercials showing, reminding us of our childhood and inspiring stories we had long forgotten about. We got so caught up in all of it, we totally forgot to take photos!

We enjoyed a small lunch in Lisa’s Cafe downstairs and skipped the Chocolate Lab and Bar on site, as well.

Next we headed over to Hershey’s Botanical Gardens, which also hosts the Butterfly Garden and Arboretum. The butterfly garden was enjoyable to walk through and see all the species of moths, butterflies, and even some reptiles on display. Then we spent ages wandering the paths and various gardens, and the arboretum. It was a warm afternoon, so in retrospect, we probably should have done these in reverse–a tip for you if it is warm when you go!

We finished off our afternoon with a quick stop over at the Chocolate World we visited in the fall to get us another giant Reese’s Cup creation–this one only lasted a few days between the three of us, just like the last time we got one! If you haven’t been there, it is a neat stop. It has a tour through the chocolate process, an awesome food court, and shops for both sweats and souvenirs. They have a masters in chocolate class you can take to learn about the flavors that is very interesting–BJ and I participated it on our honeymoon when we visited Philadelphia. You can use Chocolate World as a starting point for a trolley tour and many other things to do in the area, if it fits your budget, or just explore the spot for free, if you are like us.

If you are interested in more on the campground we stayed at, it’s about an hour from Hershey and is part of the Thousand Trails network, you can find the blog and more info on both the travel map and in the blog Gettysburg Farms Campground – Thousand Trails here. It’s a great stop–very peaceful and lots of animals, including two new lambs!