As winter approaches and the weather begins to turn bitterly cold outside, it’s natural to want to hunker down inside to stay warm by the fire. However, there’s only so much time most people can spend inside hibernating before cabin fever begins to set in! Luckily, there are plenty of fun things to do during the winter months in and around Lancaster County to coax you out of the house (don’t forget to layer up before you head outside!)
Christmas At Clipper Stadium
Long after the last crack of the bat from baseball season, Clipper Stadium is still teeming with fun for the entire family during the holidays! From Nov. 30 to Dec. 23rd, the stadium is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, featuring the Christmas Spirit Light Show, Christmas Tree Lane, and other fun activities.
Visitors can drive through the mile-long Christmas Spirit Light Show where thousands of lights and animated decorations synchronized with classic Christmas songs are on display. Take a stroll along the stadium’s mezzanine level, now transformed into the Christmas Tree Lane and lined with hundreds of colorfully decorated trees for the holiday season!
Visitors can enjoy hot food and beverages, listen to live choir performances of Christmas favorites, and even visit with Santa and his elves and Barnstormers mascot Cylo!
Christmas Light Displays
One of our favorite traditions of the holiday season is the Christmas light display! These bright, colorful decorations always brighten the spirits at the onset of winter as the nights grow long and cold. Here in Lancaster, sightseers have a wide variety of Christmas light displays to take in this December—at private properties or businesses throughout the county.
During the winter months, Hersheypark remains a destination for families enjoying the Sweet Lights show at Hersheypark Candy Lane! The park is decorated with over 4 million lights and visitors can see over 600 Christmas displays along a 2-mile driving path. Guests can also enjoy holiday rides and rollercoasters as well as visits with Santa and his reindeer.
This year, Messick Farm Equipment in Elizabethtown hosts its 7th annual Christmas light show. Their fleet of tractors and motorized equipment are adorned with animated lights that shine and dance in time with Christmas carols guests can enjoy from their car’s radio! All donations collected at the light show go to support local families in need.
There are plenty of private displays families can also enjoy by car or on foot throughout the county. The Krasley Christmas light show in Manheim is a popular annual tradition featuring a holiday light extravaganza that benefits Ronald McDonald House. Click here to see a list of other great displays near you!
Lititz Fire & Ice Festival
When winter comes around each year, the town of Lititz comes alive during the Lititz Fire & Ice Festival! Now in its 15th year, this free community event brings in over 40,000 visitors to enjoy pyrotechnic fireworks displays and 75 ice sculptures created by DiMartino Ice Co. displayed along Main Street. The festival takes place on February 14 and 15 in downtown Lititz and features over 25 food trucks, a chili cookoff and kids’ carnival attractions. Many of the town’s great shops and restaurants stay open late for the happy crowds, and the ice sculptures will remain on public display through February 17. Proceeds from the festival support the Lititz Lions Club and Venture Lititz.
Avalanche Xpress Snow Tubing
Looking for some fast-paced excitement during the winter months? Avalanche Xpress Snow Tubing, on the grounds of the Heritage Hills resort in York, has downhill thrills and outdoors adventure for the whole family! Avalanche Xpress features 10 snow tubing lanes along the hills of the Heritage Hills golf course where rope climbs tow riders to the hill’s summit so there is rarely any wait to get on the slopes. Visitors can also warm themselves with hot chocolate and s’mores by outdoor firepits and dine and drink at the Avenue Ale House & Pizza Loft. The lanes are feature lighting for night tubing and visitors can purchase Day Passes, Night Passes or Season Passes to enjoy the fun all winter long!
Snow Geese Migration
Each winter, photographers, nature lovers and sightseers gather at the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Stevens, PA, to witness the annual snow geese migration. From mid-February to mid-March, hundreds of thousands of geese make a stop at the lake at Middle Creek while migrating to their breeding grounds in the sub-arctic and arctic regions to the north. Visitors come to the marvel at the impressive sight of thousands of birds moving together in huge numbers when they take off at sunrise to feed and return at sunset to roost overnight. If you haven’t been to Middle Creek before, make plans to visit this winter to witness this amazing display of nature!
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to get out of the house and enjoy all of the fun things Lancaster, PA has in store for you this winter! Looking for a new apartment? Please visit our website to see if Prospect Leasing & Management has the right space for you!