Spending all of your time on campus can be tiring, especially when you go to a small school like F&M. You’ll do the same old things every week and have little variation to your schedule. Fortunately, there are lots of awesome day trips you can easily take from F&M on some Saturday or Sunday when you aren’t too swamped with work.
Ephrata
This charming town is only about twenty minutes away from Lancaster and has great little stores and places to eat. There’s a few thrift shops, my personal favorite of which is Uncle Funky’s. There’s also a really cool toy store and the farmers market, Green Dragon, is only a few minutes outside of the town. You can drive to Ephrata or take a bus!
Lititz
Like Ephrata, Lititz is only about twenty minutes away from Lancaster and is a straight drive down 501. People visit Lititz all of the time, for its adorable shops, like Wilbur’s Chocolates and Aaron’s Books. You could spend hours walking around Lititz just looking and spend some time at Lititz Spring Park. You can even get food at the Tomato Pie Cafe. The second Friday of every month, the stores in Lititz stay open until 9pm and there’s often live music.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and is incredibly vibrant. There’s nightlife, concerts, sports, shopping, and awesome museums that you can see when you visit Philly. It’s a simple train ride from the Lancaster train station. Make sure you try a cheesesteak while you’re there!
Appalachian Trail
About an hour drive north of Lancaster, you hit the Appalachian mountains. There’s an abundant amount of small towns on your way and lots of places you can stop to get food at, but you just hop on 501 all the way to the mountains and then you can pick a trail and go on a hike to take in the beautiful scenery. There’s many lookouts that you can take advantage of and get a fantastic view of Lebanon Valley.
Harrisburg
The state’s capital is about an hour drive from Lancaster and has been revitalized in the last few years. You can go and tour the capital building (it’s beautiful) and then go to some stores and restaurants in the area. Second street is also a good place to check out some restaurants or bars.