A few days ago I was literally craving to visit Switzerland, but due to the pandemic, it has become really difficult to travel internationally. So, I decided to browse some local scenic places to visit, and fortunately, I came across this gem, named Jim Thorpe❤️ which is nestled in Pennsylvania, USA. Jim Thorpe is known as the “Switzerland of America” because of its breathtaking mountains, romantic inns, scenic valley, and architecture. It is also known as the “Gateway to the Poconos”, as it resides just below the famous Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Originally it was named Mauch Chunk which means Bear Place in native Delaware peoples language and later on it was renamed as Jim Thorpe after a famous athlete name. On Jim Thorpe memorial site, you will find the monument of Jim Thorpe which was built in order to honor him. It’s a popular tourist attraction👍.
We drove from our home to this place as it’s only a few miles away. As soon as we entered this beautiful town, I was stunned by its beauty and architecture🥰. Now, our first task was to park our car and fortunately it was quite easy. There are street parking options and a couple of paid parking lots. We got a spot to park our car just beside the most famous and picturesque street of Jim Thorpe named Stone Row. This historic street is lined with stone apartments where you will also find some beautiful and vibrant shops downstairs☺️. This charming street has so much to do from cute and colorful restaurants to some shops for shopping. Even a stroll through this street is amazing to appreciate its beauty and click a couple of great pictures👍. We enjoyed our walk and also tried clicking some amazing pictures. While walking, we felt like we are in Europe. On one end of the street, there is also one beautiful old church that adds even more beauty to this street.
After Stone Row, we headed to Broadway Street which is full of life. Take a stroll and you will fall in love with this town for sure❤️. This street has some great things to offer, which includes wonderful shops for shopaholics, amazing restaurants of different varieties, cute cafes to hang out with your buddy🥰, historic inns if you’re interested in staying overnight, antique shops, a records shop, and even a Mauch Chunk Opera House which is just incredible. Apart from this, you will even spot a row of Victorian houses which adds more charm to this town☺️. We strolled through this street, did some shopping, and even had a coffee in one of the cafes. We were there in the fall season, so we even got to see some beautiful fall colors and decorations outside every shop which was just incredible.💕
After having a wonderful lunch at a Japanese restaurant named Mist, we headed to the train station as we booked a 45 minutes train ride which departs from Mauch Chunk station and takes us into the Lehigh Valley. This ride is called the Scenic Lehigh Valley train ride. There is no pre-booking for this ride on their website, you need to buy tickets in person on the day of your visit. The train ride was scenic and mesmerizing. While on a ride, you’ll witness stunning mountains, peaceful Lehigh river, verdant valley, and breathtaking fall foliage😍. It was truly an incredible experience for us.
Apart from these attractions, there are so many other things to do in Jim Thorpe such as Asa Packer Mansion, Old Jail Museum, Glen Onoko Falls, and much more, but we didn’t cover everything as we were there on a day trip. We had great fun on our short day trip and I’m already craving to go back there again soon😍.
