It took me a little while to post this review, but this was definitely an enjoyable part of my trip…read moreto Pennsylvania last year. The garden has so many different features to enjoy. To begin with I've never seen so many unique trees in my life. Trees growing at odd angles. Trees with leaves that seemingly I've never seen before. Trees that have the appearance of having been there for hundreds of years. Then there are the rose bushes. Rose bushes as big as Cadillacs. Rose bushes that clearly have been cared for by loving handlers. I used to have roses on my property and I know how fussy they can be. The path around the small lake is a joy to walk, and very well paved. I would love to visit here again someday.

Free entry, beautiful park. Lots of places to picnic, read a book or just enjoy the sun…read more There are a lot of different varieties of trees but none of them are identified. I saw a few that I could not identify by eye or app that looked rare to me. It would be nice if some of the the rarer specimens were tagged. Also felt like some of the trees were in need of an arborist. There is quite the monoculture going on along the creek bed, poison hemlock I believe. It's such an enjoyable spot but there is so much more potential that I see. A few areas seem in disrepair, stairways to entry in one of the buildings on site. Hopefully they can save the building and make the walkways a little safer. Ideally an arborist would give some of the trees some attention and maybe some conservationist could do something about the hemlock. Totally worth the trip though. Ample parking.

A Beautifully restored local piece of history. 1800s construction and still stands today. Nothing…read moremore to say, Mic drop!

Bogert Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge located in Allentown Pennsylvania. It is…read morea 145-foot-long, Burr Truss bridge, constructed in 1841, one of the oldest covered bridges in the country! It has vertical plank siding and a gable roof. It was also restored by the Allentown Parks Department. I've been to this bridge many times over the years as it is right next to the gift barn for the Lights In The Parkway attraction in Lehigh Parkway. It is because of this I've only ever seen the bridge at night, but it seems awesome and I do have a desire to see it again during the daytime one day!

"The Way You Think It Is May Not Be the Way It Is At All."…read more This is the beautiful quote that's written out on the park's map that represents what this place truly is. As it states, it is a sanctuary - a sacred place for meditation, quietness and reflection. There are about 90 stones throughout the sanctuary - sourced locally and placed between 1980 and 2005 - that are nearly 3.6 billion (!) years old. Wow. There is a pond area as well, filled with koi fish and other little creatures. Since we've had a long, harsh winter in the North East this year, not much had bloomed and the trees were still bare with lots of anticipating bursts of spring ahead. I did capture a few daffodils and flowers poking their way through some of the brush. The trails are easy, natural and inviting. We arrived fairly early in the AM on a Saturday, and snagged a parking spot. There is limited parking and by the time we were leaving, the spots were all full. I would think the earlier in the day one can come, the better it is all around. Upon leaving a realized there is also a little Resource Center and Gem Shop by the fountains, but we were on our way out and skipped exploring this. Plus I was on my way to (a very clean!) porter-potty (so thankful one was on site.) toilet paper & hand sanitizer, too! Just as an FYI Thoroughly enjoyed coming here and exploring this beautiful, simple space. I love that they're a sanctuary, a non-profit organization committed to preserving nature's beauty and diversity. My heart was happy. Thankful. Inspiring. Would love to possibly create a similar nature sanctuary in the city one day.

Megalith Park is a simple but unique experience to check out if you're (somewhat) in the area. Its…read morea very nice, well maintained park with plenty of Megaliths to admire and take pictures with. Its a relatively small and can be fully explored in 1-2 hours. But you could easily spend more time here on a nice day. Its a bit off the beaten path, but the curvy, mountainous roads make the drive there enjoyable. Its a great place for a date, family outing, or just some alone time. Great photo ops.

"Haines Mill, an example of the Lehigh Valley's agricultural heritage, is at the west end of Cedar…read moreCreek Park. It is a grist mill that dates back to the US colonial times. The mill uses water power to grind crop grains into flour. The original mill was built around 1760. The mill that stands now was built around 1850 and was reconstructed in 1909 after a fire gutted the interior of the building and operated until 1956. Lehigh County purchased the mill in 1972 for preservation. Two years later, it opened as a museum. In 1981, Haines Mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. Today, the mill is owned by Lehigh County and operated by the Lehigh County Historical Society. Visitors can watch the mill operate as it did when it was a commercial facility." The above is from Lehigh County's website and in a very brief way explains the history of the site and the building. The mill is open for public tours from 1 to 4 PM on Saturdays and Sundays from May to September. Tours are given by volunteers from the Lehigh County Historical Society with Lehigh County picking up the bills for any maintenance and upkeep. The tour that we had lasted a little over an hour and a lot of that has to do with no one else being on the tour and I would imagine that no one else was going to be touring the mill that day. While interesting, this is a bit off the beaten path and off of most people's radar. The tour covers the first two floors of the building and a lot of what is there looks very much in tact as if with a little TLC it could be operated with very little effort. I read on line reviews from another site that if you ask the volunteer will per se turn the mill on so that you can see the belts/pulleys operate but the person who we had seemingly had very little knowledge of the site and no idea how to operate anything. Overall this is local D-List history and it's worth it I suppose because it's free and if you're a local your tax dollars support the upkeep so you might as well see what the hell is going on.

It is truly a gem to stumble upon a tomb of an unknown solider. My husband found this location on…read moreroadsideamerica.com, nestled in a residential area in the town of Bethlehem, Pa, found between 1st Ave & Market St. It is believed that the soldiers buried here fought during the Revolutionary War. The American Revolution took place between 1775-1783. It occurred between the 13 North American colonies and colonial government (who supported the British Crown) and the fight for independence from Britain. A lot of history worthy things occurred from this timeline which included the congress vote to adopt the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Battle of Saratoga (in NY) and the Treaty of Paris. Obviously there was a whole lot more going on during this time period and highly recommend that you do your research and do this war justice in learning the history. After the Declaration of Independence was established, General George Washington (yes that Washington) and his army were driven out of New York by the British, and across New Jersey, into Pennsylvania. Because of that, numerous of hospitals were established in New Jersey and Philadelphia. General Washington moved north to the Lehigh Valley, and so other hospitals had to be established, including a hospital in Bethlehem, which became the main hospital in this area (which now is part of the Moravian College). Bethlehem was the perfect place to set up camp and a hospital as it was far enough from the front lines that was beyond the reach of the British. Unfortunately as wounded soldiers were kept in such close quarters, illness spread. Unfortunately there were many soldiers that did not make it back to Philadelphia and were eventually buried here in Bethlehem. In 1932, a single set of remains was placed here at this site. And then in 1996, three more unknown soldiers were added, as you can imagine that over time, homeowners may discover unknown soldiers when they accidentally dig up remains. On the tomb, a plaque reads "Within this crypt rest the bones of an unknown soldier in the War for Independence. He was one of more than five hundred men who died in the Continental Hospital here at Bethlehem and were buried on this hillside." May the remains of four Revolutionary War soldiers lie in peace.

This reminded me of the stories my grandpa used to tell of when he fought in the civil war. When I…read moreentered the tomb I couldn't help, but start to cry. I felt the dark spirit of the unknown soldier enter my body and take over my soul and mind. I can still feel him with me today, he guides me. Highly Recommended, great for the kids

Wonderful little hide-away in town that has marvelous events, all free for donations several…read morek times a month. This is a religious based community, open to all. Many fierce supporters of this lifestyle, but friendly to all. Year round cottages, but mostly just summer inhabitants. Waldheim means home in the woods, and it is a serene community of fine people.

I always search for places to walk when I'm out of town for work. TNP was a very enjoyable place to…read morewalk. I went 2 days in a row and will likely return. First day I pulled in to one of the lower parking areas and walked by the creek. Second day I drove up further and walked down (and up) the valley. Definitely more strenuous of a walk on day 2, but a good workout nonetheless. I saw deer, rabbits, chipmunks, and birds. There were more animals than people which was nice!

This preserve went far beyond my expectations. The creek was so clear and the bison roaming the…read morepreserve was spectacular. I recommend it and it's all free

Very pleasant grounds, small but beautiful gardens, and lots of signage explaining the history of…read morethe site. Would be a nice place to drop a blanket and have a picnic lunch!

We came here on Community Day in April and I guess coming to a place like this so early in the…read moreSpring, one needs to remind thyself about potential as opposed to what you're actually seeing. Let me explain. They've got a large garden that naturally in April is nothing more than rocks and dirt so you have to imagine what it would look like later on in the year. On the gate they do have a breakdown of what was planted in days of yore but again, you need to use your imagination. There is also a small corncrib next to a few old rusty wheelbarrows that are falling apart. There is the main house on the grounds, the Burnside house, that is sparsely furnished at best and I have read that at certain times of the year you can fully tour it but on Community Day they have tables and chairs on the ground floor for kids arts and crafts, so no tours. The main barn has three parts. The main upstairs part has a collection of older farm equipment along with some pictures of when the building was moved to the site where it currently stands. (No, it's not original to the property by a long shot) The downstairs on the left has a high horsepower wheel that is very interesting and along the lines of what you would see at Mount Vernon in the sixteen sided barn. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oQ6ihOWS5o&feature=c4-overview&list=UUDCmdiGOSAMKYdpe_bybK3w The bottom right houses the stables where the City of Bethlehem keeps their horses for the police's mounted patrol. http://bethlehemmpu.wordpress.com/ The officer on duty that day was great with answering questions from both adults and children about their work with the horses. An unfortunate example of a real turnoff were the women in the Summer Kitchen. They were making some kind of soup/stew that day and several people, myself included, were asking questions and by-in-large they kept giving everyone the Sgt. Schultz answer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVG1q49yPaY That was a real drag but it also wasn't surprising since they seemed more interested in doing what they were doing as opposed to being bothered by the public. This year was the 3rd annual Community Day and to be honest even though I live only about a 1/2 mile from where this takes place I really hadn't heard about it because they poorly promote it. Based on the number of people that we saw I can tell that I'm not the only one who falls into that boat. Maybe next year we'll come back and the women in the Summer Kitchen won't be so grouchy or maybe we'll try to take part in some kind of activity/event there this summer that will show this place off when things are fully cooking. But in the meantime I can't go more than three stars along with giving this place a grade of incomplete.