Harrisburg Things to Do

The park and the gardens by the river are a pleasant place to stroll or to ride a bicycle.

The several bridges across the river, some of them in use, some other abandoned but left as a volume in the river, help to compose the scenery and enhance the landscape. It was a good complement to our hotel.

Our guide told us that it was the biggest in USA.

I don't care about sizes, in this case not even about prices. But it surely is a magnificent building, that you must see, especially from inside. I read that it was inspired in S. Peter's cathedral, in Vatican.

I don't know if it is true, even if the structure really resembles the cathedral,but the interiors show an harmony that denies any attempt of copying, and denounces the good taste and large resources used by the authors.

We took a :30 tour of the beautiful capital building. Our guide was informative, the capital was ornate. We were taken into the main rotunda, with the 272 food high, 52 million pound modeled after St. Peters in Rome. The Carrara marble staircase was inspired by the Paris Opera.

We visited the Supreme Court meeting room, Senate Chamber and House Chamber. The light fixtures, paintings, stained glass windows and impressive marble from all over the world was beautiful detailed.

This island lies in the middle of the Susquehanna River, right in front of downtown. Here are a number of attractions: the Commerce Bank ballpark, water golf, a beach (actually concrete), Riverside Village, a small train, and marinas.

Also, check out the Pride of the Susquehanna, a tour boat based on the island (I have another tip on that).

Kipona is an Indian word for "sparkling waters". This annual event takes place over Labor Day weekend, on the riverfront in downtown Harrisburg. It goes on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, from about midday until almost midnight. Food booths, arts, crafts, live bands, and children's activities offer something for nearly everyone.

This was my first time to the Pa. Farm Show I have often heard about it but thought ahh it's not going to be anything I would be interested in. Boy was I wrong. If you are in the area or just want to spend a day or two visiting this huge complex I couldn't encourage you more. There are animal judging and showing in arenas. You can walk through the stalls to see and pet the animals, this is great for kids. There are cooking demonstrations and food sampling through several isles. Two huge food courts to satisfy your hunger, (get the milkshake) trust me it was one of the better I have ever had. And so much more.

This will probably appear under a few of my tips because there's a lot to do at City Island. The nicest part is that from the city, you have to take pedestrian bridge over to the island. It's no little bridge either, it's spans the same length of the road and rail bridges across the Susquehanna. At the park, there are a number of things going on, mostly recreational activities like boating, the city island beach, kite flying, picnicking, watching a minor league baseball game, batting cages, volleyball, ball fields, attending concerts, carriage rides, little railroad and trolley rides, eating, etc. etc. etc.
It's a lot like being at the shore/beach but you're in central Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania State Capitol building is supposed to be one of the nicest state capitol buildings in the US. I don't know about that--haven't seen all of them--but it's pretty impressive. It was "architecturally inspired" by St. Peters Basilica in Rome and dedicated by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. The inside is even more impressive than the outside...

I can't remember how much the dome weighs right now, but it's a massive amount of weight. The inside is decorated with marble and gold leafing...great murals, too, impressive rotunda. I like this building! There are free tours given of the facility daily...

The other buildings within the complex include the finance, forum, labor and industry, health and welfare buildings as well as the senate and house chambers (as part of the capitol building...)

Soldiers Grove is a lot like the Mall in DC (this whole complex is somewhat like Capitol Hill in DC) but on a smaller scale.

An EXCEPTIONALLY beautiful capitol. Built in 1906 after a fire consumed the first capitol building, the current capitol represents many famous 20th century Pennsylvania Arts and Artists like Violet Oakley, Edwin Austin Abbey, George Grey Barnard and more. Take advantage of the available tours to see the most you can. Seeing the almost lifesize painting of Lincoln at Gettysburg was the first time his humanity was made a reality to me. It's definitely a MUST SEE on your list of things to do in Harrisburg.

One of the nice things about Harrisburg is proximity to countryside and mountains. The photo here is from Flat Rock in Colonel Denning State Park, near Doubling Gap, PA. If you like a challenging couple of hours scrambling around on rocks, this hike is for you.

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station was the site of America's worst nuclear accident in 1979. Construction on the site lasted from about 1968 to 1971, but reactor 1 did not begin operations until 1974. In 1978 reactor 2 began operations. In March 1979 reactor 2 suffered a partial meltdown due to a cooling system failure, resulting in the release of radioactive materials into the surrounding environment. Reactor 1 was offline at the time of the accident and was not clear to restart operations until 1985.

Today you can see the cooling towers of Three Mile Island in the distance from Interstate 83. While both reactors are still at the site, reactor 2 was never returned to service.

A 25-foot tall replica of the Statue of Liberty stands in the middle of the Susquehanna River north of Harrisburg on a remaining pier from the old Marysville Bridge. The original 18-foot statue here was built by a man named Gene Stilp on July 2, 1986. After it was destroyed by a windstorm in 1992, the present statue was created.

The statue can be viewed from Route 322 just outside of Harrisburg, PA.

The State Capitol Building in downtown Harrisburg is home to the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Pennsylvania General Assembly and chambers for the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The domed roof is said to have been inspired by St Peters Basilica in Rome.

Pennsylvania's original state capital was in Philadelphia, but was moved to Harrisburg in 1812. The first capitol building was completed in 1822, but destroyed by fire on February 2, 1897. The present capitol building was constructed from 1898 to 1906, and the dedication ceremony was attended by President Theodore Roosevelt.

This small excursion boat operates all summer, as well as special occasions during the rest of the year. It's been working on the Susquehanna River for about 20 years. One-hour narrated river tours are given daily during the summer, except Mondays. There are also special tours, such as mock pirate tours, dinner cruises, the Italian Festival Cruise, and many others.

Some tickets can be reserved online (such as the special cruises). Other tickets are sold at the small ticket kiosk at Riverside Village.

This museum is comparable to the Carnegie museums in Pittsburgh. Each of its four levels contains at exhibits on a different aspect of the state. The usual plan is to start at the top and work your way down.

3 Level deals with natural history, paleontology, and astronomy. 2 Level is about history, archeology, and anthropology. Level 1 has featured and changing exhibits. Finally, the Ground Level has an auditorium, coat room, gift shop, and children's Curiosity Connection.

The central exhibit is a statue of William Penn. Directly behind it is a replica of the Penn Charter, signed in 1681, which established the Pennsylvania colony.