Travel to Butler County, Pennsylvania to enjoy sunny skies, green trees and colorful flowers.

Travel to Butler County, Pennsylvania to enjoy sunny skies, green trees and colorful flowers. Summer is the perfect time to get out and explore Mother Nature, in fact, you are invited to wake up, chow down, get out and dig in to the hands-on experiences. Travelers are now looking to get more out of their vacations – they want to get their hands dirty and maybe learn something while doing it.

Wake up. A Butler County experience begins right when you wake up. If you love the outdoors so much you want to sleep outside, you can do that. (Not-so-primitive camping options are available as well.) And then there’s another choice – a farm stay. Butler County has traditional bed and breakfasts sprinkled across the area’s charming and quirky small towns. But there are also a few bed and breakfasts that will let you pitch some hay and get a glimpse of farm life. You can even befriend an adorable alpaca!

Chow down. From quaint cafés to fancy restaurants, there is a little bit of everything in the food department. Eaters on a budget and those looking to splurge can both find an eatery to satisfy their needs. While chowing down, you can drink up, too. The county has three wineries and a microbrewery. Want some entertainment with your meal? June through August, the symphony offers lunchtime “Concerts to Munch By.” Don’t forget one of the season’s most tempting options – fairs and festivals! A full calendar of events is available to give you the where and when; but believe us, there are plenty of chances to indulge on cotton candy and caramel apples.

Get out. Get out and explore some of these events – car shows, street festivals, agricultural events, outdoor concerts and a regatta comprise the summer schedule. When there isn’t something on the calendar, we urge you to get out and explore the county’s wonderful green space. Go birding or hiking at Todd Nature Reserve; hike or geocach along the North Country Trail; take a wildflower walk through the prairie at Jennings Environmental Education Center; or bike along the Butler-Freeport Trail. Last but not least, Moraine State Park (Pennsylvania’s #1 State Park) offers just about every outdoor activity imaginable:  birding, boating, disc golf, fishing, geocaching, tenting, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, picnicking, swimming, wildlife watching and windsurfing.

Dig in. There are plenty of other activities you can dive into! Ever tried extreme croquet? Do you know how to make wine or brew beer? How about blacksmithing or woodworking? You can do all of those in Butler County! You can also learn how to cook, how to pair wines with food, and even proper etiquette. There are about a dozen golf courses in the county and if you’ve never played, you can take lessons. Visit a museum or experience life on an 18^th century farm. Feel the smoothness of jade and ivory; create jewelry from attractive beads; try your hand at glassblowing; test out toys… the list goes on.

If you were wondering what there is to do in Butler County before reading this article, hopefully you’re aware now. Despite the lack of typical tourist attraction, like a beach, mountains or theme park, Butler County holds a lot of small treasures. These treasures make the area perfect for a weekend getaway to escape from life’s pressures. Another (and possibly one of the most important) reasons a Butler County vacation is different, is that it’s affordable. Chances are you can make the trip on one tank of gas. And we urge you to do so!