It’s January, the start of a New Year. In Pennsylvania, we’re still snowbound and waiting for the flowers to start to bloom.

In terms of family travel, that’s not so bad. If you’ve got stir crazy kids (like I do) and you just have to bust out of town, consider the Poconos, a small mountain range about two hours from Philadelphia that offers 2,400 square miles of wooded peaks and valleys with numerous sparkling lakes, rushing rivers, and some of the loveliest waterfalls in the east.

Naturally, your home away from home in the Poconos is Homewood Suites, this one in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This particular Homewood has an indoor pool, an exercise room, a fireplace in the lobby, and a huge sunny room for your Suite Start breakfast. Like all Homewoods, it boasts top-of-the-line linens and kitchens in every suite. It’s a great place to kick back after a long day on the slopes!

For skiing, be sure to hit Blue Mountain, about eleven miles away in Palmerton. For a very reasonable price, you can ski or snowboard all weekend on their 33 trails, plus take the kids to their giant snow tubing park for fun that requires no coordination whatsoever. Want to do a few runs without the kids? Try out the Snow Sports School, just right for kids of all ages to learn the basics or a few new tricks. After dinner, you can keep skiing into the evening – the slopes are well-lit for nighttime fun.

But the Poconos aren’t just about snow sports — lakes in the area also offer plenty of room for testing out your ice skating or ice fishing skills. In several state parks, you can whiz through the woods on a snowmobile trail. And the area is alive with history – you can visit a museum that makes real the daily life of a coal miner or a classic car museum. There’s even a fishing museum for those who can’t stand the thought of ice fishing on a freezing cold lake – no, it’s not spring yet.

Planning Ahead

To take in the local flavor of the Poconos, check out the “Winter Night Life” program at the Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) in Dingmans Ferry on March 1. You’ll walk the winter woods with a naturalist, who will teach you about night wildlife and help you listen for the calls of barred owls from 6:30 to 8:30pm. Or, on March 7, you can bring the whole family to the 32nd Annual Public Maple Sugaring Day at the Meesing Sugarbush, not far from Marshalls Creek. Join Environmental Educators from the Monroe County Environmental Education Center to observe the making of pure maple syrup, and learn the fascinating history of this very sweet product. Between 10:00a.m. and 3:00 p.m., take a one-hour tour of the Sugarbush, focusing on the history of maple syrup from the Native Americans to the early settlers in the region. Learn how to “tap” a maple tree to obtain sap, then watch as your guides demonstrate how the sap is cooked and changed into maple syrup. Finish the tour with a stop at the Pancake Station to taste the finished product served over fresh pancakes. It’s a great way to enjoy a late winter day in the country!