Pocono Mountains
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The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in
Northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) is a geographic region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Car ...
. They overlook the Delaware River and
Delaware Water Gap Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap ...
to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north,
Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal-mines. As a metropolitan ...
and the
Coal Region The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons. The region is typically defined as compri ...
to the west, and the
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
to the south. The name Pocono is derived from the
Munsee The Munsee (or Minsi or Muncee) or mə́n'si·w ( del, Monsiyok)Online Lenape Talking Dictionary, "Munsee Indians"Link/ref> are a subtribe of the Lenape, originally constituting one of the three great divisions of that nation and dwelling along ...
word Pokawachne, which means "Creek Between Two Hills". Much of the Poconos region lies within the Greater New York–Newark, NY–NJ–CT–PA Combined Statistical Area. The wooded hills and valleys have long been a popular recreation area, accessible within a two-hour drive to millions of metropolitan area residents, with many Pocono communities having resort hotels with fishing, hunting, skiing, and other sports facilities. The Poconos are an upland of the larger
Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York (state), New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Oh ...
, forming a
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''esca ...
.


Population

The Pocono Mountains are a popular recreational destination for local and regional visitors. While the area has long been a popular tourist destination, many communities have seen a rise in population, especially communities within Monroe County and Pike County. The region has a population of about 340,300, which is growing at a rapid pace. The Poconos now serves as a commuter community forflemington santa train
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and northern
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. The commute to workplaces often takes as much as two hours each way due to traffic. The region lacks a major population center, although there are municipalities such as
Stroudsburg Stroudsburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It lies within the Pocono Mountains, Poconos region, approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence ...
, East Stroudsburg, and
Mount Pocono Mount Pocono is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It is located nearly centered in the southernmost county of five in the northeastern corner that are part of the Pocono Mountains. The ...
. The three towns and the surrounding townships are all located in
Monroe County, Pennsylvania Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county was formed from sections of Northampton ...
, where the population is 165,058, about half of which is in the Poconos.


Municipalities and communities

The Pocono Mountains of
northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) is a geographic region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Car ...
are divided into six regions: the Mountain Region, the Lake Region, the Delaware River Region, the Upper Delaware River Region, Wyoming Valley, and the Lehigh River Gorge Region.


Mountain Region

Located in Monroe, Luzerne, southern Lackawanna, and northern
Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...
Counties: * Albrightsville * Barrett Township * Bartonsville * Bear Creek * Blakeslee * Canadensis * Chestnuthill Township * Coolbaugh Township * Drifton *
Delaware Water Gap Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap ...
* East Side * East Stroudsburg * Foster Township *
Freeland Freeland may refer to: Places Canada *Freeland, Prince Edward Island United Kingdom *Freeland, Oxfordshire United States *Freeland, Maryland *Freeland, Michigan *Freeland, Ohio *Freeland, Pennsylvania *Freeland, Washington Other uses *Freel ...
* Gouldsboro * Henryville * Jackson Township *
Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Nativ ...
* Jonas, Pennsylvania * Kidder Township * Kunkletown *
Lake Harmony Lake Harmony is a glacial lake in Kidder Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The lake is drained by the Tobyhanna Creek Tobyhanna Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataT ...
* Lausanne Township * Long Pond * Marshalls Creek * Middle Smithfield *
Mount Pocono Mount Pocono is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It is located nearly centered in the southernmost county of five in the northeastern corner that are part of the Pocono Mountains. The ...
* Mountainhome * Packer Township * Paradise Township * Penn Forest Township * Penn Lake Park *
Pocono Lake Pocono may refer to: Places * Pocono Mountains, a mountainous region in northeastern Pennsylvania * Pocono Creek, a tributary of Brodhead Creek in the Poconos * Pocono Biological Laboratories, a company related to Sanofi pasteur * Pocono Raceway, ...
* Pocono Pines *
Pocono Summit Pocono Summit is a unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Parts of Pocono Summit are located in the municipalities of Coolbaugh and Tobyhanna townships. Geography Pocono Summit is located at ...
* Pocono Township * Price Township * Reeders * Smithfield Township * Saylorsburg * Scotrun *
Stroudsburg Stroudsburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It lies within the Pocono Mountains, Poconos region, approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence ...
* Stroud Township * Thornhurst * Weatherly * White Haven * Swiftwater * Tannersville * Tobyhanna


Lake Region

Located in
Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
and Wayne Counties: * Gouldsboro * Hawley * Honesdale * Lakeville * Lake Ariel * Newfoundland * Tafton * Tanners Falls


Delaware River Region

Located in Monroe and
Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
Counties: * Eshback * Milford * Bushkill


Upper Delaware River Region

Located in
Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
and Wayne Counties: * Greeley * Lackawaxen * Shohola


Wyoming Valley

Located in
Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...
: * Mountaintop * Dennison Township *
Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...
* Kingston * Forty Fort *
Nanticoke Nanticoke may refer to: * Nanticoke people in Delaware, United States * Nanticoke language, an Algonquian language * Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey Place names Canada * Nanticoke, Ontario ** Nanticoke Generating S ...
* Wilkes-Barre Township * Laurel Run * Sugar Notch * Dorrance * Greater Pittston *
Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...
*
Nanticoke Nanticoke may refer to: * Nanticoke people in Delaware, United States * Nanticoke language, an Algonquian language * Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey Place names Canada * Nanticoke, Ontario ** Nanticoke Generating S ...
*
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
* Fairview Township


Outlying areas

The boundary of the region can be at times unclear, and these
Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...
, Carbon County, Schuylkill County, and Greater
Hazleton Hazleton may refer to: Places * Hazleton, British Columbia, Canada * Hazleton, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton long barrows, Neolithic burial mounds at Hazleton, Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton Abbey, a medi ...
(
Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...
) communities fall on the periphery of the Poconos: * Coaldale (Schuylkill County) *
Pen Argyl Pen Argyl (; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Kleiberg'') is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 3,510 as of the 2020 census. Pen Argyl is located north of Allentown. It is part of the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area ...
(Northampton County) * Bangor (Northampton County) * Walnutport (Northampton County) * Macungie (Lehigh County) * Slatington (Lehigh County) * Drums (Luzerne County) *
Hazleton Hazleton may refer to: Places * Hazleton, British Columbia, Canada * Hazleton, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton long barrows, Neolithic burial mounds at Hazleton, Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton Abbey, a medi ...
(Luzerne County) * West Hazleton (Luzerne County) * Aquashicola (Carbon County) *
Andreas Andreas ( el, Ἀνδρέας) is a name usually given to males in Austria, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Finland, Flanders, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, the Netherlands, and Indonesia. The name ...
(Carbon and Schuylkill Counties) * Beaver Meadows (Carbon County) * Ashfield (Carbon County) * Bowmanstown (Carbon County) * Forest Inn (Carbon County) * Lansford (Carbon County) * Lehighton (Carbon County) * Nesquehoning (Carbon County) * Palmerton (Carbon County) * Parryville (Carbon County) *
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
(Northampton County) * Summit Hill (Carbon County) * Tamaqua (Schuylkill County) * Weissport (Carbon County)


Transportation


Roads

The Poconos Region is served by many state highways. The most used of these highways include
Pennsylvania Route 115 Pennsylvania Route 115 (PA 115) is a north–south state highway in eastern Pennsylvania. It stretches from U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in Brodheadsville, Monroe County, northwest to Interstate 81 (I-81) and PA 309 ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 715 Pennsylvania Route 715 (PA 715) is a north–south state route located entirely in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Its southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in the Chestnuthill Township hamlet of Brodheadsville ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 903 Pennsylvania Route 903 (PA 903) is a state highway located in Carbon and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in Jim Thorpe. The northern terminus is at PA 115 in Tunkhannock Township. The ro ...
(designated in some areas as the "Highway to Adventure" because of the numerous venues and resorts along the highway),
Pennsylvania Route 33 Pennsylvania Route 33 (PA 33) is a limited-access state highway in eastern Pennsylvania. The highway runs from its interchange with Interstate 78 (I-78) south of Easton in the Lehigh Valley to I-80 and PA 611 west of Stroudsburg. Until 20 ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 940 Pennsylvania Route 940 (PA 940) is a Pennsylvania highway located in the Pocono Mountains. It runs from PA 309 in Hazleton east to PA 191 in Paradise Valley. Large segments of PA 940 are located in densely forested areas. The route heads north ...
, and
Pennsylvania Route 611 Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611) is a state highway in eastern Pennsylvania running from Interstate 95 (I-95) in the southern part of the city of Philadelphia north to I-380 in Coolbaugh Township in the Pocono Mountains. Within Philadelphia, P ...
.
Pennsylvania Route 309 Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) is a state highway that runs for 134 miles (216 km) through eastern Pennsylvania. The route runs from an interchange between PA 611 and Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Philadelphia and Cheltenham Township n ...
, a major north–south route connecting
Northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) is a geographic region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Car ...
with the Delaware Valley region, passes through the western end of the region. There are two U.S. Highways in the Pocono Mountains region. The more used is U.S. Route 209, which goes from
Ulster, New York Ulster is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 12,660 at the 2020 census. The town of Ulster is in the northeastern part of the county. The town is directly north of the city of Kingston. Ulster is partially situate ...
, to
Millersburg, Pennsylvania Millersburg is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,541 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Millersburg is located in northwestern Daup ...
(near Harrisburg). The route's midpoint is in the region north of Stroudsburg. The other main U.S. Highway in the region is
U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
, which is a transcontinental highway that starts near
Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in California, United States. It is the largest populated place and only incorporated city in Inyo County. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The city was ...
, and runs for over to its eastern terminus in
Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Province ...
. It is designated a scenic route in Pennsylvania. U.S. Route 11,
U.S. Route 22 U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a west–east route and is one of the original United States highways of 1926, running from Cincinnati, Ohio, at US 27, US 42, US 127, and US 52 to Newark, New Jersey, at U.S. Route 1/9 in the Newark Airport Intercha ...
, and
U.S. Route 46 U.S. Route 46 (US 46) is an east–west U.S. Highway completely within the state of New Jersey, running for , making it the shortest signed, non-spur U.S. Highway. The west end is at an interchange with Interstate 80 in New Jersey, Intersta ...
are also not far from the region and serve it indirectly. The main east–west interstate highway in the region is Interstate 80, off which branches Interstate 380, which connects the Poconos to
Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...
. The other interstate highways in the region in
Interstate 476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor throu ...
, the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Northeast Extension, which has interchanges near Lehighton (Mahoning Valley), Albrightsville (Route 903), and White Haven (Pocono), and
Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...
, which serves as an alternate route for the much busier Interstate 87 and Interstate 95, particularly for travelers from
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, Syracuse,
Binghamton Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
and
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
to
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, and
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Other interstates that serve the region are Interstate 84, which begins in Scranton and goes east to
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
, and
Interstate 78 Interstate 78 (I-78) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Northeastern United States, running from I-81 northeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, through Allentown to western and northern New Jersey and terminating at the Holland T ...
, by way of Route 33 or Route 309.


Restoration of passenger rail service

NJ Transit New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
is rebuilding trackage on the Lackawanna Cut-Off route from Scranton through the Poconos to
Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
. There is no estimated target year when the
Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project The Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project is a New Jersey Transit and Amtrak effort to restore passenger service to the Lackawanna Cut-Off in northwest New Jersey. Begun in 2011 and underway as of 2022, the project's Phase 1 is meant to exten ...
will be completed to the Poconos. The service would consist of nine trains per day in each direction. The NJ Transit board approved in April 2022 a $32.5 million contract for improving a
tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...
and restoring track to part of the line between
Blairstown, New Jersey Blairstown is a township in Warren County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Blairstown's population was 5,704. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 5,967Port Morris Junction, New Jersey, a segment in which trackage had been removed in the 1980s. Until 1970, the
Erie Lackawanna Railway The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route" ...
operated long-distance trains through the Poconos to Buffalo and Chicago to the west, and Hoboken to the east, the last train being the '' Lake Cities''.


Air travel

There are two airports that are located just outside the region: the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is mostly in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, and spans the border between Luzerne County and Lackawanna County. It is owned and operated by the two counties; it is about 7 miles from Scranton and 8 ...
and the
Lehigh Valley International Airport Lehigh Valley International Airport (formerly Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton International Airport) is a domestic airport located in Hanover Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley International Airport is located in the center ...
.


Geography

The Pocono Mountains is a defined area encompassing portions of
Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...
, Monroe,
Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
, and southern Wayne Counties in Pennsylvania. In total, the Poconos encompasses over . Some definitions also extend the Poconos to Lackawanna, Luzerne, eastern Schuylkill, and Susquehanna Counties. The Poconos are geologically part of the
Allegheny Plateau The Allegheny Plateau , in the United States, is a large dissected plateau area of the Appalachian Mountains in western and central New York (state), New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Oh ...
, like the nearby
Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...
. The Poconos' highest summit, Kistler Ledge in Monroe County, reaches over , while its lowest elevation is in Pike County. The Delaware River flows through the Pocono Mountains and gives the region its name, from a Native American term roughly translating to "stream between two mountains". The Lehigh and Lackawaxen Rivers also flow through the region, totaling about 170 miles (270 km) of waterways.


Climate


Glaciated Low Plateau Region

According to the
Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...
system, the Glaciated Low Plateau region of the northern and eastern Poconos has a Temperate Continental climate (''Dc'') with warm summers (''b''), cold winters (''o'') and year-around precipitation (''Dcbo''). ''Dcbo'' climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ , four to seven months with an average mean temperature ≥ , all months with an average mean temperature < and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are comfortably humid on the Low Plateau, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with
heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is als ...
values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on 08/06/2001, and the highest daily average mean
dew point The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
was on 08/01/2006. July is the peak month for
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
activity which correlates with the average warmest month of the year. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on 09/17/2004. During the winter months, the
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was on 01/21/1994. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values less than . The average snowiest month is January which correlates with the average coldest month of the year.
Ice storm An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on e ...
s and large snowstorms depositing ≥ of snow occur nearly every year, particularly during
nor’easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use of ...
s from December through March.


Glaciated Pocono Plateau Region

According to the
Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...
system, the Glaciated Pocono Plateau region of the central and western Poconos has a Temperate Continental climate (''Dc'') with warm summers (''b''), cold winters (''o'') and year-around precipitation (''Dcbo''). ''Dcbo'' climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ , four to seven months with an average mean temperature ≥ , all months with an average mean temperature < and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are comfortably humid on the Pocono Plateau, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with
heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is als ...
values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on 07/22/2011, and the highest daily average mean
dew point The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
was on 08/01/2006. July is the peak month for
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
activity which correlates with the average warmest month of the year. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on 09/30/2010. During the winter months, the
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was on 01/21/1994. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < . The average snowiest month is January which correlates with the average coldest month of the year.
Ice storm An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on e ...
s and large snowstorms depositing ≥ of snow occur nearly every year, particularly during
nor’easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use of ...
s from December through March.


Ridge and Valley Region

According to the
Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...
system, the Ridge and Valley section of the southern Poconos has a Temperate Continental climate (''Dc'') with hot summers (''a''), cold winters (''o'') and year-around precipitation (''Dcao''). ''Dcao'' climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ , four to seven months with an average mean temperature ≥ , at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid in the Ridge and Valley, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with
heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is als ...
values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on 07/22/2011, and the highest daily average mean
dew point The dew point is the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor, assuming constant air pressure and water content. When cooled below the dew point, moisture capacity is reduced and airborne water vapor will cond ...
was on 08/01/2006. July is the peak month for
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
activity which correlates with the average warmest month of the year. The average wettest month is September which correlates with tropical storm remnants during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on 10/08/2005. During the winter months, the
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 6a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was on 01/21/1994. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < . The average snowiest month is January which correlates with the average coldest month of the year.
Ice storm An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least of ice on e ...
s and large snowstorms depositing ≥ of snow occur once every couple of years, particularly during
nor’easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use of ...
s from December through March.


Ecology


Glaciated Low Plateau Region

According to the
A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...
U.S.
potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...
types, the Glaciated Low Plateau region of the northern and eastern Poconos would have a dominant vegetation type of Northern Hardwood (''106'') with a dominant vegetation form of
Northern hardwood forest The northern hardwood forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem found over much of southeastern and south-central Canada, Ontario, and Quebec, extending south into the United States in northern New England, New York, and Pennsyl ...
(''26'') north and west of Lake Wallenpaupack, and a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian
Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
(''104'') with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (''25'') south and east of Wallenpaupack. The peak spring bloom typically occurs in early-May and peak fall color usually occurs in early-October. The
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of .


Glaciated Pocono Plateau Region

According to the
A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...
U.S.
potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...
types, the Glaciated Pocono Plateau region of the central and western Poconos would have a dominant vegetation type of Northern Hardwood (''106'') with a dominant vegetation form of
Northern hardwood forest The northern hardwood forest is a general type of North American forest ecosystem found over much of southeastern and south-central Canada, Ontario, and Quebec, extending south into the United States in northern New England, New York, and Pennsyl ...
(''26''). The peak spring bloom typically occurs in early-May and peak fall color usually occurs in early-October. The
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 5b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of .


Ridge and Valley Region

According to the
A. W. Kuchler August William Kuchler (born ''August Wilhelm Küchler''; 1907–1999) was a German-born American geographer and naturalist who is noted for developing a plant association system in widespread use in the United States. Some of this database has bec ...
U.S.
potential natural vegetation In ecology, potential natural vegetation (PNV), also known as Kuchler potential vegetation, is the vegetation that would be expected given environmental constraints (climate, geomorphology, geology) without human intervention or a hazard event ...
types, the Ridge and Valley region of the southern Poconos would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian
Oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
(''104'') with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern Hardwood Forest (''25''). The peak spring bloom typically occurs in late-April and peak fall color usually occurs in mid-October. The
plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
is 6a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of .


Sullivan March

During the Revolutionary War in 1779, General John Sullivan marched his troops through the Pocono Mountains (Monroe and Luzerne counties) on their expedition to fight the
Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
tribe in
New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
. Sergeant Moses Fellows of the
Third New Hampshire Regiment The 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, also known as the 2nd Continental Regiment, was authorized on 22 May 1775, organized 1–8 June 1775, and adopted into the Continental Army on 14 June 1775, as the third of three regiments raised by the state of Ne ...
described the area as "...very poor & Barren and I think as never will Be Settled.”


Recreation

The Poconos are a well-known outdoor recreation destination for visitors around the northeast, especially from
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. The region encompasses the
Delaware State Forest Delaware State Forest is a Pennsylvania state forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #19. The main offices are located in Swiftwater in Monroe County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The forest is in several tracts in Monroe a ...
, including six designated natural areas, seven state parks, and seventeen state game lands. The
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middl ...
is on the eastern edge of the Poconos and includes 70,000 acres of wilderness.


Resorts

Two of the earliest Pocono resorts were founded by rival factions of the
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
Quaker community, Inn at Buck Hill Falls (1901) and Pocono Manor (1902). These resorts did not allow liquor or dancing, and evening dress was discouraged. The Quakers "brought a quiet, unostentatious style to the region," but their hotels later developed from religious retreats into "luxurious mountain resorts." Buck Hill's stone facade became a model for close to 300 stately stone-and-shingle homes in the region. Pocono Manor offered sweeping vistas of the eastern and western Pocono region and had been referred to as the "Grand Lady of the Mountains." Buck Hill closed in 1990 and the Inn at Pocono Manor was mostly destroyed by fire in 2019. Skytop Lodge, built in 1928, is described as a "
Dutch Colonial Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Re ...
-style
manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...
." Designed in reaction to the Quaker resorts, it had a dance floor and served liquor in a basement bar. Skytop offers thirty miles of hiking trails, and the main building "is surrounded by 5,000 acres of wood, glacial bogs, hemlock gorges, beaver marshes, and cascading waterfalls." Novelist
Faith Baldwin Faith Baldwin (October 1, 1893 – March 18, 1978) was an American writer of romance novels and other forms of fiction,
wrote about her 1932 visit to Skytop, "Here are friendly mountains, round-breasted, smiling in the clear, rosy light of dawn." The Buckwood Inn opened in 1911 and included the first golf course to be designed by renowned golf architect A. W. Tillinghast. Bandleader
Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
purchased the resort in 1943, renamed it the Shawnee Inn, and broadcast his radio shows from there.Squeri (2002), p. 182 The Shawnee Inn is a
Spanish colonial revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...
building with white-Moorish architecture and Spanish tiled roofs, and it was identified in the 1990s as the only resort on the banks of the Delaware River.
Tamiment Tamiment, first known as Camp Tamiment, was an American resort located in the Pocono Mountains of Pike County, Pennsylvania, which existed from 1921 through 2005. Originally established by the Rand School of Social Science in New York City as a ...
was a popular resort among Jewish singles from the working and emerging middle class and has been described as "a progressive version of the
Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...
..." The 2,200 acre facility opened in 1921 to generate income for the
Rand School of Social Science The Rand School of Social Science was formed in 1906 in New York City by adherents of the Socialist Party of America. The school aimed to provide a broad education to workers, imparting a politicizing class-consciousness, and additionally served a ...
, a Socialist school in New York.In JSTOR
/ref> Tamiment Playhouse entertained resort guests with an original revue every Saturday night during the 10-week summer season, and many prominent Broadway and TV figures gained experience there.Sweet, pp. 74–79. The playhouse was referred to as the "Poconos boot camp for Broadway writers and performers." The revues were discontinued in 1960 and the resort closed down in 2005.Sweet, p. 79. Unity House, a 655-acre Pocono retreat, offered affordable vacations for factory workers. The resort was owned for seventy years by the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU), whose members were employed in the women's clothing industry, was once one of the largest labor unions in the United States, one of the first U.S. unions to have a primarily female membe ...
, and it served as a staging ground for union activities. Ron Devlin of
The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its ...
referred to Unity House as a "blue-collar 'Hilton.'"
Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
visited Unity House many times and wrote, "...you could not put children in a more favorable environment..." The resort closed down in 1990, falling victim to changing times and declining union membership. In 1945 retired New York executive Rudolf Van Hoevenberg established the first honeymoon resort in the Pocono Mountains, Farm on the Hill. Sally Moore of ''Snow Country'' wrote, "Far from today's sybaritic accommodations, back then the rustic cabins required new brides to make the beds and tidy up while grooms helped with the dishes and did the heavy work." By 1960, the Pocono Mountains rivaled
Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...
as a honeymoon destination, attracting 100,000 couples a year. Morris Wilkins, co-owner of Cove Haven, invented the heart-shaped bathtub in 1963 as a way to lure honeymoon customers.Squeri (2002), p. 217 The tub would appear in other couples resorts and became a symbol of the Pocono resort business. Author Lawrence Squeri wrote in 2002, "If Americans today are asked to name the image that best represents the Poconos, chances are that many will cite couples resorts and heart-shaped bathtubs..." Mount Airy Lodge expanded from an eight-room inn into the largest Pocono resort. It heavily advertised in the New York media market with the catchy jingle, "Beautiful Mount Airy Lodge." Headliners, such as
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
, Milton Berle, and
Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1937), known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Called the “First Lady of Rock & Roll” ...
, performed in the Crystal Room, Mount Airy's 2,000-seat theater. Comedian
Mickey Freeman Irving "Mickey" Freeman (February 12, 1917 – September 21, 2010) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known for playing Private Fielding Zimmerman in the American sitcom television series ''The Phil Silvers Show''. Freeman guest-st ...
said, "The food was lousy, but it was a legalized orgy." The 1,200-acre resort's heyday was in the 1960s and 1970s before closing in 2001. In the 1950s the Kiesendahl family purchased a 12-bedroom boarding house along
Lake Teedyuskung Lake Teedyuskung is a 79-acre reservoir located in Lackawaxen Township, Pennsylvania. The nine-acre Little Teedyuskung Lake is also located in Pike County. In the early 20th century, Lake Teedyuskung was the site of the Dan Beard Outdoor Schoo ...
. It became the Woodloch Resort and, as of 2014, it encompassed 1,000 acres and accommodated 900 guests in a variety of lodgings. Travel + Leisure identified the Lodge at Woodloch (founded 2006) as the number 3 destination spa in the world. As of July 2015, there were four Pocono resorts with indoor water parks: Great Wolf Lodge, H20ooohh! at
Split Rock Resort Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...
, Aquatopia at
Camelback Mountain Resort Camelback Mountain Resort is a ski and snowboard resort located in the Tannersville, Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. Opened in December 1963, Camelback is the largest ski resort in the Poconos. In the 1950s, when developers were worki ...
, and Kalahari Resort. In 2014 Jayne Clark of
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
wrote, "The former Honeymoon Capital of the World, the Poconos – rebranded in 2007 as the Pocono Mountains – continues to fine-tune its image as a family-friendly outdoor adventureland, health spa getaway and emerging waterpark capital."


Gambling

In November 2006 the
Pocono Downs Mohegan Pennsylvania (formerly Mohegan Sun Pocono, Pocono Downs and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs) is a racino located in Plains Township on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The casino features over 2,300 slots, live tables for blackj ...
harness-racing complex opened the first slot-machine parlor in the state of Pennsylvania. It was owned by the
Mohegan Indian Tribe The Mohegan Tribe () is a federally recognized tribe and sovereign tribal nation of the Mohegan people. Their reservation is the Mohegan Indian Reservation, located on the Thames River in Uncasville, Connecticut. Mohegan's independence as a ...
of
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
and included two gambling floors with nearly 1,100 machines. The
Mount Airy Casino Resort The Mount Airy Casino Resort is a casino and hotel located in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains. The casino resort has 284 hotel rooms and a casino. Mount Airy includes more than 1,800 slot machines and more than 70 table games ...
opened in October 2007 (on the site of the former Mount Airy Lodge) with about 2,500 slot machines. The owner, Louis DeNaples, was later charged with perjury due to suspected ties with organized crime figures. He turned the resort over to his daughter and avoided prosecution.


Camping

The Poconos are home to several Scout camps.
Camp Minsi Minsi Trails Council is a council of the Boy Scouts of America that serves Scouts of eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and Pocono regions as well as parts of western New Jersey. The council serves five counties in Pennsylvania: Lehigh, North ...
, owned by the Boy Scouts'
Minsi Trails Council Minsi Trails Council is a council of the Boy Scouts of America that serves Scouts of eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and Pocono regions as well as parts of western New Jersey. The council serves five counties in Pennsylvania: Lehigh, Northa ...
, is centrally located in the Poconos on a property of in
Pocono Summit Pocono Summit is a unincorporated community and census-designated place located in Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Parts of Pocono Summit are located in the municipalities of Coolbaugh and Tobyhanna townships. Geography Pocono Summit is located at ...
. Camp Mosey Wood, owned by the Girl Scouts'
Eastern Pennsylvania The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the nor ...
council, is located on a property of in
White Haven, Pennsylvania White Haven is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. It is located along the Lehigh River. The population was 1,163 at the 2020 census. History Establishment White Haven was created in 1824 by industrialist Josiah White. It was later incorpor ...
. Other Scout camps located in the Poconos include
Goose Pond Scout Reservation Northeastern Pennsylvania Council, with headquarters in Moosic, Pennsylvania, formed in 1990 from the merger of Forest Lakes Council and Penn Mountains Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It covers the metropolitan area of Scranton and Wilkes-Bar ...
( Lake Ariel),
Resica Falls Scout Reservation Resica Falls Scout Reservation is a camp in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania operated by the Cradle of Liberty Council of the Boy Scouts of America. History In 1955 the Philadelphia and Valley Forge Councils purchased the property jointly. Dedicat ...
( Marshalls Creek), and Trexler Scout Reservation (
Jonas Jonas may refer to: Geography * Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands * Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States * Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States People with the name * Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas * Jonas, one o ...
). The Poconos are also home to several
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
summer camps, including Camp Massad, Camp Ramah, and Pinemere Camp. Other non-denominational season summer camps include Camp Lohikan,
Camp Watonka Camp Watonka was a residential summer camp for boys aged seven to sixteen in Wayne County, Pennsylvania from 1963 to 2019. It was the only science camp for boys accredited by the American Camp Association in the United States. Accommodation was ...
, and Pocono Springs Camp.


Racing

Pocono Raceway, a major automobile race track, is home to a NASCAR Cup Series race, the
Pocono 400 The Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, with the other being the Pocono 350, held th ...
, in July. The track formerly hosted a second NASCAR Cup Series race, the Pocono 325, and an IndyCar race, the
Pocono 500 The Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, with the other being the Pocono 350, held th ...
. It also serves as a racing school, motorcycle track, and hosts club events. The two NASCAR weekends at Pocono are vital to the region for the tourism money it brings to the local economy. Pocono Raceway is the closest major professional race track to Philadelphia and the major metropolitan areas of New York and New Jersey.


Skiing

Skiing was a $230 million a year industry in the Poconos and in 1987 accounted for one-quarter of the region's tourist business. Pennsylvania native John Guresh, an employee at Big Boulder Ski Resort, is credited for bringing the ski industry to the Poconos. In the winter of 1956–57 he invented a machine "resembling a lawn sprinkler atop a sled" to generate artificial snow. Joyce Gemperlein of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' wrote, "Until Guresh perfected snowmaking at Big Boulder, skiing in the Poconos was a relatively minor sport." Ski resorts in the region could not rely on natural snow and, according to Big Boulder manager Ken Knize, there were times when conditions were right for skiing only two weeks a year. Cal Conniff, president of the National Ski Areas Association, regarded Guresh as "one of the pioneers" of the U.S. ski industry. * Alpine Mountain - now closed. *
Blue Mountain Resort Blue Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in Palmerton, Pennsylvania on Blue Mountain. Blue Mountain serves the Allentown, Philadelphia, New York City, and Wilmington urban areas and Carbon County, Schuylkill County, and the Hazleton are ...
 — one of the most popular ski resorts in Pennsylvania with 39 trails, 13 lifts and of elevation gain. *
Camelback Mountain Resort Camelback Mountain Resort is a ski and snowboard resort located in the Tannersville, Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. Opened in December 1963, Camelback is the largest ski resort in the Poconos. In the 1950s, when developers were worki ...
 — The second-highest number of ski runs in the Poconos and one of the more popular ski areas and peaks over . * Jack Frost Mountain and Big Boulder — Both resorts are owned by the same parent company. Jack Frost caters to more traditional family skiing, while Big Boulder is largely focused on terrain park skiing and snowboarding. *
Montage Mountain Ski Resort Montage Mountain is a ski area in Pennsylvania, located from downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. It is located about northwest of Philadelphia and New York City. There are 26 trails, two terrain parks, and one of Pennsylvania's longest snow tubin ...
 — formerly known as "Snö Mountain". *
Shawnee Mountain Ski Area Shawnee Mountain is a family oriented ski resort in eastern Pennsylvania located right outside East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, I-80, exit 309, next to the Delaware River in the easternmost part of The Poconos. Shawnee Mountain has a summit ele ...
 — closest to New York City, just across the Delaware River from New Jersey, suited for families and beginners. * Ski Big Bear


Notable natives and residents

*
Fethullah Gülen Muhammed Fethullah Gülen (born 27 April 1941) is a Turkish Islamic scholar, preacher, and a one-time opinion leader, as de facto leader of the Gülen movement. Gülen is designated an influential neo-Ottomanist, Anatolian panethnicist, Isl ...
, Turkish cleric in self-imposed exile * Robert E. Kintner, ex-President of both ABC and NBC * S. S. Kresge, founder of Kmart, formerly, SS Kresge's *
Byron Lichtenberg Byron Kurt Lichtenberg, Sc. D. (born February 19, 1948) is an American engineer and fighter pilot who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a Payload Specialist. In 1983, he and Ulf Merbold became the STS-9, first Payload Specialists to f ...
, American engineer and fighter pilot who flew aboard two NASA Space Shuttle missions as a Payload Specialist. *
Kelly Monaco Kelly Marie Monaco (born May 23, 1976) is an American actress, model, and reality television personality, best known for her portrayal of Sam McCall on the ABC soap opera ''General Hospital'' and as the first season winner of the reality TV com ...
, actress and winner of the first season of '' Dancing with the Stars'' * Rob Felicetti, bassist in alternative rock/pop punk band
Bowling For Soup Bowling for Soup (abbreviated as BFS) is an American rock band formed in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1994. The band consists of Jaret Reddick (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Burney (guitar, backing vocals), Gary Wiseman (drums, percussion, backing vo ...
. * James Mungro, former NFL running back and Super Bowl Champion with the Indianapolis Colts *
Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
, actor and opera singer. * Morris Wilkins, inventor of the heart-shaped bathtub and champagne glass bathtub


Media


Print

'' The Pocono Record'' is the newspaper for the Poconos. Its coverage area centers on Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg and covers parts of Monroe, Pike, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Wayne and Carbon counties as well as areas of western
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. '' The Times News'', of Lehighton, covers Carbon, Schuylkill, and Monroe counties, and also portions of northern Lehigh and Northampton counties. ''West End Happenings'' covers events in the West End of Monroe County. ''
The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. In 2020, the newspaper permanently closed its ...
'', of
Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: *Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California *Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County *Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Taze ...
, is distributed to a sizeable portion of the region, especially southern Carbon, southern Monroe, and southeastern Schuylkill counties, though its coverage is mostly centered on the neighboring Lehigh Valley. A similar situation occurs with the Times-Tribune of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area and northern Monroe, northern Carbon, and Luzerne counties. ''The Standard-Speaker'', of Hazleton, covers parts of Luzerne, Carbon, Monroe, and Schuylkill counties. ''Blue Mountain Moments'' is a monthly publication covering the Route 903 corridor from Blakeslee to Jim Thorpe.


Radio

* WABT "Pocono 96.7" is licensed to Lehman Township in Pike County. *
WESS Wesley Johnson known by his stage name Wess (August 13, 1945 — September 21, 2009) was an American-born Italian singer and bass guitarist, perhaps mostly known for representing Italy along with Dori Ghezzi in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 ...
at (90.3 FM) broadcasts from the Borough of East Stroudsburg as a service of
East Stroudsburg University East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) is a public university in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. It is one of ten state universities that compose the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). History What today is East S ...
. Students and faculty of the university provide programing often, and the station rebroadcasts BBC World Service when live DJs are not available. *
WKRZ WKRZ (98.5 FM, "98.5 KRZ") is a commercial radio station licensed to Freeland, Pennsylvania, and serving the Wilkes-Barre - Scranton - Northeastern Pennsylvania radio market. It has aired a Top 40/CHR radio format since 1980. The station is ow ...
(98.5 FM/107.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hits radio format. The station's call letters are WKRF-FM and is licensed to Tobyhanna and simulcasts WKRZ-FM (98.5 FM from Wilkes Barre) on 107.9 FM. *
WSBG WSBG (93.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a hot adult contemporary format. Branding itself as "The Poconos Best Variety", it features current hits mixed with recurrent hits from the early 1990s to today. Licensed to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania ...
(93.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an adult contemporary format. Licensed to
Stroudsburg Stroudsburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. It lies within the Pocono Mountains, Poconos region, approximately five miles (8 km) from the Delaware Water Gap at the confluence ...
, the station serves the Pocono area with the slogan "The Poconos' Best Variety."


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Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocono Mountains Mountain ranges of Pennsylvania Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains Allegheny Plateau Landforms of Carbon County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Monroe County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Pike County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Wayne County, Pennsylvania Regions of Pennsylvania