Welcome to Williamsport! Some recommendations inside
Welcome to all of our friends from around the world for Little League! Williamsport has a ton to offer, and I keep a list of my favorite places for coffee, beer, food, hiking, etc. The living document is located here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wVgep5kgAqsqCTEXYTonLMzJONWw1Qb9GsHQ0PYh388/edit?usp=sharing
I'll paste below and welcome any additions in the comments:
Coffee:
Alabaster Coffee Roaster & Tea Company - 400 Pine St, Williamsport Really great coffee - third wave style shop, multiple preparation options, roasted in-house. Minimal food/baked goods options. But they sell Susque Root Beer!
Backhouse Cafe - 901 West Fourth St, Williamsport Lots of coffee and coffee adjacent drink options. Really great setting (restored victorian house), good selection of baked goods.
Buzzsaw - 1307 Park Ave, Williamsport (Pajama Factory) Coffee roasted in-house. Good coffee. I really like the mint-honey cold brew which sounds weird, but is really delicious. Limited baked goods.
Sawhorse - 303 Washington Blvd Williamsport Somehow connected (or used to be) to Buzzsaw, lots of breakfast/brunch items, all locally sourced “farm to fork” style foods.
Fox Den Coffee - 1604 East Third St Great owners and friendly staff, lots of unique cold brew options.
Sweetspire Coffee - 124 East 4th Street, Williamsport Right across from Lycoming College. Free (but limited) parking, great private rooms for meetings, and a good selection of baked goods. Croissants!
Breakfast:
Harvest Moon - 535 Arch St, Williamsport This is the unexpected but top-tier breakfast in our area. Looks like a gas station, but has the best breakfast and open very early. LOTS of signature dishes. The “Texas Spudwich Sliders” are amazing.
Grigg’s Cafe / Dolly’s Diner - 707 Claire Road, Montoursville Classic location, Griggs is a really old company though changed hands a few times - now (I think) co-owned with CI from Dolly’s diner. But still good food. Service time can be slow, since they’re also doing retail sales and other stuff. Good soups for lunch too. Old-school coffee and nut roaster. Definitely get fresh peanut butter. Multiple locations for Dolly’s Diner too.
Maseto’s Diner - 2075 Kenwood Ave, WIlliamsport Opens at 6. Everything they do is good. Lots of normal / classic breakfast options. Fun to see them throw orders on the cable to the kitchen.
Steam Valley Travel Plaza - Rt 14 Trout Run I can’t neglect this weird option - the “to go” breakfast sandwiches in their rotating heater thing are really good.
Restaurants (not comprehensive! I don’t get out much…):
DiSalvos - 341 East Fourth St, WIlliamsport $$$$ - Excellent food. Excellent bar service. Best to go if someone else is paying. Atmosphere, food, service - everything here is top-notch. This is “fine dining” for sure. Reservations recommended.
Francos Lounge - 12 West Fourth St, Williamsport $$$ - Excellent Italian food. Homemade pasta and gnocchi is amazing. The “Angry Anchovy” is really good. Very small and intimate, but really enjoyable. This is a “classic” Williamsport destination - everyone who is anyone that comes to Susque goes here. Reservations recommended for weekends.
Peter Herdic House - 407 West Fourth St, Williamsport $$$$ - Excellent changing menu, seasonal, creative, very much a “reservation required” and fine dining experience. Also a Williamsport classic for a long time. In the midst of the historic “millionaires row” in a restored beautiful mansion. This is a truly gourmet option.
John Ryan Brewery - 151 East Third St Williamsport $$$ - Modern changing menu, in a beautifully restored building. Fusion style menu with asian, french, and american influence. Ramen night is special. Great cocktails and their own beers.
Old Corner - 328 Court St, WIlliamsport $$ or $$$ based on the menu you order from. Both a pub menu and a hotel menu. Both good, lots of classic pub style options. The pub/bar can get a little loud, but the restaurant is quite nice. Outdoor seating options and you can order off either menu in either location (at least that’s been my experience).
Brickyard - 343 Pine St, Williamsport $$$ - Elevated pub offerings, fantastic beer selection. Great location, outdoor seating is really nice.
Stonehouse Pizza - 343 Pine St, Williamsport $$ - Pizza and pasta, both elevated. Right next door to Brickyard, so has great outdoor seating, live music, etc.
Bullfrog Brewery - 229 West Fourth St, Williamsport $$ - Lots of unique beers, great pub food. Great vegetarian options too. All of their spicy relishes and pickled peppers are made and grown in house. This is the OG of craft brewers in our area, and world-renown for their Gueuze beers (grzzzz) and sours.
Joy Thai - 15 West Fourth St, Williamsport $$ - Great Thai food, takeout available. BYOB.
Crown Fried Chicken - 33 West Fourth St, Williamsport $$ - Fried chicken, yes - but more importantly Gyros, Shawarma, Falafel, Curry. Great for takeout.
Ozzie and Mae’s Hacienda - 36 West Fourth St, Williamsport $$ - Classic Mexican food, eat in or takeout. Margaritas, etc.
Diamond Square Deli - 2131 West Fourth St, Williamsport $ - One of my favorite places for lunch. Good sandwiches, soups, panini, soft pretzels - all kinds of delicious mennonite-made fare. Great deli with good selection of local specialties too.
Masetos Deli - 2075 Kenwood Ave, Williamsport $ - listed above for breakfast, but even better for lunch. Hot and cold sandwiches, soup, etc. The “One Hot Babe” is an excellent sandwich that has been my go-to for about 30 years since I had one back in their original location next to the old-old Bass Pro shop on Lycoming Creek road….
Trail Inn - 3575 Lycoming Creek Road, Williamsport $ - this probably trends closer to a “bar,” but still typically family friendly enough to bring the kids. Good food, good prices, limited beer selection - but I’ve always found something I like. Definitely outside of town though.
Crippled Bear - 2967 Lycoming Creek Road, Williamsport $ - I love this place for bar food - cheesesteaks, wings, etc. Great prices, really good food, always good specials. Surprisingly fast service for as full as they can get. This might be more “local” flavor than some may want.
Trout Run Hotel - 88 Confair Lane, Trout Run $ - If I mention the bear, I have to mention this too. Local favorite in Trout Run. Recent renovations make more family friendly (and the elimination of indoor smoking…). Really inexpensive and delicious food. Can be very crowded and loud if there’s live music.
Pier 87 - 5647 PA-87, Montoursville $ - This is a great way to enjoy local flavor with the whole family. Big restaurant, LOTS of outdoor seating (right along Loyalsock Creek), lots of mounted animals and fun aquariums. My kids love this place. Extensive menu, good prices, fun drink specials. And the atmosphere is worth the short drive out of town. I know lots of people that ALWAYS hit up Pier 87 when they come to the area.
Good Grace African Market Williamsport - 909 Arch St, Williamsport $ - The first time I met Maame Badu, it was late at night and she had purchased ALL the plantains Wegmans had and was in front of me in line. I asked her what they were for, and she said she cooked African food and I could order some on facebook. So I did, and then later that week I explained to Lindsey that she had to go pick up our dinner from a stranger from the back of her car in Starbucks parking lot...but it worked out and it was an amazing meal! And since then we've worked together on Christmas Around the World food at Camp Susque.
Laziza Cuisine - 427 West Third St, Williamsport $$ - The Naan, Samosas, and Byrianni is amazing. Middle eastern, pakistani, and Indian options here. Really great food. I could just eat a pile of the Garlic Naan though….
Pizza: Just because I like to be controversial and start fights:
Park Pizza - 1701 Memorial Ave, Williamsport NY Style pizza. Opens at 4. No preorders. No online. One phone line. So just redial over and over until you get your order in. Wings as well. Limited menu options outside of pizza, stromboli, and wings.
** Leo’s Pizza** - 2424 West Fourth St, Williamsport You can’t keep Mark down. The guy just wants to make amazing pizza. In the last several years, this is probably the 4th or 5th iteration of this shop, though this location in Newberry seems like a good one. Absolutely amazing crust. If you like Detroit Style (not my thing) he has that available too. When/if he does cheesesteaks and chopped cheese, the buns are the best around, without exception.
Long Island Pizza - 435 Hepburn St Kurt brings back memories of Heavenly Pasteria (RIP) - the gourmet pizzas and sandwiches are good. Full menu, seating available. The vibe of a NY pizza place. Lots of signature pizzas. Also one of the ONLY shops in the area that does good GF and DF pizzas. Best white pizza, and sold by the slice! And sold on the Slice app, which makes ordering easy.
Vinnies Italian Eatery - 44 West 4th St, WIlliamsport Right down town, pizza by the slice available. Full menu, plenty of seating.
Barts Pizza - 536 West Third St Williamsport PA Multiple crust options. This has not been my go-to, but I know this is a favorite for a LOT of people, so gotta list it. I don’t have anything against it - I just haven’t had a lot of their pizza.
Old School Pizza - 12 East Fourth St, Williamsport Right across from the library, just off of market st. I’ve eaten a lot more old school pizza than I’d like to admit. Good pizza, and definitely the best price for pizza around. And available by the slice (though I’ve always gotten a whole). They’re fast too! And great to work with if you have to buy a dozen pies at the last minute… Good wings too. I would say that my only criticism is that the consistency isn’t there. Some days a pizza looks like it was topped by someone trying to ruin the company, and other days it’s hard to distinguish a topped from a plain. But given the reasonable prices, no complaints.
Joe’s (East End) - 1810 Northway Road Williamsport No shade on Joe’s West End in Williamsport - I just have only ever had it from the Loyalsock store. Great pizza, large menu. Good cheesesteaks too.
Fillippo’s - 24 East Southern Ave, South Williamsport I am loath to cross the river, but Fillippo’s has good pizza (and I assume other food too - just only ever had their pizza).
I am worried that this will generate more controversy than any post related to politics, vaccines, my cousin Taylor, or preferred vacuum and mattress brands. Keep it civil, please.
Breweries
We have a LOT of craft breweries (and a few distilleries) in town as well. I didn’t realize just how many we had until I started compiling this. Huge credit to Steve Koch @ Bullfrog for being a visionary in this field - when they opened in 1996 (?), they were the only craft brewer within 60 miles. Now there’s probably 100+. But I love his “a rising tide raises all ships” mentality - instead of seeing each new one as competition, he thinks it raises the whole game and his sales usually increase.
Bullfrog Brewery - 229 West Fourth St, Williamsport Full bar, almost all local PA spirits. Lots of beers, all locally inspired and with fun names. Specializes in sours and Gueuze (grzzzz) beers. Also their own root beer. Some cans are available in the cooler, and they will do Growler fills or Crowlers of anything on top. Their coffee stout with Alabaster coffee is good, and the various Grzzz, Saisons, etc are always worth a try. Flights are the way to go, and then get crowlers of your favorite.
New Trail Brewery - 240 Arch St, Williamsport They are no longer a well hidden secret of our area. This is in stores all over PA and in many states, but for good reason: excellent beer, excellent people, and their tasting room is a MUST visit if you’re coming through Williamsport. Even if you don’t like beer, the vibe here is great - lots of outdoor seating, fire pits, kid friendly, dog friendly, games, always great food trucks (shoutout to RealTaste570 which is usually there). When the unthinkable happens and my wife and I actually have a night to ourselves, we will spend 25 minutes debating restaurants but inevitably end up at New Trail with no regrets. If you like IPAs, this is IPA heaven, with a new iteration of Hazy IPAs (and doubles, and triples, but sadly no quads…) released weekly. But the lager is fantastic, the Moonlit Stouts are amazing, Sours, and their Belgian Tripel is a favorite. The bottle releases of the barrel aged series and cookie series are fun every year in December, and they have cans of all their current releases (and many only for the tasting room) available. And (fingers crossed), maybe they will start carrying Susque Root Beer!
Rosko’s Brewhouse - 601 Pine St, Williamsport Just a short walk from downtown, definitely all about the beer (no kitchen, but some light snacks available), I think the Kolsch is probably their top beer, but they always have a lager and pilsner on tap too. Great place to hangout. Lots of bookclubs meet here. They also have a culvert/catacomb that is occasionally open to the public, and they host my favorite local event: a 1K Race.
John Ryan Brewery - 151 East Third St Williamsport More emphasis on food than on beer here, but the beers are here. Less options than some of the others. Their “John Ryan Brown Ale” was fantastic and super nutty. They said that sesame was not a component, but it tasted like toasted sesame to me (and I loved it). Doppelbock was also solid.
Therapy Brewing - 3978 Quaker Church Rd, Montoursville This is definitely out of the way, but a beautiful location and a nice drive through north-central PA to get there - probably 20 minute drive from downtown Williamsport. This is just an awesome place to go and sit back and enjoy. Owners are great too.
FairPlay Distillery - 442 Williams St, Williamsport | 2314 Lycoming Creek Road, Williamsport Fair Play just opened up a couple of years ago, but had been aging whiskeys prior to that. Gin, Brandy, Bourbon, Rye, Single Malt - wide variety and clever local cocktails. They have a cool barrel program where you can own your own small (2.5 gallon) oak barrel and they’ll bottle it for you when it matures.
Ice Cream and Baked Goods
Eders Ice Cream - 2242 PA-87, Montoursville This is a little out of the way from Williamsport (though probably only a 10 minute drive), but it is fantastic ice cream. The quantity you get for the price is unreal (I don’t know how they stay in business). The Scoops they use for the Small, Medium, and Large are probably snow shovels. If you order the large, I assume they provide a wheelbarrow. I usually order the only reasonable size: “baby” - which is actually the size and weight of an infant child. Still - the ice cream is good, plentiful, and homemade. Lots of great and often unique flavors. Only place I know that has Rhubarb ice cream. Cash only. Gets very busy on hot days. Very close to Pier 87, so a great followup to a meal there.
Sprinkled Sweet - 349 Pine St Williamsport This is right across the alley from Brickyard and Stonehouse. Lots of baked goods and ice creams. Homemade and lots of unique flavors.
Mr Sticky’s - 1948 East Third St, Williamsport I have strong opinions about sticky buns. Mr Stickys are amazing. This should probably be in the “breakfast” category, but if you start your day with a Mr. Sticky, you might as well cancel the rest of the day, since you’ll need a nap. They’re enormous and delicious. You can pre-order “mini” Mr Stickys, which are still enormous….but not dangerously so like the normal ones.
Roys Bakery - 524 Washington Blvd, Williamsport Everyone knows Roys Bakery for their classic cookies. I’m kind of ashamed to admit how recently it was in my life that I discovered they do like…all the delicious stuff that bakeries do. Donuts, Sticky buns, cupcakes, cakes, etc…..but to me, I’m all about their cookies.
Tony’s Deli - 508 Washington Blvd, Williamsport Tony’s could be in their own category. They’re the best place for a lot of prepared foods, full butcher services, homemade soups, sandwiches, salads, etc etc - but they also have a TON of awesome cookies and baked goods. This place is a Williamsport institution.
Sam’s Sweets / Christy’s Greenhouse - 1466 Susque Road, Trout Run A little out of the way, but a lot closer than State College if you want Penn State Creamery Ice Cream (and homemade waffle cones…and Susque Root beer!). The greenhouses have lots of awesome plants as well, and the setting is beautiful. Just down the road from Camp Susque.
The Potting Bench - 324 Matthews BLVD, South Williamsport Another combo greenhouse, art, workshop, and ICE CREAM! Lots of flavors of soft serve and scooped ice cream, and a personal favorite: Dole Whip! Lots of creative combinations of those things too.
Things to do around Williamsport
Brandon Park - Middle Dr, Williamsport PA If you just need to go for a walk among large trees and around nice flower gardens, this is a great spot for it - a nice sanctuary in the middle of Williamsport.
Thomas Taber Museum - 858 West Fourth St, Williamsport If you want to learn about the history of Williamsport and the lumber industry, this is a good place to go. Also a lot on Native Americans, and kind of oddly, a very large collection of model trains. Right across from Back House Cafe, so go get a latte after you learn about how big and impact Williamsport had on the underground railroad.
Memorial Park - 1744 West Fourth St, Williamsport Playground, pickleball, basketball, picnic tables and pavilions - nice spot right across from the “Original League” field, and adjacent to Historic Bowman Field (and close to Park Pizza). Also a large public pool, and walking distance to Lycoming Creek.
Ryder Park - 1769 Caleb Creek Road, Trout Run Not far outside of town, there is a park with a great picnic pavilion and several nice (and not too challenging) hiking trails.
Little League Museum - 525 US 15 South, South Williamsport This is a neat museum with fun hands-on exhibits (and batting cages) for kids. What might be more impressive is just walking around the little league complex and looking at Lamade field.
Crosscutters Baseball - 1700 West Fourth St, Williamsport Minor League baseball is fun. The Crosscutters are part of MLB’s draft league, which is a little different than low-single-A-short-season that they used to be a part of, but still great, and always neat to see players that may break it into the show. And minor league baseball always has fun entertainment between innings. The fireworks nights are especially impressive and you can watch them from on the field, which is a lot of fun.
Hiking - I could probably make a whole section on this, but you can use google to look for the following trails.
- Golden Eagle Trail - 9 mile challenging loop
- Williamsport Water Authority Trails (also great for mountain biking)
- Jacoby Falls Trail - short and mostly flat
- Sections of Old Loggers Path - research first
- Bob Weber Trail - challenging but not long
- Thousand Steps Trail - challenging
- Smith’s Knob Trail - challenging but not too long
- Rickett’s Glenn Falls Loop - challenging 8 mile loop, but so amazing
- PA Grand Canyon - lots of trails
- Multiple hiking trails @ Camp Susque (call first)
Backpacking - we have multiple amazing backpacking trails in our region. Here are a few
- Black Forest Trail
- Old Loggers Path (my personal favorite)
- West Rim Trail
- Loyalsock Trail
- Susquehanna Trail (Connects Black Forest with West Rim)
- Mid-State Trail (part of it)
- Chuck Keiper Trail
Cycling on Rails to Trails - Jersey Shore to Wellsboro
This is a 62 mile converted railroad bed that takes you up the Pine Creek valley and into the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Do the whole thing, do sections, in the winter you can cross-country ski it (tracks set and groomed).
Rock Run, McIntyre Wild Area, Band Rock Vista This is an amazing area of PA, helps to have a local that knows where things are, but there are many waterfalls in Rock Run valley, and the surrounding wild area, as well as vistas, hikes, etc. To start your searching, look for the following: Dutchman’s Run Falls (Ralston) Miner’s Run Hounds Run Abbott Run Rock Run Falls (Upper, Middle, Lower) Band Rock Vista
Playgrounds - Williamsport area has a lot of playgrounds if you have kids and just need somewhere for them to run around.
- James E Short Park - 2301 Northway Road, Williamsport
- Heshbon Park - 2799 Heshbon Road, Williamsport
- Bruce Henry Park - Ritchey St & Miller Ave, Williamsport
- Indian Park - 104 Park Road Montoursville
- Trout Run Park - 10294 Lycoming Creek Road, Trout Run
Susquehanna State Park - 2250 Hiawatha Blvd Williamsport This is a really beautiful park right along the susquehanna river. Picnic tables, porch swings overlooking the river, and just nice places for picnicking and hanging out. Boat launch available, fishing from the shore available, and Hiawatha River Boat rides available at certain times in season.
Trout Run Park - 10294 Lycoming Creek Rd, Trout Run Great park, a little off the beaten path, but there’s bathrooms, plenty of room to run around and play, horseshoes, a neat reading trail, a playground, and a dock over Lycoming Creek for a great swimming/boating area.