How to Spend a Charming Weekend in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania: What To Do, Where to Stay, and What to Eat
If you’re looking for a charming small town for a weekend getaway, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania is the perfect spot!
Gerrit and I spent a weekend here and fell in love with the beautiful outdoor spaces, the historic buildings that line the streets, and the fantastic food and drinks.
So, here’s a guide to what to do in Bellefonte over a weekend! It combines outdoor adventure, interesting Bellefonte history, and some great dining including both casual and nicer restaurants.
And if you spend a weekend in Bellefonte, I truly think you’ll love it just as much as I do.
Thanks to the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau for sponsoring this post and for hosting us on this trip! All opinions are, of course, my own.
Bellefonte Weekend Itinerary
Friday
Rooted Farmstead
Let’s start with a visit to one of Bellefonte’s agritourism destinations: Rooted Farmstead. It’s a gorgeous property about 5 minutes from downtown Bellefonte where they grow flowers you can pick, have a garden market, and a offer all kinds of events.
It’s owned by Christie, who has an engineering background and has clearly applied that level of detail and research to her horticulture pursuits. While we weren’t there during prime time for any particular flowers, what we saw in the nursery and greenhouse was absolutely GORGEOUS.
And because the growing season in Pennsylvania really isn’t that long, Christie has adapted with lots of other fun offerings. We talked to her for awhile about how she’s creatively run her business with things like wreath-making classes during Christmas (her best-seller!), flower arranging classes, private events, and more.
Make sure you give yourself enough time though: Rooted Farmstead closes at 5:00 pm.
Dinner at Robin Hood Brewing
Bellefonte has some really great breweries, and for dinner your first night you can head to Robin Hood Brewing for drinks and some really great food.
I’ll be honest: I’m not a beer drinker, but Gerrit is and he really enjoyed the beer he had here. I also thought it was super fun that they had the labels on the walls of ALLLLL their beers!
The food here was really good too. I had a Cheesesteak Pizza and it was perfect!
This is a casual spot that you can really tell the locals love, so it’s perfect for an easy Friday night!
Saturday
Bald Eagle State Park
Happy Valley is SUCH a gorgeous area, with rolling mountains and valleys.
Start your Saturday morning by heading to Bald Eagle State Park near Bellefonte to enjoy some of this gorgeous landscape!
Bald Eagle State Park is in the Bald Eagle Valley and its most notable feature is the giant (1,730 acre) lake where lots of people enjoy fishing and boating. They also have over 15 miles of hiking trails!
We really enjoyed some time hanging out around the Winter Launch, at least until it started raining on us. So next time I hope we can get out and enjoy the hiking trails more!
Bald Eagle State Park is also home The Nature Inn, which is a small 16-room lodge all about environmental responsibility and energy efficiency. They’ve actually been voted the #1 Eco-Lodge in the country before. And of course they have incredible views of the surrounding mountains and lake.
Lunch at Blonde Bistro
After a morning of hiking and outdoor adventuring, you might want some hearty food.
We had lunch at the Blonde Bistro and y’all! Ciara, the owner, can COOK!
There’s lots of pasta and Italian dishes on the menu here. I had the chicken marsala pasta, and yes, it was full of butter, but that made it so good and creamy! Gerrit has the lasagna which he really loved to.
And even though these dishes could easily be in a more “fine-dining” establishment, the Blonde Bistro is a pretty casual spot. So it’s perfect for lunch today!
Bellefonte Art Museum
After lunch, plan to spend the afternoon in downtown Bellefonte. And start by visiting the Bellefonte Art Museum.
This small museum is in the historic Linn House. There are three floors with different exhibits and they are all so well done!
The first floor houses a rotating exhibit. When we visited, it was works of art that artists had created from a one-word prompt. It was so interesting to see how different people interpreted different words!
Also downstairs, you’ll want to check out the bathroom. Ok, yes, that might be a weird thing to say. But it’s a tiny bathroom under the stairs and they have appropriately themed it after Harry Potter!
The second floor has more rotating exhibits, a poetry space, and a small creator studios aimed at kids called The Makery (an outpost of the larger Makery in State College). It was absolutely adorable and reminded me a lot of a smaller version of the children’s space when we visited the Louisiana Museum of Art in Denmark.
The third floor is maybe the most interesting part of the museum: an Underground Railroad display.
A hidden doorway in the back of a closet that led under the eaves of the house and to a secret room was believed to be used as a stop in the Underground Railroad.
While there is very little recorded history of the Underground Railroad because of the secrecy necessary, this find paired with the fact that the family living in the house at the time were known Quakers (and Quakers often helped with the Underground Railroad) and the oral histories of local residents has led historians to believe that this was a stop along the Underground Railroad.
In this small exhibit area there is information about the local Underground Railroad. And they have cut panels out of the walls and replaced them with plexiglass so you can see the path from the door to the secret room. Then, inside the room, there is an art display depicting people hiding there.
It’s a truly fascinating display! Coming from the South, I had certainly never seen an Underground Railroad stop before and it was both so interesting and emotionally moving.
Explore Downtown
After your time in the art museum, explore downtown Bellefonte a bit more!
First, stop by and see the courthouse in what’s known as the Diamond (as opposed to the square). Here you’ll also find the Soldiers and Sailors War Memorial along with a statue of Andrew Gregg Curtin. Curtin was born in Bellefonte, became governor of Pennsylvania, a U.S. Representative, and was just generally very well-liked in the community.
If you keep heading down the Allegheny Street, you’ll also find some great shops. Stop in Helen Foxx & Co. for boutique clothing, The Magpie’s Nest for gifts, or The Print Factory for books.
We actually stopped in The Print Factory spontaneously on our last night in town and are so glad we did! Not only did we find some books to buy, but we also learned that they run as a non-profit community space promoting local literary events and community gatherings! It’s such a cool concept and space, and since I’m always on the lookout to support indie bookstores when we travel, I’m glad we found this one!
It’s also worth seeing the murals in Bellefonte because they are so historically significant. They are located on Perry Lane.
The first one you’ll see is Inspiration Bellefonte and it’s on the back of the Waffle Shop. It depicts famous people from Bellefonte as well as famous visitors. You’ll see well-known figures like Amelia Earhart and Frederick Douglass, who both had significant visits to Bellefonte.
And you’ll also find significant figures from Bellefonte like the music group The Mills Brothers and their grandfather William Mills cutting Frederick Douglass’s hair (a known event that actually happened) and who was a key figure in the early desegregation of Bellefonte’s schools in 1885.
Just down from this mural is a mural by Key Detail. This mural is all about the local Air Mail history. Bellefonte was actually the first refueling stop on the transcontinental Air Mail route after New York, which is pretty cool!
Take a Historic Walking Tour
Another thing you can do in downtown Bellefonte is take a historic walking tour with Local Historia.
We got to spend some time with Matt, a local history teacher who also owns Local Historia, and he is an absolute fountain of knowledge about everything in this area! He had a story for just about every house we saw or corner we crossed!
You’ll have to book your tour in advance by contacting them. They offer downtown Bellefonte tours, Civil War tours, Underground Railroad tours, and even other custom tours if you have a special request.
Dinner and Drinks at Gamble Mill
Gamble Mill is a perfect place for an evening out!
It was once an old grain mill, but in 2020 it was converted to an entertainment space with a small inn on the top floor!
You can grab drinks at The Republic and dinner at Creekside. We didn’t get to eat here on this trip, but everyone we talked to said that Chef Michael Marx, the head chef, makes fantastic food!
In general, Gamble Mill is also just a really cool space. They’ve renovated the building while also maintaining its historic charm. So while the spaces are updated and feel new, you can also see things like the stone walls and wooden beams.
Sunday
Talleyrand Park and the Historic Railroad
For Sunday morning, take it easy and just spend some time around Talleyrand Park. This is Bellefonte’s downtown park, and it’s so lovely and peaceful!
There is something about it that gives me very European vibes and I loved spending a morning strolling around. I think it’s the flowing water from the spring? And also the gorgeous willow trees that dip down along the water?
Honestly, if you really want to be extra (and have an even better time) you could pack a breakfast picnic to enjoy by the water! There’s also a really nice riverwalk that goes along the river.
You’ll also find the Historic Railroad here. The station now houses an outpost of the Happy Valley tourism office and the Chamber of Commerce. And the train still goes by. They don’t do passenger rail, but they do occasionally have special trips you can buy tickets for like during fall foliage or Christmas.
Lunch at Four Ways Pub
For lunch, head to Four Ways Pub. I’ll be honest. I don’t have much to offer here because the day we were supposed to dine there, they had to close because of a refrigeration problem. So we had to shift plans.
But everyone I talked to raved about Four Ways Pub, so this is where I’d recommend going!
Eagle Iron Works & Curtin Village
To end your time in Bellefonte, head to Eagle Iron Works and Curtin Village! This is a historic iron forge that was integral to the history of Happy Valley.
Technically you *could* do this earlier in your weekend, because you can do a self-guided walking tour at any time (and there are brochures you can pick up underneath the sign outside with the map). But I’m recommending you save it for Sunday afternoon because Sundays at 2 pm is when they offer their public tours. (Offered the 2nd and 4th Sundays, June through September.)
Curtin Village was the very last cold blasted charcoal iron forge in operation in Pennsylvania, and it was the longest operating one. You can also see the very last piece of iron forged this way in Pennsylvania!
It’s honestly a pretty cool place and I learned a lot about the iron industry in Pennsylvania. While I knew it was big in the state (hello, Pittsburgh), I had no idea it was such a historic part of central Pennsylvania!
At Curtin Village you can tour the iron master’s mansion, learn about iron in the iron furnace, and see where the worker’s village was. You’ll also learn some about Andrew Gregg Curtin’s family, Pennsylvania’s notable governor who was born here.
It’s also on such a pretty and peaceful piece of land, so it’s a great wrap up to a trip in Happy Valley. You’re ending in a place full of history and natural beauty, which are probably the two most quintessential Happy Valley features!
Where to Stay in Bellefonte
Bellefonte is definitely a bed and breakfast town and there are so many to choose from!
We stayed at the Bellefonte Bed & Breakfast and absolutely loved it! Phil and Kathy are the hosts and they are the sweetest people. We loved getting to chat with them so much.
Our stay was so comfortable. They have really thought of every detail to make you feel at home, even small things like a place to put your empty water bottles and paper cups always out for to-go coffee.
And they make really great breakfast food!
But there are lots of other bed and breakfasts to choose from in Bellefonte! Here are a few:
- The Reynolds Mansion (probably the most luxurious option)
- Our Fair Lady Bed and Breakfast
- The Queen Bed & Breakfast
- Riffles & Runs B&B
- Craftsman on Curtin St. B and B
- Simplicity: A Bed and Breakfast
More Things to do in Bellefonte
If you have more time in Bellefonte, here are some more fun things you can do:
- Visit the American Philatelic Society — Bellefonte has the largest stamp collecting foundation in the world! You can visit here and see their exhibits. We really tried to make it over here but just didn’t have the time, so this will have to happen next trip!
- Go fly fishing — Fly fishing is SUPER popular in Bellefonte! We saw some people fly fishing in the river and I know one of the people staying at the same bed and breakfast as us was there to go fly fishing.
- Go kayaking — From Bellefonte, you can put in at the riverwalk and kayak or canoe down Spring Creek. Don’t have your own kayak? No problem! You can rent through Tussey Mountain Outfitters.
- Take a train ride — The historic railroad in Bellefonte doesn’t offer passenger service, but from time to time there are special train rides you can buy tickets for events like fall foliage and Christmas.
- Visit the local breweries — Aside from Robin Hood Brewing there are several other places that brew their own beverages in the area. Their naturally limestone-filtered water has made it an ideal place for brewing and distilling! You can visit Axemann Brewery, the Titan Hollow cidery, or the craft distillery Big Spring Spirits.
- Visit Penn’s Cave — This one is a bit more of a drive from Bellefonte, but it’s such a popular thing to do in Happy Valley that we had to include it on the list! Penn’s Cave is a show cave you tour through a boat ride. It was my first time taking a boat through a cave, and it was a cool experience!
What’s Next?
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