Things To Do Holdovers From Last Weekend
If you caught last week’s “Things to Do Near Lake Wallenpaupack” post, the tail end of it is still live. Kara Grainger plays Harmony in the Woods Friday the 31st, the Ghost Town Blues Band is at Wildflower Saturday. Lacawac has its free bat program Saturday night. And finally: Sunday’s Dave Matthews Tribute Band show at Harmony benefits the Lake Wallenpaupack Watershed Management District.
Tuesday, August 4: Bluegrass At The Cooperage
The Cooperage Project at 1030 Main Street in Honesdale is hosting the Acoustic Bluegrass Jam on Tuesday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. It is exactly what it sounds like: people bring instruments, people play, other people listen. You do not need to play anything; just come and enjoy the music.
Most Cooperage events, including this one, run on a donation basis rather than a ticket price. Your donation helps support future events like this and many more. 570-253-2020.
Thursday, August 6: Live Music At Glass
Glass Wine Bar & Kitchen at Ledges Hotel runs live music Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. Open to the public, not just hotel guests, and reservations are recommended.
Ledges sits on the Paupack Falls gorge in Hawley, which means the view REALLY competes with the music for your attention. That is not a complaint.
Things To Do Anytime This Week: Grey Towers, Self-Guided And Free
Grey Towers National Historic Site at 151 Grey Towers Drive in Milford is the Pinchot family estate, and while the mansion tours run on a schedule, the grounds do not. Self-guided activities are open sun-up to sun-down, all year, free.
There are four of them: a Tree Trail, a Forest Discovery Trail, a Walking Bingo card, and a separate set of activities aimed at kids. Gifford Pinchot founded the Forest Service and was twice governor of Pennsylvania, so the trees here are not an accident.
Check their alerts page before driving over. They have had construction closing the driveways and the ADA parking lot on and off this month, and that page is the authority on whether you can actually get in. 570-296-9630.
Sip It Up At Three Hammers Winery
Three Hammers Winery (website) at 877 Welcome Lake Road in Hawley sits at Whitehall Corners on 15 acres, with a tasting room in an 1820 farmhouse. Open daily, roughly 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays to 5.
Walk-in tastings run every 20 minutes for groups of two to six. Groups of seven to twelve need a reservation. No pets on the property. 570-949-4688.
The Blueberries Are Still Going
Short version, because it ran last week and the situation has not changed: The Paupack Blueberry Farm on Gumbletown Road has three pick-your-own fields open and a store daily 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Little Meadows Organic Blueberries is picking on Hamlin Highway in Lake Ariel.
Where To Buy Things That Were Recently In A Field (Or In A Greenhouse)
Calkins Creamery at 288 Calkins Road in Honesdale is where you go if you are feeling cheesy. It is the creamery at Highland Farm, a multi-generational family operation running about 300 acres of Holstein pasture, and the cheese is made on site from their own milk.
The farm store is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed Sunday, which is worth noting if you are up for the weekend and were planning on a scenic drive through Wayne County. 570-729-8103.
If you need convincing, their Noblette took first place in the Brie category at the World Championship Cheese Contest in 2020. They placed first with the American Cheese Society in 2019. The garlic one is called Vampire Slayer. I did not name it, but I respect it. And I adore it.
Walk From The Lake To Downtown Hawley, But Know What You’re In For
The Gorge Trail was completed in 2025 and it closed the last gap in a route running from Lake Wallenpaupack into downtown Hawley on foot. That is the headline. Here is the part the headline leaves out.
The easy stretch comes first. Park at the dike and take the Wallenpaupack Lake trail past the public beach, the visitors center, and the environmental center, then onto the Wallenpaupack Creek Trail beside the hydroelectric dam and under Route 6 to a nature viewing platform. Easy, flat trail. Simple shoes are fine.
The Gorge Trail itself is a different animal. It runs 1.6 miles over rough terrain and climbs or drops 900 feet depending which way you go. That is a real hike, not a stroll, and it connects the Wallenpaupack Creek Trail to the Hawley Riverside Trail system. There are benches along the way and the signage is good. Wear sturdy shoes; sandals and flip-flops are not recommended.
Two rules to know:
- Hiking only. No bikes.
- NO PARKING on Cromwell Ave.
- No pets. Which stings, because the trailhead parking is at the Riverside Dog Park, 757 Church Street in Hawley. Park among the dogs, hike without one. Seems unfair somehow. Sorry, puppers!
Open dawn to dusk, seven days a week, weather permitting.
This trail lets you walk along Lake Wallenpaupack’s history in real time. You’ll pass the massive dam that started it all, see the pipeline, follow the rushing water through the gorge and past Paupack Falls, and end up in historic Hawley.
This is part of Lackawaxen River Trails, a system stitching land, rail, and river trails together from Honesdale down to Lackawaxen. This trail was built by the same group of trailblazers that built the White Mills, Sycamore Point, and Indian Orchard river access parks.
I confirm every date, time, and price here before this post goes up. Things move anyway. Schedules shift, venues sell out, and fees go up. And if you have landed on this post a while after it ran, which happens more than you would think, treat the specifics as a starting point rather than gospel. The linked site is always the last word. Check before you drive.
Common Questions
What are some things to do near Lake Wallenpaupack July 31 to Aug 6, 2026?
The Cooperage Project in Honesdale has its Acoustic Bluegrass Jam on Tuesday, August 4, and The Settlers Inn in Hawley hosts jazz vocalist Judi Silvano on the deck Wednesday, August 5, with two shows and a $5 cover per table. Blueberry picking is still open at The Paupack Blueberry Farm and Little Meadows Organic Blueberries, and the Hawley Farmers Market is every Friday at Bingham Park. Grey Towers in Milford and Three Hammers Winery in Hawley are open with no schedule to work around.
Is there anything free to do near Hawley this week?
Yes. The self-guided grounds and trails at Grey Towers National Historic Site are free and open sun-up to sun-down. The Hawley Farmers Market at Bingham Park is free to browse, the Gorge Trail and the Wallenpaupack Lake and Creek trails cost nothing, and the Lacawac Sanctuary grounds are open sunrise to sunset at no charge. Worth knowing before you go: the Gorge Trail is hiking only, allows no pets, and climbs 900 feet over 1.6 miles, while the lake and creek trails are flat and easy.
When does the Wildflower Concert Series end for 2026?
August 15. After the August 8 Elton John tribute there is exactly one show left, Fire & Thyme on the 15th. Any 2026 ticket is good for any remaining 2026 concert.
The Quiet Weeks Are The Ones That Sell People On Living Here
Anybody can love this place on a Saturday in July. The people who end up buying tend to be the ones who came up on a random Tuesday, found a bluegrass jam and a winery and nothing else scheduled, and decided that was the point. If you are somewhere in that thought process, whether buying or selling, let me help.
Own the View. Love the Life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Rice
Karen Rice of Keller Williams Real Estate has been a full-time Realtor since 2007. She specializes in luxury, lakefront, waterfront, and vacation home sales in the Lake Wallenpaupack, Lake Ariel, and the greater Pocono Mountains region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Thinking about a specific property or community, or just want to talk it through? Message me.
Own the View. Love the Life.
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