Emmaus

Emmaus is a borough in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Emmaus borders Allentown, the state's third-largest city, to its north. The borough lies in the center of the highly populated Northeast megalopolis region of the U.S., 22 miles (35 km) southwest of the Skylands and the New Jersey state line, 53 miles (85 km) north of Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city, and 91 miles (146 km) west of New York City, the nation's largest city.

Get in

By plane

By train
  • 30th Street Station, 2955 Market St., Philadelphia, toll-free: +1-800-872-7245. Major East Coast United States train station, the third-busiest Amtrak station in the United States, is 53 miles (85 km) southeast of Emmaus. Cars are available for rent inside 30th Street Station. 

By bus

By car

Emmaus is easily accessible by car via two major highways:

The first is the Cedar Crest Boulevard exit of PA Route 29, a north-south highway that runs from Malvern in southeastern Pennsylvania to the New York state border in the north. The second is Interstate 78, a major east-west highway that runs from central Pennsylvania near Harrisburg in the west to the Holland Tunnel and Manhattan in the east, at exits 55, 57 or 58:

  • Exit 55 is PA 29 (Cedar Crest Boulevard). Southbound will take you just west of downtown Emmaus.
  • Exit 57 is Lehigh Street. Southbound will take you to Chestnut Street and into downtown Emmaus. It also provides access to Center City Allentown to the north.
  • Exit 58 is Emaus Avenue (spelled slightly differently than Emmaus, based on the original Pennsylvania Dutch spelling). You are forced to go southbound anyway. This is just an easier parallel of Lehigh Street but is only available to westbound I-78 travelers.

Get around

By limo

By bus

Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority (LANTA) offers public bus service that can take you from Emmaus to Allentown and other locations in the Lehigh Valley. Renting a car is also an option. Emmaus has an Avis and Budget, both located at 126 State Ave. A considerable number of car rental options also exist in neighboring Allentown.

See
  • 🌍 1803 House, 55 S. Keystone St, ☏ +1-610-965-0152. Built in 1803 by Jacob Ehrenhardt, Jr., who fought in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Tours by appointment. 
  • 🌍 Emmaus Moravian Church, 146 Main St (Keystone and Main Sts.), ☏ +1 610-965-6067. Founded in 1746 when Emmaus was a closed Moravian village, this church co-educated Native American and European children and served as the primary Moravian church for the community from its very beginning--and continues to be the town's primary Moravian church and pre-school. 
  • 🌍 Knauss Homestead, 3 Iroquois St, ☏ +1 610-965-9080. Historic home built between 1840 and 1850 with Georgian-style influences. Added to National Register of Historic Places in 1977. 
  • 🌍 Shangy's, 40 E. Main St, ☏ +1 610-967-1701. Contact to schedule tour. A famous beer distributor and one of the largest beer distributors on in the nation with over 4,000 different brands of beer from the U.S. and abroad. It advertises itself as having the largest number of beer brands from all over the world of any distributor in the nation and has been an Emmaus fixture since its founding in 1980. It's also become a tourist designation, attracting beer enthusiasts from around the nation, especially those looking for hard to find domestic or international beers. 
  • 🌍 Shelter House, 610 S. Fourth St, ☏ +1 610-965-9258. Call to schedule tours. Constructed in 1734, Shelter House is believed to be the oldest continuously occupied building structure in both Lehigh County and the Lehigh Valley and among the oldest still-standing building structures in the all of Pennsylvania. Free but donations encouraged. 

Events
  • Every February, Snowblast Winter Festival
  • Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, Faschnacht & Forsythia Festival. Celebrating faschnachts (Pennsylvania Dutch donuts) and Emmaus' flower, the Forsythia by crowning the King Faschnact and Queen Forsythia and knighting the Defender of the Faschnact (great fun!)
  • Every April, Patriot's Day Dinner
  • Last Monday in May, the Memorial Day Parade
  • June to September, Summer Entertainment Series, live concerts and movie nights all summer long at Emmaus Community Park's arts pavilion
  • Every June, Art in the Garden
  • Every July, Annual Clay Shoot
  • Every September, Wildlife Art Festival and Community Heroes Day
  • Saturday after Labor Day, Emmaus Heritage Day with crafters, food and beverage, live entertainment, activities, historic site tours, and free trolley rides
  • Weekend after Labor Day, Memory Day Craft Show
  • Every October, Student Horror Film Contest & Festival
  • Third Saturday in October, the Emmaus Halloween Parade takes place in Emmaus. It is one of the largest parades in the Lehigh Valley, typically drawing thousands from around the Valley. The Emmaus Lions Club is a primary parade sponsor. For more information on the Emmaus Lions Club. This year's Emmaus Halloween Parade, held on October 15, 2022, will also be the 100th anniversary of the long-standing parade. The Halloween in Emmaus 5K Race proceeds the parade annually each October.
  • First Saturday in December, Old Fashioned Christmas with horse and buggy rides, contests, strolling carolers, a tree lighting ceremony, and Santa comes to town.

Do
  • 🌍 Bear Creek Mountain Resort, 101 Doe Mountain Ln., Macungie, toll-free: +1-866-754-2822. Winter season: Su-Th 9AM-9PM, F Sa 9AM-10PM. A 23-trail 330-acre ski and snowboarding resort. Hiking, biking, and other activities off-season. 
  • 🌍 Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, 4000 Dorney Park Rd. Allentown (in neighboring South Whitehall Township), ☏ +1-610-395-3724. Amusement park: daily 11AM-7PM; waterpark: daily 11AM-6PM. One of the premiere amusement and water parks in the nation, known especially for its elaborate rollercoasters (including the world's eighth longest steel roller coaster), over 60 rides, and a large waterpark. 
  • 🌍 Emmaus Community Park, 1356 Shimerville Rd, ☏ +1-610-928-1130. Pool: M-Sa noon-8PM, Su noon-5PM. Large community park with large and with large swimming pool and diving boards, basketball and volleyball courts, and baseball, softball, and soccer fields. There is also a walking trail. During the summer months, there are concerts in the park. The summer concert schedule is viewable at: Emmaus Recreation and Entertainment Commission. 
  • 🌍 Emmaus High School athletics, 500 Macungie Ave, ☏ +1 610-966-8300. Emmaus High School is one of several large high schools from the Lehigh Valley and Poconos that compete athletically in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, widely considered one of the most competitive athletic divisions in the United States. Emmaus High School athletic events typically draw large crowds, especially in football, boys and girls basketball, girls field hockey and wrestling. The school is widely known for its exceptional girls field hockey and boys and girls swimming and diving teams, both among the nation's best. 
  • 🌍 Emmaus Theatre, 19 S. 4th St, ☏ +1 610-965-9878. A beloved town theatre built in the early 1900s with an art deco facade, it is a centerpiece to the town with very reasonably priced tickets and usually second-run films. Also offers BYOB and various live events. 
  • 🌍 Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 1050 IronPigs Way, Allentown, ☏ +1-610-841-7447. The AAA-level minor league team of the Philadelphia Phillies plays at Coca-Cola Park in nearby East Allentown. 
  • 🌍 Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 701 Hamilton St., Allentown, ☏ +1-610-224-4625, . The primary development team of the Philadelphia Flyers, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, compete in the American Hockey League and play at PPL Center in center city Allentown. 
  • 🌍 Wildlands Conservancy, 3701 Orchid Place, ☏ +1 610-965-4397. Non-profit organization that offers outdoor adventures, including hiking, biking, canoeing, and creeking. 

Buy

Eat

There are many restaurants in Emmaus, including:

Drink
  • 🌍 Armetta's, 301 Main St, ☏ +1 610-967-3050. F Sa 11AM-11PM, Tu-Th Su 11AM-9PM, closed Mondays. Separate bar with a friendly drinking atmosphere. Beer specials. Outside patio bar open during summer. 
  • 🌍 Big Woody's, 3941 Chestnut St, ☏ +1 610-966-1996. Daily 11AM-2AM 365 days a year. Sports bar with sports bar menu. 
  • 🌍 Commix Hotel, 3245 Emaus Ave., Allentown, ☏ +1 610-797-9711. Daily 11AM-2AM. Historical but informal bar and restaurant on first floor of Revolutionary War-era hotel. 
  • 🌍 Funk, 518 Bank Street, ☏ +1 484-232-9695. W Th 4-11PM, F Sa 11AM-11PM, Su 11AM-8PM. Large craft beer taproom. Drafts and cans to go. Big screen TVs. Indoor and outdoor seating. Food trucks. 
  • 🌍 Mercantile Club, 427 Railroad St, ☏ +1 610-965-3871. M-Th 11AM-10PM, F 11AM-midnight, Sa 8AM-midnight, Su 8AM-10PM. Historic private club (opened in 1908) with restaurant and smoking permitted separate bar. 
  • 🌍 Triple Sun Spirits, 518 Bank St (5th and Railroad Streets), ☏ +1 610-904-8082. Th 4-10PM, F 3-11PM, Sa noon-11PM, Su noon-6PM. Online or pick-up order of ultra-premium spirits. Tours also available of their distillery. 
  • 🌍 Vera Cruz Tavern, 3883 Main Rd W, ☏ +1 610-967-1716. M-F noon-2AM, Sa Su 11AM-2AM. Bar, pool table, fun drinking establishment 
  • 🌍 Volpe's Sports Bar, 501 Broad St, ☏ +1 610-965-0311, . F-Su noon-10PM, M-Th 4-9PM. Excellent sports bar complex with two separate bars (one smoke free and the other a cigar bar dating back to the 1920s), 20 large screen plasma televisions, including all out of town games. Pool table. 12 beers on tap at all times and over 50 bottled beers. 
  • 🌍 Yergey's, 235 Main St, ☏ +1 484-232-7055, . M 4-9PM, Th F 4-10PM, Sa noon-10PM, Su noon-6PM. Craft beer bar and outside patio. Live music. Food trucks. 

Sleep

There are no hotels in Emmaus, but there are many nearby. Check out these five, plus the more extensive list on the Allentown page:

  • 🌍 Bear Creek Mountain Resort, 101 Doe Mountain Ln., Macungie, ☏ +1 610-282-7100, toll-free: +1-866-754-2822, . Check-in: 4PM, check-out: 11AM. Macungie. Guests can plan an event in the spacious banquet and meeting facilities, dine at The Grille at Bear Creek or the Trail’s End Cafe, relax at The Spa at Bear Creek, enjoy the indoor and outdoor pools and hot tubs, participate in beer and wine festivals, and enjoy free outdoor concerts. Great dining, plenty of activities year round, including snowboarding, skiing, snowtubing in the winter and hiking, biking, kayaking, and paddle boarding in warmer weather. From $219 a night. (updated Jun 2022)
  • 🌍 Four Points Sheraton Allentown, 3712 Hamilton Blvd., Allentown (on Hamilton Blvd. in vicinity of Dorney Park), ☏ +1 610-437-9100. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Free Wi-Fi, on-site restaurant (The Linx), room service, 24-hour fitness center and indoor swimming pool, mini-refigerator and smart tv in all rooms, meeting rooms, no pets. From $176 a night. 
  • 🌍 Homewood Suites by Hilton Allentown, 3350 Center Valley Pkway., Center Valley, ☏ +1 610-351-6400. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. A Hilton hotel affiliate, free Wi-Fi, daily hot breakfast, in-room kitchens, heated swimming pool, fitness center, business center, connected room options, meeting rooms. Pets allowed with deposit. From $174 a night. 
  • 🌍 Red Roof Inn Allentown South, 2650 Moravian Ave., Allentown, ☏ +1 610-797-1234, toll-free: +1-855-352-7611. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. In-room microwave, mini-refrigerator, ironing board, flat screen tv in all rooms. From $99 a night. (updated Jun 2022)
  • 🌍 Rodeway Inn Allentown, 2115 Downeyflake Ln., Allentown (off I-78 by Queen City Municipal Airport), ☏ +1 610-797-2200. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 11AM. Free WiFi, complimentary continenetal breakfast, laundry facilities, fitness center, rental refrigerators available, no pets. From $95 per night. (updated Jul 2022)

Connect

Tourist information

Phones

In Emmaus, like all Lehigh Valley locations, you must dial an area code when you place a call. Area codes in Emmaus and the Lehigh Valley are 610, 484 and (since 2022) 835.

Go next

Lehigh Valley cities

Regional cities and locations
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