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The Columbia County Visitors Center is located at exit 236 (Bloomsburg/Lightstreet exit), off of I-80, at 121 Papermill Road. A car is strongly recommended if you want to appreciate all that Columbia and Montour counties have to offer fully, but more specific destinations like Bloomsburg and Danville are accessible by bus, bike, or taxi.
BLOOMSBURG
 Bloomsburg,
a college town with sophisticated charm, draws visitors
year-round to its fairs and revitalized downtown. Centrally
located, it serves as an urban center for the region and
has the distinction of being the only "incorporated town"
in Pennsylvania. Those arriving in town by bus will be
let off on East Street, just around the corner from Main
Street and the heart of the commercial district.
Of all the towns in the area, Bloomsburg is by far the
most easily explored on foot – but if you do want
to rent a bike, you'll find The Dutch Wheelman Bike
Shop on East Main Street, where rentals are available
on a first-come, first-served basis.
Visitors will instantly be attracted by downtown Bloomsburg's
wealth of late 19th and early 20th-century architecture,
particularly in the blocks surrounding the intersection
of Market and Main Streets. "Market Square" (as this junction
is also known) is where you'll come across two eye-catching
landmarks. The first is the two-tier, 18-foot-tall David
Stroup Fountain, which dates from 1892 and was recently
restored to its original glory after a painstaking renovation
that lasted some twenty years. Looming directly across
the street from the Fountain, the 60-foot-high Civil
War Monument, from 1908, commemorates eight Civil
War campaigns in which Columbia County residents served
and died.
 Main
Street's east end terminates at the campus of Bloomsburg
University. The presence of this small liberal arts
university contributes to downtown artistic culture, while
the students help liven up the local restaurants and bars.
Off of Main St., a strong selection of local artists'
works can be viewed in the "cooperative gallery" at Artspace
Gallery. Just a few doors down is Dave Ashby Photography,
which boats a stunning collection of travel photography
images. Also downtown is Open Your Eyes to Dream
gallery, another creative art venue. At Bloomsburg University,
be sure to pay a visit to the Haas Gallery of Art,
which displays not only student and faculty works but
the creations of local and guest artists. The galleries
are within walking distance to the Bloomsburg Theatre
Ensemble, (left) which is in its 30th year.
While you're there, stop by Shade Mountain Wine Store
on East Main Street. The store offers up wine made at
the nearby Shade Mountain Vineyard, a 65-acre operation
in Middleburg. The wine shop makes it easy to buy the
local wines, which range from reds like Merlot and Pinot
Noir to sweeter whites like Niagara or Riesling.
If you're looking for something to occupy your little
people, Bloomsburg has an excellent option just off Market
Street, about halfway between the main square and the
Town Park (see below). The Children's Museum offers
more than 50 interactive exhibits and displays covering
all kinds of scientific and artistic subject matter geared
for kids 12 and under. Kids will be riveted by "extreme
weather" at the Thaddeus Quackeus Weather Station,
for instance, and other favorites include the longhouse,
the color play room, and those perennially popular dinosaurs.
The intensely hands-on quality of the programs makes learning
fun, and fun educational.
 Half
a mile from the town center, along the banks of the Susquehanna
River, Bloomsburg's picturesque Town Park is an
attraction in its own right. Every town should be so lucky
to have this much riverfront access – here you can
picnic, play sports, or just go for a ramble along the
riverbank. For anyone who doesn't have the time to visit
this region's more extensive parks and preserves (discussed
below under "Surrounding Area"), the park is a handy way
to sample the Pennsylvania outdoors. Visitors to the park
should also know that the adjacent Fort McClure Boulevard
makes for an enjoyable ride, and culminates in the Rupert
Bridge, one of many covered bridges in the area but
one that you can actually drive over. Just off the Boulevard,
meanwhile, the Fort McClure House stands as one
of the last remaining forts from the American Revolution
in central PA.
 By
far the largest annual event in this area is the weeklong
Bloomsburg Fair (left) held on the Fairgrounds
on Route 11 (or the west end of Main Street), which draws
close to 500,000 people to greater Bloomsburg in the last
week of every September. The fair features big-name entertainment,
harness racing, arts and agricultural exhibitions, as
well as an auto demo derby. Another excellent reason to
come, though, is the extensive selection of homemade jams
and jellies for sale at the fair every yearónothing you
can buy in a supermarket even comes close!
And, speaking of homemade.... Not far outside of Bloomsburg
(at exit 232 off I-80), the School House Garden Market
is one of the most impressive operations in this
whole vicinity. Housed in a two-room schoolhouse dating
from the 1890s, the Garden Market offers old-fashioned
treats like shoofly pie and stick candy, not to mention
virtually every other kind of produce your stomach can
think of; the donut peaches, for instance, are so popular
that they even have their own waiting list! Green thumbs
should also make the Garden Market a must-visit for its
mums and other nursery stock!
DANVILLE
 Driving
20 minutes further west along Route 11 will bring you
to both Montour County and the town of Danville. The
Montour County Visitors Center is located in downtown
Danville at 316 Mill Street, convenient to the Susquehanna
Trailways bus stop on Mill Street. (Note, though, that
unlike Bloomsburg, many of Danville's hotels and attractions
are too far to reach on foot. Local taxi service is available.)
Like Bloomsburg, Danville sits alongside the majestic
Susquehanna River, and it's worth crossing the river on
the handsome (and recently constructed) bridge for splendid
views in either direction. On the opposite side, check
out the English Garden gift shop, ingeniously housed
in a converted train station.
 As
with much of northeastern Pennsylvania, Danville's boom
years were rooted in the demand for iron that peaked in
the mid-19th century. As American workers slowly brought
the country together on the tracks of the railroad, Danville
became a major center for rail production. The first T-Rail
was manufactured here, and the mark of this historic period
remains in the local architectureóshown to greatest advantage
on downtown's Mill Street, Danville's main commercial
strip. The borough itself celebrates its heritage the
third weekend of every July during the Danville Iron
Heritage Festival (left).
And while you may not have heard the name "Christopher
Shoals" recently, you almost certainly know his signature
invention, the QWERTY keyboard, which he developed right
here in the 1860s. Vintage Remington and Underwood typewriters
regularly appear in Mill Street storefronts in Shoals's
honor. One business doing more than its share to revitalize
Mill Street is Lemon A'peel, located just down
from the Visitors Center. The stylish, upscale housewares
and furnishings on offer here, not to mention the artful
way they're presented, are a treat for the eye; even visiting
city slickers are likely to be impressed!
 Not
far off, meanwhile, two historic buildings particularly
capture Danville's past and the affluence of the iron
boom period. Once the owners of the largest iron foundry
in the region, the Grove brothers constructed a mansion
that has become known as Castle Grove. The 18th-century
Federal-style home of Daniel Montgomery, the founder of
Danville, has been reborn as the Montgomery House Museum
(left) .
SURROUNDING
AREA
For
those who get a thrill perusing through antique stores,
this area will serve as a haven for enjoyment. Bloomsburg
and its environs boast The Red Mill and Lavender
and Old Lace. In Danville, Rising Sun Antiques
is conveniently located on Mill Street (the heart of downtown).
In Benton, just north of Bloomsburg, two multi-story buildings
offer up a massive collection of antiques are rare items.
The recently-renovated Bakery Antiques Company
has a charming lot of offerings, from vintage furniture
to clothing and glassware. Several of these shops specialize
in vintage Americana with ties to the region's manufacturing
history, but together they offer as wide a range of collectibles
as any antique fanatic could hope for!
 For
a different kind of artifact, get your motor running and
cruise on over to Bill's Old Bike Barn, an outstanding
collection of vintage motorbikes and memorabilia located
just outside Bloomsburg proper. Choppers decades old will
dazzle any bike fan but motorcycle lovers aren't the only
ones who will enjoy the 20,000 square-foot museum. Bill's
offerings have grown to include fascinating items like
a display of vintage G.I. Joes, rare antiques and much
more. Be sure to check out Bill's collection of memorabilia
from the 1939 World's Fair in New York. The spread of
souvenirs even includes one of the original televisions
(although it hardly looks like a television by todayís
standards) displayed at the fair.
 Columbia
and Montour counties are well-known for their covered
bridges. The two counties have 25 covered bridges,
all of them historic, some rumored to be haunted, and
each entirely unique. Every October the region celebrates
these bridges during the Covered Bridge & Arts Festival
(left). Held on the grounds of Knoebel's Amusement
Park in Elysburg, the festival features live entertainment
and crafts demonstrations. Guided bus tours of the region's
covered bridges and brilliant fall foliage can also be
arranged at the festival, while maps are available for
those wishing to go it alone. One especially picturesque
drive on Route 487 North takes you through beautiful rolling
farmland before bringing you to the East Paden Bridge,
a handsomely preserved covered bridge that's now the centerpiece
of a lovely waterside park. The sister West Paden Bridge,
which was washed away in a 2006 flood, will be rebuilt
in an effort to resurrect a significant piece of the area's
heritage. The twin covered bridges were the only ones
in the United States and were constructed in 1884 by W.C.
Pennington for $720. They're named after John Paden, who
operated a nearby sawmill.
Red Deer at Rolling Hills Farm's 200 acres are
located further south, near the town of Catawissa. Native
to Europe, the Red Deer is actually a member of the elk
family. Hay rides to view the farm and the deer can be
arranged, and sleigh rides run in January and February,
weather permitting. For a sampling of life on a Pennsylvania
farm, head south on Route 487 and continue two miles further
past the town of Catiwissa to Rohrbach's Farm Market.
The working farm offers everything from fall hayrides
to the pumpkin patch, to a five-acre maze cut into a cornfield
between August and November. Be sure to treat yourself,
too, since a visit to Rohrbach's wouldn't be complete
without stepping into their bakery and walking away with
goodies ranging from sticky buns to apple dumplings.!
 Farmers
work much of northeastern Pennsylvania, but where the
pastures end, classic examples of Pennsylvania backwoods
begin. Rolling hills and rugged rock outcrops border rushing
streams marked by trout-filled eddies. Fisherman, hikers,
bikers and skiers alike will delight in the parks and
preserves that have been set aside to protect thousands
of acres of public land. By far the largest park in the
area, Ricketts Glen State Park spills over into
the northeast corner of Columbia County. The park's 13,000
acres include numerous cascading waterfalls like the ninety-four
foot Ganoga Falls (left). The park visitor's center
is found 30 miles north of Bloomsburg, just off Route
487.
Smaller in size but equally rewarding, the Montour Preserve
(outside Danville, off Route 54) encompasses several hundred
acres with areas for boating, fishing, hiking, and, in
particular, bird-watching. The Visitor's Center for the
preserve is a virtual museum in its own right, housing
a variety of traditional and interactive exhibits; the
dioramas are especially good, and will help you identify
any furry or feathered friends you spot on your walk.
The preserve also offers excellent fishing on the 165-acre
Lake Chillisquaque.
And, speaking of fishing, it's important to add that the
Susquehanna and its tributaries are world-famous fly-fishing
destinations. A great place to start your next fishing
trip is at Fishing Creek Angler in Benton. A full-service
outfitter, Fishing Creek Angler can also arrange guided
trips to pursue the brown and rainbow trout of Fishing
Creek, for instance, or the native brook trout in other
nearby streams.
 Finally,
for family fun, be sure to make a trip to Knoebels
Amusement Resort, on your way home east in Elysburg.
This award winning amusement park has countless games
and over 50 rides, including an antique carousel that
still lets you catch the brass ring and two "Top 20" wooden
roller coasters. Best of all, admission is FREE! The park
will soon introduce its newest attraction, the Flying
Turns ride -- a wooden ride designed to make people
feel as if they're riding a swift bobsled. It's the only
one of its kind in Pennsylvania and the first built in
nearly four decades. T
Columbia and Montour counties offer many special festivals
that bring people here year-round. Aside from the Bloomsburg
Fair and the Covered Bridge and Arts Festival,
there's also the TreeFest, a town-wide tree decorating
event held during the holidays, and the Danville Fall
Arts and Crafts Fair.
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