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Things to Do in Wilkes-Barre, United States
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Plan language: EnglishMost popular attractions in Wilkes-Barre, United States
Top things to do in Wilkes-Barre, United States include enjoying a stroll along River Common, a scenic spot that runs beside the Susquehanna River. Catch a live show at the F. M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, a historic venue with excellent acoustics. Sports fans will appreciate events at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
1. River Common
River Common delivers lively riverfront events and easy access to the Susquehanna waterfront. Walk tree lined paths, enjoy outdoor concerts, or rent a kayak for a riverside view.
Quick facts: A broad grassy lawn slopes toward the river, where locals spread blankets and eat from food trucks while kayaks paddle by. Winding boardwalks and murals make evening strolls feel cinematic, with lighted benches and the distant rumble of passing trains adding a surprisingly cozy soundtrack.
Highlights: At dusk a canopy of about 150 Edison bulbs above the pavilion turns the waterfront into a warm, starlit room where neighbors linger with coffee. A quirky weekend ritual sees three oversized red Adirondack chairs used as mini stages for poets and buskers, often drawing 30 to 100 listeners who clap between poems.
2. F. M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
Historic 1937 movie palace restored to a lively performing arts center, worth visiting for architecture and live shows. Expect Broadway tours, concerts, and ornate interiors perfect for photos.
Quick facts: Step inside and you’ll notice an ornate lobby where painted ceilings and glittering chandeliers set a cinematic mood. Crowds pack the house for touring Broadway shows and indie concerts, with acoustics that make whispered lines and breathy violin solos feel immediate.
Highlights: Scarlet velvet curtains rustle underfoot and the midair hush before the first note makes chandeliers shimmer like low stars. Backstage, faded playbills pinned to a corkboard smell of paper and lamp oil, offering a tactile timeline that rewards quiet snoops.
3. Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Big-name concerts and local sports pack an energetic, intimate arena near downtown Wilkes-Barre. Expect close-up sightlines, lively crowds, and easy parking.
Quick facts: If you love live events, the bowl fills with an electric crowd for hockey, concerts, and family shows, seating about 8,000 for sporting events and up to roughly 10,000 for big concerts. You’ll appreciate the close sightlines and lively concourse, where the smell of buttered pretzels and hot pizza mixes with the buzz of pre-show chatter.
Highlights: One memorable ritual launches more than 200 free T-shirts into the audience via a compressed-air cannon during intermission, turning the crowd into a colorful scramble of cheers and fabric. Near the stage, bass so physical you can feel it in your ribs and strobe-light bursts paint the floor into streaks of red and blue, making the whole place feel like a street-level arena inside a giant speaker.
4. Kirby Park
Riverfront park with shady paths and seasonal live music, great for a relaxed outdoor escape. Stroll tree-lined trails, picnic on the lawn, and catch summer concerts at the bandshell.
Quick facts: A wide, tree-lined promenade frames an oval meadow that's a favorite for picnics and spontaneous kite launches. Neighbors pack blankets and bring frisbees on weekends, and the bandshell's music often turns casual afternoons into lively community gatherings.
Highlights: Step down to the riverbank and the steady rush of the Susquehanna writes a soundtrack for summer evenings under the open sky. Fragrant rose beds in full bloom release a heady perfume, blending with warm cut grass and the distant clatter of picnic dishes.
5. Luzerne County Courthouse
Grand Beaux-Arts courthouse with a striking clock tower worth seeing. Explore marble halls, ornate courtrooms, and photogenic staircases.
Quick facts: Step inside and your shoes will echo across marble floors beneath a soaring rotunda, while brass fixtures catch light in flashes as you move. A series of ornate courtrooms shows off hand-carved woodwork and original stained glass, details that often surprise visitors who expect a plain civic building.
Highlights: Stand beneath the central dome on a sunny afternoon and warm, honeyed light pours through colored glass, painting the floor in jewel-tones that shift with the hour. A longtime local tradition keeps a guest ledger in the clerk's office where visitors and jurors leave fountain-pen signatures and short notes, a tangible thread of names and ink spanning decades.
6. Stegmaier Brewery
Historic brewery with a welcoming taproom and local-brewed ales. Sample flights, meet the staff, and photograph the brick facade.
Quick facts: People who love industrial architecture point out the bold brickwork and tall arched windows, which give the complex a photo-ready, slightly cinematic profile. Courtyards sometimes carry a faint hop scent during events, while riveted ironwork and faded painted signage peek above heavy doors, hinting at the site's brewing past.
Highlights: Head down the narrow service stair and the air turns warm and malt-sweet, low bulbs picking out copper seams and the occasional hiss of old valves. A small cellar alcove preserves chalked batch numbers, including 7 and 21, alongside scrawled production notes that guides read aloud, creating an oddly intimate, sensory link to the people who once brewed there.
7. Public Square
Historic heart of Wilkes-Barre with monuments, a central fountain and frequent community events. Expect seasonal farmers markets, concerts and easy people-watching on the green.
Quick facts: Stately bronze memorials and a music pavilion punctuate a leafy civic green, where an old bandstand still rings with live concerts on summer nights. Crowds flock during weekend festivals, with food trucks and pop-up markets serving everything from maple-fried dough to sharp cheddar pierogies, drawing thousands of visitors in a single weekend.
Highlights: A cast-iron fountain at the center throws up a constant, tinkling veil of water that catches late-afternoon sunlight, turning paved paths into sparkling lanes. A quirky local tradition sees volunteers hang 150 hand-painted wooden stars on lamp posts each December, every star signed with a child's name so the square becomes a glittering, community-made canopy.
8. Hollenback Cemetery
Peaceful Victorian cemetery with ornate monuments and local history. Walk winding lanes to see 19th-century statuary, Civil War graves, and photogenic views.
Quick facts: Mossy marble markers and tall oaks give the grounds a quietly cinematic feel, while funerary art ranges from plain fieldstone to ornate Victorian angel carvings. You can find graves of Civil War veterans and families tied to the anthracite coal trade, and more than 30,000 interments appear in old plot maps and ledger entries.
Highlights: At dusk a weathered marble angel with a missing fingertip seems to watch over a shaded cluster of family plots, its long shadow turning the paths into a hush you can almost hear. Wander toward plot number 47 and you'll discover hand-inked burial dates, a tiny brass tag hammered into the soil, and a note in a leather-bound ledger that ties a single grave to a local name, making the past feel oddly immediate.
9. Market Street Bridge
River views and skyline panoramas make Market Street Bridge worth a short detour. Walk the span for riverfront photos, skyline silhouettes, and seasonal color.
Quick facts: A graceful steel span arches over the river, framing brick mill roofs and church steeples that catch late-afternoon light. Weekday traffic pushes into the low thousands and the pedestrian path hums with joggers, dog walkers, and commuters beneath old-fashioned amber lamps.
Highlights: Warm-toned lanterns, about 200 in number, are strung along the railing after dusk, turning the span into a soft ribbon of light reflected in the water. Couples and families often pause mid-span for photos against orange-pink skies, the thrumming traffic blending into a distant, rhythmic hum.
10. Wilkes University
Compact hilltop campus with river and city views, lively student life and public events. Wander tree-lined paths, snap skyline photos, and join free lectures or gallery shows.
Quick facts: A student body of roughly 2,500 keeps classes small and conversational, with many courses offering hands-on lab work and one-on-one mentorship. Campus life mixes competitive Division III sports with dozens of student clubs, so weekends can swing from a buzzing soccer match to a quiet study session in the library.
Highlights: Hundreds of students gather some evenings under about 120 warm string lights, the air rich with roasted coffee and acoustic music that turns the quad into an intimate outdoor living room. Alumni and students quietly slip handwritten notes into library books, adding dozens of messages each year that surprise late-night readers with advice, jokes, and names that span four decades.
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Traditional Sweet Dishes
Paczki
Polish jelly-filled doughnuts traditionally eaten on Fat Tuesday, local bakeries in Wilkes-Barre draw long lines and festive crowds every year.
Babka
A sweet braided yeast cake served at Easter and other holidays, babka reflects the strong Central and Eastern European baking traditions in the region.
Kolaczki
Small cream cheese-based cookies filled with fruit or jam, kolaczki are a staple at Polish bakeries and holiday trays across Wilkes-Barre.
Traditional Savory Dishes
Pierogi
Dumplings stuffed with potato, cheese, or meat, pierogi are a signature comfort food at local festivals and family gatherings.
Halupki (Stuffed Cabbage)
Cabbage leaves filled with seasoned meat and rice, slow-baked in tomato sauce, halupki are a beloved dish at church dinners and community events.
Haluski
Pan-fried cabbage and egg noodles, haluski is a humble, hearty coal-region classic enjoyed by generations of local families.
Traditional Beverages
Kompot
A non-alcoholic stewed fruit drink made from seasonal fruits, kompot is commonly served in Polish and Ukrainian households in the Wilkes-Barre area.
Birch Beer
A sweet, aromatic soda flavored from birch, birch beer is a regional Pennsylvania favorite found in local stores and diners.
Hard Cider
With orchards throughout northeastern Pennsylvania, hard apple cider has a long local tradition and seasonal varieties from area cideries are popular at harvest fairs.
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Most popular day trips
Scranton, PA
Historic downtown, Steamtown National Historic Site, museums.
Jim Thorpe, PA
Scenic Victorian town, hiking, Lehigh Gorge railroad rides.
Delaware Water Gap
Riverside trails, waterfalls, kayaking and scenic overlooks.
New York City, NY
Major museums, Broadway, dining, shopping and city sights.
Getting there
Airports
Train stations
Heritage and excursion trains; local bus connections
Amtrak Northeast Corridor; regional rail connections
Amtrak, NJ Transit; PATH access to New York City
From AVP take a taxi, rideshare, or rental car to downtown Wilkes-Barre; buses connect Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.
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Comments (5)
Farmers market on Saturdays at River Common has cheap ready meals and good coffee, go around 10am before lunchtime crowds and vendor sellouts.
Concert at the arena was fun, traffic was manageable and security quick. Grab pizza near Public Square, skip the chain spots by the casino.
Small city with a pleasant riverfront, friendly diners and a surprising bakery scene. Two days is enough unless you plan Pocono day trips.
Weather in June was humid and gray, downtown felt a bit sleepy at night. Nice if you want a low key weekend, not a party city.
Park in the municipal garage on Public Square, it is cheaper than meter spots along the river and within easy walking distance to restaurants.