July 5, 2023 • 9 mins
On this week's episode of Where To Next, we visit Cumberland Valley to chat with Kristen Rowe, Director of Destination Marketing about all of the wonderful attractions the valley has to offer! Cumberland Valley is an outdoorsmen's paradise with a slew of outdoor activities available like hiking the Appalachian Trail and access to three of the world's most popular fly fishing destinations! Check out the Cumberland Valley Beer Trail and/or Ice Cream Trail for the kiddos, plus Kristen gives me her personal picks for what to do when checking out Cumberland Valley!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Good morning and welcome back to Whereto Next. Today we are taking a
trip to Cumberland Valley chatting with KristenRow, director of destination Marketing for Cumberland
Valley. Kristen, welcome, Thanksso much for making some time for us
today. Yeah, thank you somuch for having me. We're so excited
to talk all about Cumberland Valley.Visit Cumberland Valley dot com is where you
want to go. All the infothat you need to start planning your trip
(00:20):
is there for you. But Kristen, let's jump on in. Let's talk
about Cumberland Valley. Yeah. So, we are located in south central Pennsylvania.
We are a short drive from Baltimore, Mayland, about an hour and
a half. We're also easily accessiblefrom other big cities from about two hours
from DC, about an hour anda half from Philadelphia. We're really close
to the capitol of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. We're a great collection of towns.
(00:44):
We have a lot of outdoor recreation, so we're just a really great getaway
option from people looking to get outof the hustle and bustle of cities and
kind of check out a great downtownexperience with some outdoor recreation. Yeah,
there's nothing better than just getting awayfrom the hustland bustle of the city.
I for one can totally identify withthat. And I know that you just
rattled off quite a few different thingsyou have going on in Carmerland Valley,
but especially so much to do ifyou are an outdoor lever. So tell
(01:07):
us all about all those outdoor experiencesthat visitors can check out. Yeah.
Absolutely, we are definitely known forour outdoors. We have free state parks
in our county. But I'd saythe thing we're most known for is our
Appalachian Trail access. So the AppalachianTrail is like two thousand miles long,
but we are actually located at themidway point. We have forty six miles
of the trail in our county andit's the longest, flattest section of the
(01:32):
Appalachian Trail. So if you're notI know, I know, right,
So, if you're not a bighiker but you want to stay, you
just some of the Appalachian Trail,We're definitely the place to come. Yeah,
and you want to feel outdoorsy,but you don't actually want to break
a sweater cleft to climate hill andthis is perfect exactly. So it's great
for people that are just getting intooutdoor recreation. It's also great for families
(01:53):
because we have a lot of parkingand easy access points to the Appalachian Trail
and other hiking options, so reallyeasily accessible. We also are home to
the only museum dedicated to hiking inthe country, the Afflating Trail Museum.
Yeah, that's located in one ofour state parks, Pengro Furnace State Park.
So really well rounded with other amenitiesyou can do instead of just kind
(02:15):
of getting out there and hiking,we also have some other fun attractions you
can do that are focused around patorecreation. We're also really known for fly
fishing. We have three of theworld's most popular flyfishing destinations in our area,
so kind of if you know,you know, and if you don't,
we have some guys that can takeyou out and kind of get you
into that sport if you're interested inlearning more about it. But we have
(02:37):
Latorte Spring Run, the Yellow BreachesCreek, and Big Spring Creek Greenway.
They're really just known in the flyfishing world as being some of the best
places you can go. Yeah,if you know, you know, and
if you don't, now you dofor sure exactly. Kristen and Round,
director of Destination Marketing for Cumberland Valley. Visit Cumberland Valley dot com is where
you want to go online of coursefor all the information that you're going to
(02:59):
need to start planning your trip today. Talking about all of the fun outdoor
activities you can get into and checkout when you're visiting Cumberland Valley. But
there's something called the Carmeland Valley BeerTrail and an ice cream trail, and
all I really want to do whenI'm on vacation is eat and drink,
So please tell me more about theseabsolutely, So yeah, if you are
into the outdoors and need a break, or if you just want to skip
(03:20):
outdoor recreation altogether, we do definitelyhave some options for our foodies. So
our Carmelin Valley Beer Trail is availableall year long. We have thirty three
locations participating this year. It's acollection of breweries, we have a couple
of spideries. There's a distillery anda winery on the trail this year,
and they're located all throughout our countyand you can go visit them a couple
at a time. You can comeback and do more. But it's a
(03:42):
mobile passport. You just check intolocations on your phone and along the way
you can earn prizes and redeem thepoints from checking in. It's just a
great way to kind of check outsome local spots and then if you're not
into beer, we also have ourice cream Trail a little bit more families
friendly. There's nineteen locations located onthat one, and that is a more
seasonal trail, so that one's notavailable throughout the year, but it runs
(04:03):
for Memorial Day through Labor Day,so it's obviously a little bit more of
a ring summer trail. I lovethat you guys are rewarding me for eating
and drinking. I mean you've kindof figured out, right, I know,
right, Yeah, we have somegreat, great prizes and I have
to mention our beer trail this yearis fun. It's a nineties theme.
So if you check on visit CumlanValley dot com and go to our beer
(04:25):
trail, we have a nineties playlistyou can listen to as you're checking out
the location. This year just ampedit up as a nineties kid. I
think I know where I need tobook my next trip. I was gonna
say that was a big part ofplanning this year is everybody had to submit
their suggestions that it's hard to cutit down. Well, there has been
such a push. I don't knowwhat it is for the nineties, I
feel like within recent years. Soyou guys kind of hit the nail on
(04:46):
the head with that one. Sure, I know, right. One of
the most unique things I think Isaw when I was checking out your website
visit Cumberland Valley dot com was theCarlisle Events our shows. Now, I'm
actually a car girl. I loveold cars and I love car shows.
So can you tell us about that? Absolutely? Yeah, So car shows,
I've been happening it in Carlisle fora long time. Carlile Events who
puts on the car shows. They'vebeen in business, I believe it's been
(05:09):
ninth since nineteen seventy four. Theydo eight car shows in Carlisle from spring
to fall, and then they havetwo big car auctions that kind of kick
off and end the season. Ifthere's Spring Carlisle event, the Fall Carlisle
event, and then the other showsare a little bit more specialty focused.
They include import and performance Bard GMChrysler truck in Corvette, and I'll have
(05:30):
to plug the big one coming up, which is the Corvette Show, which
includes a big parade on August twentysix in downtown Carlisle. There's over five
hundred corvettes that kind of roll throughdowntown and then there's a big street festival
where you can kind of go checkout all the businesses but also see all
the really cool corvette parts throughout thetown. What a fun summer event,
now, Christen, what other funfestivals and events? Big things coming up
(05:53):
that people could plan a trip around. So I would say, really,
anytime you come during the summer,you're always going to find a farmer's market
to go to. In our county, there's usually one happening every day in
one of our towns. We alsohave some music events coming up this summer.
There's some Music on the Mountain ConcertSeries at one of our state parks
that's at King's Gap. They happenthe first Sunday of each month. So
we have some coming up in July, August. In September, there's a
(06:15):
big blue Grass on the Grass festivalat Dickinson College that's located in Carlisle.
That's happening on July eighth, andthen we have talking back about fly fishing.
The Carmerlan Valley fly Fishing and OutdoorFestival will be happening at alan Berry
Resort. That's happening in the beginningof August ifin sixth that's presented by TCO
fly Shop, but it's also beingpresented by one of our breweries. They'll
(06:36):
be live music and you're being handedout. They're also going to be doing
some fly time demos and casting clinics, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will be
there giving guided hips. But Ialso need to plug that fall is really
a great time to visit us fourevents. We have a lot of upick
farms and a lot of art festivalsand pumpkin festivals going on in the fall,
(06:57):
so it falls a great time tovisit us as well. For event
Love Fall. Kristen raw, directorof Destination Marketing, I'm with you this
morning talking about visit Cumberland Valley.Of course, visit Cumberland Valley dot com
is where you want to go.And Kristen, as the director of Destination
Marketing, I've got to ask youon a personal level, give me your
top three things. If someone's anewbie, they've never been to Cumberland Valley
before, what are the top threethings that people need to check out or
(07:19):
experience when they're visiting. Yeah,this is really hard for me to pick
this three three, I know,but I picked my number one is the
place that I always pick people whenthey come visit me, and that is
the West Shore Farmer's Market. It'slocated in Lemoine. It's an indoor farmer's
market. It's open all year round. It's about sixty thousand square feet.
They have over fifties vendors. It'stwo floors, so the bottom floor is
(07:42):
all food vendors. You can getany specialty food you're thinking of, fresh
produce, it's amazing. And thenthe second floor is all specialty shops,
boutique shop. It's just a greatshopping experience. You're always going to leave
with wonderful food. I always thinkI'm going to leave with produce, fresh
produce, and I always leave withdonuts. Yah. Yeah, it's amazing.
(08:03):
It's amazing though. And then Iwould say my second recommendation would be
Wagner's Gap Hawk Watch if you're intoan outdoor experience. It's a very short
hike and I think it's about pointtwo five miles and it's a pretty easy
hike. But then at the topthere's a big rock outcrop and a beautiful
view of our whole county and ithas one of the largest concentrations of raptors
(08:26):
in the entire country. And inthe fall, between fifteen thousand and twenty
thousand raptors fly over, so there'sa lot of people up there bird watching
in the fall, counting them.But it's just a really unique cool spot.
And again it's not a very difficulthike. While there's rocks at the
top, it's a very easily accessiblespot. And then find a recommendation because
(08:46):
I have small children, is theArmy Heritage Trail at the US Army Heritage
and Education Center. I would recommendthat entire center. It's free, but
the Army Heritage Trail in particular isa one mile flat trail around the center
and they of big military exhibits thatthe kids can check out. How interactive.
It's just educational and fun and somethingto do outdoors. Very cool.
(09:07):
Kristen raw, director of Destination Marketing, talking all about Cumberland Valley with me
this morning. Visit Cumberland Valley dotcom for all the information, to learn
more and to start planning your triptoday. Kristen, I want to thank
you so much for jumping on todayand giving us a little inside scoop on
Cumberland Valley. Yeah. Thank youso much
Good morning and welcome back to Whereto Next. Today we are taking a
trip to Cumberland Valley chatting with KristenRow, director of destination Marketing for Cumberland
Valley. Kristen, welcome, Thanksso much for making some time for us
today. Yeah, thank you somuch for having me. We're so excited
to talk all about Cumberland Valley.Visit Cumberland Valley dot com is where you
want to go. All the infothat you need to start planning your trip
(00:20):
is there for you. But Kristen, let's jump on in. Let's talk
about Cumberland Valley. Yeah. So, we are located in south central Pennsylvania.
We are a short drive from Baltimore, Mayland, about an hour and
a half. We're also easily accessiblefrom other big cities from about two hours
from DC, about an hour anda half from Philadelphia. We're really close
to the capitol of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. We're a great collection of towns.
(00:44):
We have a lot of outdoor recreation, so we're just a really great getaway
option from people looking to get outof the hustle and bustle of cities and
kind of check out a great downtownexperience with some outdoor recreation. Yeah,
there's nothing better than just getting awayfrom the hustland bustle of the city.
I for one can totally identify withthat. And I know that you just
rattled off quite a few different thingsyou have going on in Carmerland Valley,
but especially so much to do ifyou are an outdoor lever. So tell
(01:07):
us all about all those outdoor experiencesthat visitors can check out. Yeah.
Absolutely, we are definitely known forour outdoors. We have free state parks
in our county. But I'd saythe thing we're most known for is our
Appalachian Trail access. So the AppalachianTrail is like two thousand miles long,
but we are actually located at themidway point. We have forty six miles
of the trail in our county andit's the longest, flattest section of the
(01:32):
Appalachian Trail. So if you're notI know, I know, right,
So, if you're not a bighiker but you want to stay, you
just some of the Appalachian Trail,We're definitely the place to come. Yeah,
and you want to feel outdoorsy,but you don't actually want to break
a sweater cleft to climate hill andthis is perfect exactly. So it's great
for people that are just getting intooutdoor recreation. It's also great for families
(01:53):
because we have a lot of parkingand easy access points to the Appalachian Trail
and other hiking options, so reallyeasily accessible. We also are home to
the only museum dedicated to hiking inthe country, the Afflating Trail Museum.
Yeah, that's located in one ofour state parks, Pengro Furnace State Park.
So really well rounded with other amenitiesyou can do instead of just kind
(02:15):
of getting out there and hiking,we also have some other fun attractions you
can do that are focused around patorecreation. We're also really known for fly
fishing. We have three of theworld's most popular flyfishing destinations in our area,
so kind of if you know,you know, and if you don't,
we have some guys that can takeyou out and kind of get you
into that sport if you're interested inlearning more about it. But we have
(02:37):
Latorte Spring Run, the Yellow BreachesCreek, and Big Spring Creek Greenway.
They're really just known in the flyfishing world as being some of the best
places you can go. Yeah,if you know, you know, and
if you don't, now you dofor sure exactly. Kristen and Round,
director of Destination Marketing for Cumberland Valley. Visit Cumberland Valley dot com is where
you want to go online of coursefor all the information that you're going to
(02:59):
need to start planning your trip today. Talking about all of the fun outdoor
activities you can get into and checkout when you're visiting Cumberland Valley. But
there's something called the Carmeland Valley BeerTrail and an ice cream trail, and
all I really want to do whenI'm on vacation is eat and drink,
So please tell me more about theseabsolutely, So yeah, if you are
into the outdoors and need a break, or if you just want to skip
(03:20):
outdoor recreation altogether, we do definitelyhave some options for our foodies. So
our Carmelin Valley Beer Trail is availableall year long. We have thirty three
locations participating this year. It's acollection of breweries, we have a couple
of spideries. There's a distillery anda winery on the trail this year,
and they're located all throughout our countyand you can go visit them a couple
at a time. You can comeback and do more. But it's a
(03:42):
mobile passport. You just check intolocations on your phone and along the way
you can earn prizes and redeem thepoints from checking in. It's just a
great way to kind of check outsome local spots and then if you're not
into beer, we also have ourice cream Trail a little bit more families
friendly. There's nineteen locations located onthat one, and that is a more
seasonal trail, so that one's notavailable throughout the year, but it runs
(04:03):
for Memorial Day through Labor Day,so it's obviously a little bit more of
a ring summer trail. I lovethat you guys are rewarding me for eating
and drinking. I mean you've kindof figured out, right, I know,
right, Yeah, we have somegreat, great prizes and I have
to mention our beer trail this yearis fun. It's a nineties theme.
So if you check on visit CumlanValley dot com and go to our beer
(04:25):
trail, we have a nineties playlistyou can listen to as you're checking out
the location. This year just ampedit up as a nineties kid. I
think I know where I need tobook my next trip. I was gonna
say that was a big part ofplanning this year is everybody had to submit
their suggestions that it's hard to cutit down. Well, there has been
such a push. I don't knowwhat it is for the nineties, I
feel like within recent years. Soyou guys kind of hit the nail on
(04:46):
the head with that one. Sure, I know, right. One of
the most unique things I think Isaw when I was checking out your website
visit Cumberland Valley dot com was theCarlisle Events our shows. Now, I'm
actually a car girl. I loveold cars and I love car shows.
So can you tell us about that? Absolutely? Yeah, So car shows,
I've been happening it in Carlisle fora long time. Carlile Events who
puts on the car shows. They'vebeen in business, I believe it's been
(05:09):
ninth since nineteen seventy four. Theydo eight car shows in Carlisle from spring
to fall, and then they havetwo big car auctions that kind of kick
off and end the season. Ifthere's Spring Carlisle event, the Fall Carlisle
event, and then the other showsare a little bit more specialty focused.
They include import and performance Bard GMChrysler truck in Corvette, and I'll have
(05:30):
to plug the big one coming up, which is the Corvette Show, which
includes a big parade on August twentysix in downtown Carlisle. There's over five
hundred corvettes that kind of roll throughdowntown and then there's a big street festival
where you can kind of go checkout all the businesses but also see all
the really cool corvette parts throughout thetown. What a fun summer event,
now, Christen, what other funfestivals and events? Big things coming up
(05:53):
that people could plan a trip around. So I would say, really,
anytime you come during the summer,you're always going to find a farmer's market
to go to. In our county, there's usually one happening every day in
one of our towns. We alsohave some music events coming up this summer.
There's some Music on the Mountain ConcertSeries at one of our state parks
that's at King's Gap. They happenthe first Sunday of each month. So
we have some coming up in July, August. In September, there's a
(06:15):
big blue Grass on the Grass festivalat Dickinson College that's located in Carlisle.
That's happening on July eighth, andthen we have talking back about fly fishing.
The Carmerlan Valley fly Fishing and OutdoorFestival will be happening at alan Berry
Resort. That's happening in the beginningof August ifin sixth that's presented by TCO
fly Shop, but it's also beingpresented by one of our breweries. They'll
(06:36):
be live music and you're being handedout. They're also going to be doing
some fly time demos and casting clinics, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will be
there giving guided hips. But Ialso need to plug that fall is really
a great time to visit us fourevents. We have a lot of upick
farms and a lot of art festivalsand pumpkin festivals going on in the fall,
(06:57):
so it falls a great time tovisit us as well. For event
Love Fall. Kristen raw, directorof Destination Marketing, I'm with you this
morning talking about visit Cumberland Valley.Of course, visit Cumberland Valley dot com
is where you want to go.And Kristen, as the director of Destination
Marketing, I've got to ask youon a personal level, give me your
top three things. If someone's anewbie, they've never been to Cumberland Valley
before, what are the top threethings that people need to check out or
(07:19):
experience when they're visiting. Yeah,this is really hard for me to pick
this three three, I know,but I picked my number one is the
place that I always pick people whenthey come visit me, and that is
the West Shore Farmer's Market. It'slocated in Lemoine. It's an indoor farmer's
market. It's open all year round. It's about sixty thousand square feet.
They have over fifties vendors. It'stwo floors, so the bottom floor is
(07:42):
all food vendors. You can getany specialty food you're thinking of, fresh
produce, it's amazing. And thenthe second floor is all specialty shops,
boutique shop. It's just a greatshopping experience. You're always going to leave
with wonderful food. I always thinkI'm going to leave with produce, fresh
produce, and I always leave withdonuts. Yah. Yeah, it's amazing.
(08:03):
It's amazing though. And then Iwould say my second recommendation would be
Wagner's Gap Hawk Watch if you're intoan outdoor experience. It's a very short
hike and I think it's about pointtwo five miles and it's a pretty easy
hike. But then at the topthere's a big rock outcrop and a beautiful
view of our whole county and ithas one of the largest concentrations of raptors
(08:26):
in the entire country. And inthe fall, between fifteen thousand and twenty
thousand raptors fly over, so there'sa lot of people up there bird watching
in the fall, counting them.But it's just a really unique cool spot.
And again it's not a very difficulthike. While there's rocks at the
top, it's a very easily accessiblespot. And then find a recommendation because
(08:46):
I have small children, is theArmy Heritage Trail at the US Army Heritage
and Education Center. I would recommendthat entire center. It's free, but
the Army Heritage Trail in particular isa one mile flat trail around the center
and they of big military exhibits thatthe kids can check out. How interactive.
It's just educational and fun and somethingto do outdoors. Very cool.
(09:07):
Kristen raw, director of Destination Marketing, talking all about Cumberland Valley with me
this morning. Visit Cumberland Valley dotcom for all the information, to learn
more and to start planning your triptoday. Kristen, I want to thank
you so much for jumping on todayand giving us a little inside scoop on
Cumberland Valley. Yeah. Thank youso much
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