When Charlie and his Grandpa Joe trotted through the magical world of chocolate in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version), they may as well have been in Hershey, Pa.
Quaint, like the fictional movie town—and just as sweet (minus the chocolate rivers)—some say Hershey, a town of just over 12,000 residents, is as charming as the film adaptation.
“They call Hershey the sweetest place on Earth because it is,” says Sue Campbell, radio co-host of the Hershey-area WINK 104’s WINK Wakeup Show for the past 19 years.
Yet Hershey hasn’t always been so sweet.
Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the town of Hershey was no more than a field and its residents were no more than local wildlife. All of that changed when an entrepreneur named Milton Hershey took an interest in making chocolate and decided to build a chocolate factory. In an effort to give his workers a comfortable place to live, he created the town of Hershey around the factory, and so grew a lively destination with restaurants, shops and even a theater.
Since then, Hershey’s has become one of the most recognized chocolate brands in the world, and the so-called apple of the company’s eye—the Hershey Kiss—celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007.
Today thousands of travelers visit the town each year in the name of chocolate, but what many don’t realize is that the community has quite a bit more to offer than a mocha sugar rush.
The city is home to Hershey Park (also celebrating its centennial), an amusement park with rides for children, theaters, dining outlets, and several areas for group gatherings. Next door, children of all ages are welcome to visit Zoo America, showcasing a variety of animals from around the country.
In addition, the city offers several well-appointed accommodation offerings, as well as outside adventure options ranging from hiking to fly-fishing and horseback riding, and even a trolley tour through the center of downtown.
“It is just a really fun place to be,” Campbell says. “There are so many things to do for young families and young people. It has a mass appeal.”
Some of its appeal comes from draws such as the Hershey Theatre, which regularly brings in touring Broadway performances; the magnificent Hershey Gardens, open year-round with more than 7,000 fragrant roses; and The Outlets at Hershey, with 60 stores to occupy deal-minded shoppers.
One of Campbell’s favorite stops is Chocolate World, where visitors “can go in and see how chocolate is made,” she says. “They also have a 3-D movie in there.”
Hershey’s convenient location makes visiting the destination a breeze, especially to those coming from the Eastern Seaboard.
“Hershey is so centrally located to other areas,” Campbell says. “It is only two hours or less from downtown Philly, one and a half hours to Baltimore, three and a half hours to Pittsburgh, three and a half hours to New York, and about four hours to the beaches. There are so many things right here and you are not far away from even more.”
Even though Hershey caters especially to families, the destination also has its fair share of high-end offerings.
The community is home to several impressive golf courses, and Hotel Hershey and Hershey Lodge are two of the locale’s high-end properties. But for a truly different feel, visitors can drive just a few miles away for a peek into the Indian Echo Caverns to learn about stalactites and stalagmites.
