In the middle of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania lies a beautifully hilly, forested area known, somewhat mysteriously, as the Happy Valley—and more formally as the municipality of State College.
Roughly centered within a triangle whose corners are Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Buffalo, State College punches way above its weight as a destination thanks to the presence of the flagship Pennsylvania State University campus, which nearly everyone just calls Penn State.
Even a brief glance at Penn State’s website shows the school’s researchers and faculty hard at work developing health-monitoring devices, researching precisely how malaria works, and further decoding the human genome—when they’re not busy flying in space, establishing teaching partnerships with law schools in Dubai, or sharing a climate change-related Nobel Prize with former Vice President Al Gore. (Don’t worry, the school awards degrees, too.)
Some Penn State developments are less obvious but no less significant. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, took Agriculture 5150, a correspondence course in ice-cream making, from Penn State in 1978; shortly thereafter, they opened their first store in Burlington, Vermont. No one here wonders that the two Vermonters chose Penn State for their education: Its Berkey Creamery is the largest university creamery in the U.S., with half its milk coming from the school’s own 225-strong dairy herd. (The creamery’s retail shop is notorious for never letting customers mix flavors, with the single exception being then-President Bill Clinton—but when Clinton visited again after leaving office, the staff limited him to a single flavor.)
Penn State made unwelcome headlines in 2011–2012 because of the scandal involving a former Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky, and longtime head coach Joe Paterno. This period was punctuated by Paterno’s death in January 2012, triggering a period of mourning for a Nittany Lions leader who had been one of college football’s most inspiring and celebrated coaches.
Asked whether the Sandusky affair had affected area meetings business, Betsey Howell, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania CVB, says it had not—and that people aren’t judging State College based on what happened.
“What people need to remember is that what happened—as tragic as that was—has nothing to do with this community,” she says. “We’re continuing to promote the area as we always have, and we are still enjoying the success of our efforts.”
Indeed, Howell notes, State College is as popular as ever on football weekends; in addition to Beaver Stadium’s 106,000 ticketed spectators, many unticketed visitors come to spend game weekends here as well, just for the camaraderie of being among fellow fans, students and alumni. PageBreak
Howell does note that State College’s meetings mix has changed slightly since the 2008-2009 recession, however.
“The government side of things has slowed down a little bit, so we’re targeting SMERF, as well as any group that we feel we can accommodate and provide a positive experience for,” she says.
Asked which groups State College would most like to attract in the future, Howell says that’s a tough call.
“A lot of associations have merged so that’s changed as far as how many meetings there are,” she says. “Probably, we’d like to see more association and SMERF groups.”
The Central Pennsylvania CVB continues to promote State College and its surroundings through its “Tour, Roar, Explore and More” tagline, which neatly encapsulates this area’s mix of cultural, outdoors and sports possibilities—although it also has a promotional program for meeting planners who bring an event to the State College area for the first time, Howell says.
Although State College has just 42,000 residents, it anchors and is the cultural center for a region of over 100,000 that is packed with hotels and conference venues, as befits a school that’s a major research university. State College’s bustling downtown reflects the overwhelming demographic dominance of Penn State’s roughly 44,000 undergraduate and graduate students, but their numbers and diversity also guarantee a wide range of eating and entertainment options.
Part of the State College area’s attraction, in fact, lies in a wide range of excellent dining options, with locations ranging from downtown to mountaintop.
In State College proper, Zola New World Bistro has earned a Zagat Guide rating thanks to its focus on local, regional and organic ingredients (plus an excellent wine list), while the Allen Street Grill offers traditional and contemporary American cuisine and specializes in banquets, plus they throw in free balloons and confetti for parties.
The Gamble Mill Restaurant & Microbrewery in Bellefonte serves an American menu and craft beers and is available for receptions and other events. Kelly’s Steak and Seafood in Boalsburg offers both surf and turf about four miles outside State College and has private dining rooms for up to 50. Duffy’s Tavern, also in Boalsburg, strives to preserve and recreate the feel of a 19th century tavern, which is easy because it’s in the historic Boalsburg Tavern building that dates to 1819. Duffy’s offers a selection of steak and seafood and has meeting rooms as well.
About 25 minutes out of State College in Philipsburg is Philips Hotel, a historic grand hotel with an accompanying 1921 Restaurant featuring steaks and seafood in an elegant setting. 1921 has also reopened its rooftop dining area so that groups can eat and drink beneath the stars, or they can take advantage of the Philips’ wood-floored Grand Ballroom for larger events.
Finally, the Mount Nittany Inn in Centre Hall both promises and delivers on its motto, “Above it all!” Located atop Centre Mountain about 15 minutes from downtown State College, the inn offers spectacular views of the State College area while serving lunch and dinner, and its wine list is heavy with vintages from similarly mountainous regions in Chile, Italy, France, New Zealand and Germany.
The area also hosts several wineries, including Mt. Nittany Vineyard & Winery in Centre Hall, Brookmere Winery & Vineyard Inn in Belleville and Seven Mountains Wine Cellars in Spring Mills, all of which are easy drives from State College proper. PageBreak
The State College area is known for other things besides football, of course. The American Philatelic Society, the alpha organization for the U.S.’s roughly 5 million stamp collectors, is headquartered in nearby Bellefonte, a town that’s also well-known for its collection of Victorian-era homes and art museums, including the Bellefonte Art Museum for Centre County.
Visitors can also venture beneath the Happy Valley to tour either of two commercial caves. Lincoln Caverns invites visitors to walk through winding passageways full of stalactites and crystals, while Penn’s Cave & Wildlife Park offers a one-hour motorboat tour of a flooded underground cavern, as well as tours of an above-ground, 1,500-acre wildlife park. There are also recreational possibilities at Tussey Mountain All Seasons in Boalsburg, which features skiing in the winter and, during the less-snowy months, hosts activities ranging from go-karting, fishing, golf and miniature golf to skateboarding at a custom-built skate park.
Other cultural attractions include State College’s in-season Friday farmer’s market, the Penn State campus’ beautiful arboretum, and various historic sites that commemorate Central Pennsylvania’s mining, timbering and industrial past. History buffs will enjoy touring sites such as the Bellefonte Historical Railroad, which runs Fall Foliage Train Rides; the Mifflinburg Buggy Museum, which includes both horse-drawn buggies and a 19th century carriage factory; Fort Roberdeau, which was built during the Revolutionary War to protect the lead mines crucial to the Continental Army’s supply of ammunition; and the Piper Aviation Museum in Lock Haven, which celebrates airplanes produced by one of America’s most famous and long-lived manufacturers.
Additional cultural facilities here include the Palmer Art Museum in State College, with 11 galleries and a 50-seat auditorium, and the Millbrook Playhouse in nearby Mill Hall, which hosts summer-stock theater in a large converted barn.
Meetings-friendly properties include the Atherton Hotel, Best Western University Park Inn & Suites, Country Inn & Suites, Nittany Lion Inn, Penn Stater Conference Hotel, Quality Inn and Ramada Conference Center, as well as several smaller chain properties that also feature meeting space. While the two largest properties here combine to total about 300 rooms, city-wide gatherings can easily be much larger, says the Central Pennsylvania CVB’s Howell.
State College is easily accessible by nearby highways such as I-80 and I-99, while Dragon Deluxe, Greyhound and Megabus offer service to cities such as New York and Philadelphia. University Park Airport has air connections to hubs including Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington/Dulles through Delta, United and US Airways.
Paul D. Kretkowski writes frequently about travel, food and sports. He is also the founder of Beacon, a blog about foreign policy.
