Harrisburg has a paddlewheel riverboat, a baseball stadium on an island, and a historic market that once served Civil War soldiers. And you can experience all three without going anywhere near the State Capitol.
City Island offers miniature golf, baseball, and family attractions along the Susquehanna River. Nearby, a former movie theater houses a bookstore with thousands of titles, while a restored 1899 firehouse displays vintage firefighting equipment.
There’s also a free wetlands park with miles of trails, an art museum inside a former bank, and a historic mansion with unusual architectural details.
These 13 Harrisburg attractions offer plenty of reasons to spend a weekend exploring Pennsylvania’s capital beyond its most famous landmark.
1. City Island, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Sixty-three acres of fun float right in the middle of the Susquehanna River. A pedestrian bridge connects the island to downtown, so you can walk over in minutes.
Baseball fans head to FNB Field, home of the Harrisburg Senators. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, and the park seats 6,187 people.
Not a sports person? Water Golf offers 18 holes of mini golf with water hazards and sloping greens.
Kids also love the antique carousel and the miniature City Island Railroad, which loops around the island.
Sand volleyball courts, an outdoor fitness area, picnic pavilions, and a playground fill out the rest of the space. Walking and biking trails let you circle the shoreline at your own pace.
Getting onto the island costs nothing. Each attraction charges its own fee and keeps seasonal hours, so check schedules before you go, especially in spring and fall.
2. Broad Street Market, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Union soldiers at nearby Camp Curtin once got their food from this very market. Broad Street Market dates back to 1863, making it one of the oldest continuously operating market houses in the country.
Two buildings make up the site. The Stone Market house came first, and the Brick Market house followed in the 1870s.
A fire in July 2023 heavily damaged the Brick Building after a ceiling fan malfunctioned. The Stone Building was not affected, and a temporary tent at Third and Verbeke Streets now hosts eight vendors.
The city plans to reopen the rebuilt Brick Building in summer 2027 after a project costing over $23 million. Until then, there is still plenty to taste.
Vendors sell produce, meats, baked goods, and meals from Pennsylvania Dutch, Indian, Jamaican, Greek, Puerto Rican, and Mexican kitchens. Visit Thursday or Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., or Saturday until 4 p.m.
3. The National Civil War Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Around 850 artifacts tell the story of a nation split in two at this hilltop museum. It sits at 1 Lincoln Circle inside Reservoir Park and opened to the public in 2001.
The museum covers the years from 1850 to 1876, with the main focus on 1861 to 1865. Both Union and Confederate viewpoints get attention, along with stories from everyday civilians.
Tours are self-guided through 25,000 square feet of exhibit space. You will find dioramas, audio and video displays, uniforms, letters, and photographs.
Some galleries stand out. “A House Divided” explains how the conflict began, while “Women at War” was recently expanded to show the many roles women played.
Plan for at least two hours to see everything without rushing. Students working on history projects will find plenty of useful material here.
The building also serves as the national headquarters for the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
4. Wildwood Park, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Back in 1901, this land had a far less charming name: Wetzel’s Swamp. The city turned it into a park, and a dam built in 1908 created the 90-acre lake you see today.
The park now covers 229 acres beside the main campus of HACC. More than 6 miles of trails wind through it, including a mile-long boardwalk over the wetlands.
Bird lovers, bring binoculars. The National Audubon Society lists Wildwood as an Important Bird Area, and great egrets and great blue herons are common sights.
The Benjamin Olewine III Nature Center offers exhibits about the park and the Susquehanna Valley. It makes a smart first stop before you hit the trails.
Paths range from paved routes to natural dirt trails, so walkers, runners, and bikers all have options. In winter, some visitors even bring cross-country skis.
Wildwood also connects to the 20-mile Capital Area Greenbelt.
5. Fort Hunter Mansion and Park, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
From this bluff, you can see the longest stone arch railroad bridge in the world. The Rockville Bridge stretches across the Susquehanna right below the 40-acre Fort Hunter estate.
History here goes back to 1725, when the site began as Hunter’s Mill. Later, it served as a frontier fort during the French and Indian War.
The stone mansion was built in three parts. A small stone cabin came first in 1786, the grand front section followed in 1814, and a wooden rear section was added in 1870.
Guided tours run about 45 minutes and show off period furniture and an elliptical staircase. Tours happen Tuesday through Sunday from May 1 to December 23.
Save time to explore the grounds too. The 1876 Centennial Barn, the c. 1800 Tavern House, and the Everhart Covered Bridge all sit on the property.
Bring a picnic, since the lawns are open for relaxing.
6. Riverfront Park, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Picture roughly five miles of green space hugging the river, and you have Riverfront Park. It runs along Front Street from Vaughn Street down to the John Harris Bridge.
This stretch was once a jumble of docks and old buildings. The City Beautiful Movement of the early 1900s cleared the clutter and planted parkland instead.
A concrete esplanade lets you walk right beside the water. Views reach across to City Island, Wormleysburg, and the Blue Mountains.
Keep an eye out for statues, memorials, and public art along the paths. The Sunken Gardens are a highlight, built partly from the foundations of buildings that once stood there.
Bike lanes and paved trails make this a favorite spot for joggers and cyclists. The park is also part of the Capital Area Greenbelt.
Big events land here every year, including Kipona, ArtsFest, and the Independence Day celebration. Expect crowds, so arrive early for parking.
7. The Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Movies used to play inside the building that now holds over 200,000 books. The Midtown Scholar took over a 1920s theater that later became a department store.
In 2023, Publishers Weekly named it Bookstore of the Year. That is a big honor for an independent shop in Pennsylvania’s capital.
The store spreads across two connected buildings with several levels and cozy alcoves. An iron staircase leads to an upper gallery full of reading spots.
Young readers get their own wing, called The Little Scholar. Collectors can browse the rare books room, and local artists show work on the Yellow Wall gallery.
Hungry while hunting for a novel? The café serves single-origin coffee and loose-leaf teas, and Just Baked Cakes and Pies handles breakfast and lunch.
Check the events calendar before visiting. Author talks, poetry readings, book clubs, and acoustic music happen every week, and many are free.
8. Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Art hangs inside an old bank vault at this museum, and yes, you are allowed in. The Susquehanna Art Museum moved into the 1916 Keystone Trust Bank building in 2015.
Founded by local art teachers in 1989, SAM spent over twenty years in temporary spaces. Its permanent home at 1401 North Third Street now covers 20,000 square feet.
Look up when you enter. The neoclassical ceilings rise 27 feet and are trimmed in gold leaf.
SAM does not keep a permanent collection. Instead, it shows more than a dozen borrowed and traveling exhibitions each year, so repeat visits always bring something new.
Families can sign kids up for drawing, painting, and sculpture classes. The VanGo Museum on Wheels also brings original art to schools within 100 miles.
Money-saving tip: come during Third in the Burg each month. The museum stays open later and admission is free.
9. Pennsylvania National Fire Museum, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Go ahead and pull the alarm here. At this museum, the working Johnstown Gamewell Alarm System from the early 1920s lets visitors set off real alarm tones.
The museum sits at 1820 N. 4th Street in a restored 1899 firehouse. Reily Hose Fire Co.
No. 10 once worked from this building.
Opened in 1995, it was ranked among the top five fire museums in the nation within ten years. Exhibits trace firefighting from colonial days to modern times.
You will see hand-drawn equipment, hand tubs, steam engines, and motorized trucks from 1911 to 1947. Two original Harrisburg rigs, a 1947 Mack Engine 16 and a 1935 Mack Ladder 2, are local favorites.
Small details matter too. The collection includes parade hats, badges, lanterns, and almost 3,000 patches from fire companies across the country.
Young kids who love trucks will happily spend an hour here.
10. Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Rainy day plans just got easier. The Whitaker Center at 222 Market Street packs three venues into one 130,000-square-foot building.
Start at the UPMC Science Center, which holds over 240 hands-on exhibits across two floors. Topics include physics, nature, health, math, and technology.
Families with little ones should find KidsPlace, made for children up to age 6. Older kids tend to enjoy Carnival of Health and Backstage Studio, which explains the science behind show business.
Next door, the Select Medical Digital Cinema shows films on a screen four stories tall. Most features are educational documentaries, though Hollywood movies appear sometimes.
The Sunoco Performance Theater rounds out the complex with 698 seats. Concerts, comedy acts, and dance troupes from around the world perform there.
Opened in 1999, the center was designed by architect Hugh Hardy. Buy combo tickets if you plan to see more than one venue.
11. Italian Lake, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Milton Hershey, the chocolate king himself, once owned the fountain in the middle of this lake. Called “Dance of Eternal Spring,” it shows three nymphs representing art, music, and dance.
Italian Lake covers 9.5 acres at 3rd and Division Streets in Uptown Harrisburg. The land was donated in 1918, and building the lake from old swampland took ten years.
The name likely comes from hotel owner Patricio Rossi and his nearby “Italian” Hotel. The look matches, thanks to formal gardens in the Italian Renaissance style.
A Japanese-style bridge crosses part of the water. Antique-style streetlights line the textured walkways.
A paved loop circles the lake, with benches spaced along the way. It makes an easy walk for grandparents or kids with short legs.
During warm months, the park stage hosts concerts and festivals. Photographers also favor this spot for engagement and graduation pictures.
12. John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Two mirrors from France were so tall that the owner lowered the floor by three feet to fit them. Those 14-foot pier mirrors still stand in the Victorian parlor today.
The house at 219 South Front Street was built around 1766 by John Harris Jr., who founded Harrisburg. He used local limestone and picked the spot because it sat above the river’s flood line.
In 1863, Simon Cameron bought the home. He had served as a U.S.
Senator, ambassador to Russia, and Abraham Lincoln’s first Secretary of War.
Cameron changed the Georgian house into an Italianate Victorian mansion. He added a solarium, a butler’s pantry, and a grand staircase.
Guided tours show family belongings, Cameron’s office, a library, and a 1920s Art Deco bathroom. That bathroom often gets the most questions.
The Historical Society of Dauphin County has run the mansion as its headquarters since 1941.
13. Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Only six authentic stern-driven paddlewheelers remain in the United States. The Pride of the Susquehanna is the only one operating east of the Mississippi River.
Volunteers built it on City Island between 1985 and 1988 using local supplies and money. The boat is too big to move by road, so Harrisburg is its permanent home.
Cruises run from May through October and leave from City Island in front of FNB Field. Standard sightseeing trips last 45 minutes and pass the skyline and the Walnut Street Bridge.
The red-and-white boat has wooden decks, brass trim, and a stained-glass ceiling. Pick the open upper deck for views or the climate-controlled lower deck on hot days.
Themed trips add variety, including sunset dinner cruises and Princess and Superhero cruises for kids. Educational River School trips are popular with classes.
Active military members and veterans ride public cruises free. Over one million passengers have climbed aboard so far.
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