Collegeville is right near Valley Forge. Lots of shopping nearby if you are into that kind of stuff. If it were me, I'd visit VF and also Audbon's home estate. I used to live near there. Depends on what you like. You have all of Philly's museums and great restaurants at your beck and call. Something a bit off the radar is the Mercer Museum in Doylestown. I've never been, but I think Sushipup went.

My map app is telling me VF is 1.5 hrs away? And in the opposite direction of Philly.

I am a recent Penn resident but I know that Valley Forge is not 1,5 hours away.... maybe by (hardly existent) public transportation? I just put it in google maps and it is approximately 9 miles and 15 minutes.

The Audubon museum is nearby and the King of Prussia mall has some interesting stores. Don't know that any of the surrounding towns are particularly cute.

I'd go to Longwood Gardens, Philly proper, or meander thru the Main Line area.

I used to go to Collegeville to meet up with relatives from FL who went for ice skating competitions. Not much in the local area.

PS I grew up in the D-town area, and both my sibs and BFF live there. Mercer is interesting but pretty far; I would not go that far to see it when you could to to the places above.

This is weird:

Yes, weird, indeed. King of Prussia Mall is right there as well. Tons of hotels between VF and the Mall area.

Is one the town and one the park?

TBH tho, esp. in winter, unless you are a big history buff, VF is (ducking) boring. To me it is 4th-grade-class-trippy.

PS, If it were me, and assuming I was not travelling with the athlete (who'd id guess stays with the team), I'd stay in Phila at Kimpton Monaco, uber fun hotel. 30 miles, 40 minutes.

Or stay on the Main Line. Last time I was there, not too many hotel options. Ended up at Villanova's hotel which was quite nice but not special or unique.

Yes I was talking about Valley Forge National Historical Park. Right outside of King of Prussia. Not sure about that town outside of Lancaster, never heard of it particularly but I'm not super familiar with the Lancaster area.

Is one the town and one the park?

Pink - I was talking to SueB about the diff mileage, but actually that doesn't seem to explain it

Wayne is a 'cute town' on the Main Line with some interesting shops and good restaurants. The Wayne Hotel is small and charming: https://waynehotel.com/

There is a Valley Forge town in York County.. which is different and has no relation to Valley Forge National Park.

in Doylestown, the Mercer Museum is interesting if you have a deep interest in the anthropological history of tools. But the Mercer home and the tile factory are fascinating, especially to anyone with an interest in ceramics. I took a visiting friend there and could barely drag her out. But it's a niche place.

I'd just go to the KoP Mall and spend the day. That's easy to do.

I agree with Mtn.. not much to do at Valley Forge or the immediate area in the winter unless you want to shop .. King of Prussia Mall and the Premium Outlets in Limerick are both nearby. I have made a day of King of Prussia-- there are plenty of stores and restaurants. It's a nice mall-- but still just a mall.

I guess it depends on when you are free-- I am assuming it would mostly be in the evening? My vote would be to go to Phila. There are so many winter events-- theater, music and the outdoor winter parks. There is ice skating at Dilworth Park (city hall) and on the waterfront. The waterfront location has private tents to rent with fireplaces/firepits. Also, check out concerts, exhibits and theater schedules-- there tends to be a lot going on in winter!

Yes, seems like we’ll most likely end up in the city…I just wanted to see if there was something interesting in between. I have been to Philly 2x, but DH hasn’t been, not that he’s expressed any desire to go!

I don’t know the time of the meet yet, but we’d stay an extra night so we’ll have time to explore a bit.

Have fun, check out the Monaco, and good luck to your athlete.

PS Go sox

All good advice above. Valley Forge in midwinter won’t be very interesting unless you want to really get a tatse for what it was like for the Revolutionary War soldiers to stay there in the winter. Definitely worth a drive through. Ive been to Audubon’s home and it was not anything out of the ordinary. Too bad it will be winter because there are lovely gardens here.

I guess Wayne is the closest thing to a cute town between Collegeville and the city. Ursinus College is in Collegeville and has an art museum on campus but ive never gone in.

From Wayne you could take the train into center city. You could stay at the Wayne Hotel. You’re still covering a lot of territory for a weekend. Philadelphia weather is not so great in winter. https://waynehotel.com/

Thanks all, this is all good info. Wish she had chosen soccer instead of gymnastics — all the meets happen Jan-March, and none are in warm places!!

Mtn, don’t get me started on the Sox. I have no intetest but DH almost had a stroke watching Sunday’s game.

DH is a huge fan, i just roll my eyes - that is such a drama queen team. It's always last minute, come from behind, wildcard, a zillion inning nonsense with them!

Ahhh. Reading this is making me so nostalgic. I love Philly, spent a lot of time there in my 20s. So wanted to move there.

Sorry I can’t help, am just here enjoying the Philly talk. Hope your trip is great, Sue, and good luck to your DD!