Experience Milford Pennsylvania

Experience Milford Pennsylvania Across an often-overlooked corner of NE Pennsylvania and the Delaware Water Gap. Information provided on this page is provided as a courtesy.

A deeper look at what makes this region what it is—shared through the stories and details that help you see what’s really here, and come back to it differently each time. We recommend all visitors to the page contact all businesses, experiences, events, etc directly for up to date information.

When you’re driving 01/Milford Road, you’ve probably noticed the bright red metal figure holding a chair over its head. ...
06/10/2026

When you’re driving 01/Milford Road, you’ve probably noticed the bright red metal figure holding a chair over its head. It’s hard to miss. Thousands of people pass by it every week.

Some glance over as they drive past, while others have been seeing it for years sitting behind a school bus, waiting through road construction, or crawling past after an accident. What many don’t realize is that behind that red figure sits one of the area’s oldest family businesses.

This year, Van Gorders' Furniture, is celebrating 90 years in business. Think about that for a moment. In a year when America is celebrating its 250th birthday, this local business has been here for more than a third of it.

Since 1936, four generations of the Van Gorder family have helped people furnish homes throughout northeastern Pennsylvania. Few businesses reach that milestone, and even fewer remain family-owned while doing it.

The old family advertisements tell the story best. One generation helps a newly married couple furnish their first home. Years later, they help that couple’s children furnish theirs. Then eventually, they help the grandchildren. That’s not simply selling furniture. That’s becoming part of a family’s story.

Today, if you stop into the Milford location, you’ll meet Dylan Van Gorder. Not a corporate representative. Not a regional manager passing through.

Dylan is the person Milford-area customers know, answering the phone, helping customers compare options, measuring sofas, moving furniture, and carrying on a family business that has been part of the region for nearly a century. In a world where so many businesses feel anonymous, that’s becoming increasingly rare.

And then there’s the surprise.

Walk through the doors and you’ll find room after room of furniture, mattresses, rugs, lighting, artwork, rustic décor, and home accents. It’s the kind of place where you can sit on the sofa, try the recliner, pull up a chair at the dining table, lie down on a mattress, and run your hand across a rug.

You can see how everything is styled together and imagine it in your own home. Some things simply can’t be experienced through a screen.

Now imagine if your dining table could talk, imagine the stories it would tell. Holiday dinners, birthday celebrations, children coloring while dinner cooked in the kitchen, homework spread across its surface, and quiet cups of coffee before sunrise. It has witnessed laughter, tears, celebrations, and the occasional heated discussion over making better choices. Those ordinary moments are the ones that become our most treasured memories years later.

For four generations, the Van Gorder family has helped furnish those moments. Businesses don’t remain part of a community for 90 years by accident. They do it one family, one home, and one story at a time.

The next time you see that red man with the chair, pull in. You might be surprised by what’s waiting inside.

Illustrated Map Location - A2

"WOOF!"The pickup truck passes by with the windows down. Not one furry head hanging out the window. Three. Tongues flap...
06/05/2026

"WOOF!"

The pickup truck passes by with the windows down. Not one furry head hanging out the window. Three. Tongues flapping in the breeze. Ears bouncing with every bump in the road. Smiles so wide you can't help but laugh. The kind of happiness that makes you think, I wish I could feel that excited about something just once today.

A few minutes later another dog greets you from behind a fence. "WOOF! WOOF!" The owner waves. You wave back. Around here, animals seem to be everywhere.

They're riding shotgun down Milford Road. Joining their owners on hikes at Pocono Environmental Education Center. Walking Milford's sidewalks. Curled up beside picnic tables. Waiting patiently at home for the people they love.

After a while, you realize something. Most of us don't simply own pets. We build parts of our lives around them. We bring them along when we can. We talk about them when we can't. And no matter how much fun we're having, there's usually a small part of us wondering what they're doing while we're gone.

Today you're grabbing a slice of the Bronx Bomber at John's after finishing a Kundalini Yoga class at Milford Yoga.

It's all about balance, right?

Now you're ready to head home. But first, the most important stop.

Not for yourself. For the one impatiently waiting for your return. The one who somehow always knows when you're about to pull into the driveway. The one who missed you far more than you'll ever know.

That's where Milford Pet Supply enters your day.

At first glance, it looks like a pet store. Spend a few minutes inside and you'll quickly realize it's really a place built by people who love animals as much as their customers do. There's a cat adoption area helping animals find new homes. A resident snake who has become part of the store's personality. Food, treats, toys, and supplies for dogs, cats, reptiles, and plenty of other members of the family.

The conversations often have very little to do with what's on the shelves and so much more to do with who you're buying for. They're about a new puppy. An aging companion. A recently adopted cat. The dog who was so good at the groomers and deserves a treat. The first pet of your family - a guinea pig. The pets who have become woven into the story of our lives. That care extends beyond the store itself.

Through community events, support for local animal organizations, cat adoptions, and efforts to help provide pet food and supplies to families in need, Milford Pet Supply has become part of something larger than retail.

Because anyone who has ever loved an animal understands one simple truth. They are never "just a pet."

They're the reason you take a walk when you didn't feel like it. The one sitting on the windowsill waiting for you after a long day. The companion who somehow manages to make an ordinary day better simply by being there. They are your family.

And around here, family comes with paws, whiskers, fur, feathers, scales, and occasionally a few furry heads hanging out the back window of a pickup truck.

Illustrated Map Location - A3
Milford Pet Supply - Old Lumberyard Shoppes, 113 7th Street, Milford PA

Driving into Milford, most people notice The Columns first.The stately white building sitting slightly above the right s...
05/28/2026

Driving into Milford, most people notice The Columns first.

The stately white building sitting slightly above the right side of Broad Street naturally pulls your attention as you come into town. Which means many barely notice the dark gray building directly across the street.

For years, locals knew it as a car dealership. Today, bikes line the front. Kayaks sit outside. Paddle boards are stacked nearby. People stop in before heading deeper into the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. At first glance, you may think it is simply another bike shop.

But over time, Action Bikes and Outdoor has quietly become one of the region’s most trusted outdoor knowledge bases.

At its core, the shop is deeply rooted in biking and water sports. Repairs. Trail riding. Road cycling. Kayaking. Paddle boarding. The kinds of outdoor experiences woven directly into this area itself. But what makes the place different is the people behind it.

The staff are not simply selling equipment. They actively live this lifestyle across all four seasons. Riding trails. Paddling rivers. Snowboarding. Cross-country skiing. Snowshoeing. Hiking. Exploring. Spending real time outdoors in the same places many visitors are just beginning to discover.

That experience changes the conversations that happen inside.

Someone walks in wondering where to ride. Another asks which stretch of water is best for beginners. Someone preparing for their first long biking trip needs advice they cannot easily find online. And the answers come from firsthand experience.

People travel from across Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey for that level of knowledge and guidance. Not because the building demands attention from the roadside. But because once they step inside, they realize they are talking to people who genuinely love the outdoors here and want others to experience it well too.

That is part of what makes this place so easy to miss at first. And part of what makes it so memorable once you finally notice it.

The steady thump of the windshield wipers starts becoming part of the drive. This is not what you had planned for this ...
05/23/2026

The steady thump of the windshield wipers starts becoming part of the drive. This is not what you had planned for this weekend.

Water sprays up from the tires as you cross another puddle along Route 6. The yellow line disappears for a second beneath the rain. “Maybe we should have just stayed home,” your wife says.

But then you keep driving a little farther. And somehow that is exactly how some of the best days around here begin.

Because rainy Saturdays around Milford change the rhythm of the entire area. Plans loosen up a little. You stop at places you were not intending to stop at. You take roads a little slower. You end up discovering things you are unexpectedly glad you found.

Not the postcard version of the day. The version you actually remember afterward.

We put together a rainy Saturday route around Milford and the surrounding area for this exact kind of day.

You can read it in the Local Stories section of our website. We’ve provided the link in the comments.

For the last week, we have been driving roads we know by heart.Stopping at markets, shops, bars, diners, restaurants, vi...
05/20/2026

For the last week, we have been driving roads we know by heart.

Stopping at markets, shops, bars, diners, restaurants, visitor centers, hotels, and so many more places throughout Milford, Dingmans Ferry, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and the surrounding corners of the region. Delivering the brand new Summer/Fall 2026 Experience Milford Pennsylvania maps ourselves.

Nearly 100 places when we really stopped and thought about it. And honestly, one of our favorite parts of putting out a fresh new edition is getting to spend even more time with the businesses and people we already care so much about.

These are places we support ourselves. People we stop in and talk with through the quiet weekdays, rainy afternoons, snowy weeks, and slower stretches where sometimes we may be one of the only people walking through the door in hours. And now suddenly, you can feel the season shifting again.

Leaves filling back in on the trees outside storefronts. More cars pulling into parking spots. Longer conversations. Business owners talking about upcoming weekends, new ideas, plans for the months ahead, and hopeful for a great season ahead.

Over the years, so many of these people have become much more than familiar faces to us. They have become real friendships and real connections that we genuinely value. Because while Milford may be the town people recognize first, what makes this region feel the way it does is everything connected around it.

The roads leading out of town. The small communities woven through the woods. The trailheads. The waterfalls. The little roadside stops. The small shops and restaurants tucked into places you might not expect unless somebody told you they were there. And the best version of this region happens when all of it works together.

A shop owner recommending the restaurant a few doors down. Someone discovering a small business because their neighbor mentioned it first. Visitors slowing down long enough to experience more than just one stop or use a bathroom before heading home. People supporting the people and places that make this area feel alive in the first place.

That connection is what Experience Milford PA has always really been about. Not just the map. Not just this page. Not just the website. Helping people experience this region and these places the way we do. Personally. More intentionally. More connected to the people and places that make it what it is.

We hope when you pick up this new Summer/Fall 2026 edition, scroll through a post here on the page, or discover somewhere new through the website, you feel a little of that connection too.

Because this map was never meant to sit folded up in a drawer.
It was meant to travel back roads. Ride along on day trips. Sit on passenger seats. Get passed across restaurant tables. Get circles and notes written on it. Help you discover someplace new, or remind you to finally stop somewhere you have driven past for years. The map is bright and bold, just like this region heading into summer and fall. Hand-illustrated. Old school. Made to move through the season with you.

You can now pick one up throughout the region, or download the digital version directly from the Experience Milford Pennsylvania website. We hope to see you out and about sometime soon.

There are people who drive these roads every single day and still have never pulled into half the places sitting around ...
05/18/2026

There are people who drive these roads every single day and still have never pulled into half the places sitting around them.

That probably explains this region better than any brochure ever could. Around here, some of the best places barely look like destinations at all.

Retail shops, a restaurant, and a yoga studio are inside an old grist mill. A pizza shop and a pet store are inside an old lumberyard. Some trailheads look like gravel pull offs. The road to dinner loses cell service halfway there.

One part of the area is getting a foot of snow while the another is just cold without even a flake. There is even still a pay phone sitting outside the diner.

And somehow, that unpredictability is part of the experience.

Milford. Dingmans Ferry. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Layton.

This area was never built for speed.

Long stretches of road without streetlights. Tall pine trees pressing in closer around the windshield. Historic buildings that stayed small. Places where people still parallel park along the curb and walk from one business to the next.

A roadside farm stand turns into a fresh salad for dinner. A quick coffee stop becomes a forty minute conversation. A scenic drive suddenly turns into live music on a lawn chair, a trail you did not plan to stop at, or dinner somewhere the owner still walks table to table.

And maybe the strangest part is this:

Some of the people searching hardest for places that feel slower, quieter, more grounded, more connected to nature and history are often driving right past one.

Meanwhile, many of the people who live here have gotten so used to it that they pass through it every day without really looking at it anymore.

The forests. The winding roads.
The changing weather. The old buildings. The small businesses where the owners are usually standing right there.

It becomes background instead of something people realize others are actively searching for.

And no, this place is not magically free from conflict or division either. Sometimes we put it on full display.

But underneath all of that, this region still carries a strong sense of place.

Not manufactured.
Not interchangeable.
But unmistakably itself.

And maybe that is why people keep returning here. Not because someone told them to.

Because something about this area keeps pulling them back once they finally slow down enough to really notice it.

This weekend, May 16th, we hope Milford looks a little different to you.Not because the buildings changed, but because m...
05/11/2026

This weekend, May 16th, we hope Milford looks a little different to you.

Not because the buildings changed, but because more people are finally stepping back inside it again after a long winter.

Toasting the coffee shops that opened early on all those freezing February mornings. Toasting the gallery that continually rotated in new artwork during the slow winter weeks. Toasting the generational businesses that quietly maintained the town heartbeat day after day, along with the small stores that unlocked their doors whether people showed up or not.

And toasting the new businesses taking a chance and hoping people walk through the door.

And honestly, after this cold snowy winter and rainy spring, it finally looks like this weekend might actually be beautiful. Which, in Pennsylvania during May, feels slightly dangerous to even say out loud because another frost warning could still appear out of nowhere.

Sunny skies this weekend. Live music at the Community House. This is your chance to get back out and wander on foot for a while.

Browse records. Taste olive oils. Pick up unique cheeses. Grab your favorite donut and coffee. Order a pizza. Talk summer adventures at the bike shop while looking over kayaks and bikes lined up for the season ahead. Grab a new treat for your pup. Check out the newer businesses hoping to find their place in town.

Walk through the newest exhibit at the Artery Gallery. Step into the The Columns Museum. Take the historical walking tour. Stop by the Keller Williams Milford Home Show. Walk into the place you always say you’ll stop into someday.

Because Milford has always been more than what you see from your car. And this weekend is a reminder that there are a lot of good people here quietly trying to keep small-town life going.

That’s really the purpose behind the illustrated map, our website, and this page - Experience Milford Pennsylvania.

Helping people connect with local businesses.

Helping people appreciate what’s been hidden in plain sight all along.

You’re driving U.S. Route 209 and the signs keep appearing.McDade Trail → Another mile later… McDade Trail → Then again....
05/08/2026

You’re driving U.S. Route 209 and the signs keep appearing.

McDade Trail → Another mile later… McDade Trail → Then again.

At first, it almost feels confusing.

Is this the same trail? Different trails? Separate entrances? But they all connect.

McDade Recreational Trail stretches over 30 miles through the region, running from the Milford area all the way down to Delaware Water Gap.

The signs repeat because the trail keeps going. And the farther you follow it, the more it changes.

Some sections wind quietly through the woods beneath towering trees. Others open beside the Delaware River. There are long gravel stretches, small creek crossings, old fence lines, wetlands, overlooks, bridges, and stretches where you suddenly realize you’re walking beside places you’ve driven past for years without ever seeing this side of them.

At times, the trail feels completely removed from the world. And then a few miles later, it quietly reconnects to it again.

Built gradually in sections beginning in the early 2000s, the trail now forms one long corridor through the Pennsylvania side of the valley — linking landscapes, river views, forests, and trailheads across an enormous stretch of the region.

People walk small sections. Bike sections. Run sections. Snowshoe sections. Returning season after season to explore another piece of it.

And that’s what most people don’t realize when they keep passing those brown signs along 209.

They aren’t pointing to separate places.

They’re pointing to one long trail woven through the region.

McDade Trail
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Illustrated Map Locations — K2 to K8

When they’re open, they’re busy.Broad Street, you pull up, find a spot along the curb, and head in with everyone else wh...
05/05/2026

When they’re open, they’re busy.

Broad Street, you pull up, find a spot along the curb, and head in with everyone else who had the same idea.

The Naked Bagel.

There’s a line—but it’s not standing still. It has a flow to it. You move in, almost naturally, following the curve of the space. Grab a drink. Keep moving. Orders being called, people stepping up without hesitation. By the time you reach the counter, you’re already part of it.

They know what they’re doing here. You just fall in with it.

Somewhere along the way, you’ve glanced over—bagels set out, everything, asiago, cinnamon raisin, garlic, pumpernickel—knowing that’s what it’s all built on. And when you get close to the front, there’s that quiet moment—you’re hoping your favorite is still there… but you’ve already got a second or third choice in mind, just in case.

Then the names start to land. The Bikini. The Versace. The Black Tie. The Gucci.

Layered, stacked, built on your bagel or a roll—turkey, roast beef, chicken cutlet, bacon, melted cheese—handed across the counter with a kind of weight to them. Two hands, every time.

Some people follow the specials—handwritten, changing daily, something new worked in. Others don’t even look. Same order, same bagel, every visit.

You place your order, step forward, and by the time it’s ready, it comes back up front. You pay, grab it, and decide—sit for a minute inside, take a table out front, or head back out with it, saving that first bite for wherever you’re going next.

312 Broad Street, Milford - right in the middle of town.
Monday–Friday 6am–2pm
Saturday 7am–2pm
Sunday 8am–2pm

When they’re open, they’re busy.
Once you’ve been through it, you understand why.

You’ve driven past the crooked telephone pole on your way to work. On your way to Childs Park. Just another stretch of S...
05/03/2026

You’ve driven past the crooked telephone pole on your way to work. On your way to Childs Park. Just another stretch of Silver Lake Road.

Tucked behind it, something hung there for years—weathered, faded. Easy to assume it was advertising a place to stay. Nothing about it made you think twice. Over time, it became part of the landscape.

People saw it… and then stopped seeing it.

Some thought it was just a marker. Something that had been there forever. Something that maybe wasn’t even there anymore. But it wasn’t a billboard. It was the entrance.

What you didn’t realize was that just beyond the gravel drive, set back under the towering pines, were five small cabins—quietly there the whole time. Babbling Brook Cottages

The sign has changed since then—but not in a way that suddenly calls attention to itself. Even now, it sits behind that crooked telephone pole, still easy to miss, still not meant to draw your eye.

A hidden escape, with roots that reach back to the 1930s.

Before the cabins, there were tents.

In the 1920s, people came here from the city to escape the summer heat—camping along the creek and in the woods that now surround Childs Park. Families returned year after year, coming back to the same stretch of land. And eventually, they stopped packing up at the end of each stay.

They built.

Small cabins, set back into the trees, shaped by the land around them. Tucked in so they could walk to the waterfalls—before trails were mapped, before destinations were marked. Just paths worn into the forest by the people who came here to be in it.

By the 1970s, some of the cabins became cottage rentals—part of a quieter rhythm in the area. Not a hotel. Not a resort. Something more personal. More connected to the land around it.

As decades passed, it was gradually reclaimed by the trees and faded further into the background—something you passed without really seeing, even while it was for sale. Seventeen years, with a sign out front next to the crooked pole.

But it was still here.

And over the last six years, under new stewardship, the cabins have been carefully brought back—maintained and thoughtfully updated so they can continue on for decades to come. Not knocked down. Not rebuilt.

Lovingly restored—right down to the colors they wore in the 1930s. It’s still what it always was.

Set back from the road. Quiet in a way that’s easy to miss unless you’re looking for it.

You don’t see the sign unless you’re looking. And that gravel drive—it’s not just an entrance.

It’s something you never realized was there.

258 Silver Lake Road, Dingmans Ferry PA
Illustrated Map Location - H5

Address

Dingmans Ferry, PA
18328

Website

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