Jim Thorpe is a small mountain town packed tightly into the Lehigh Gorge, with steep wooded slopes, Victorian storefronts, and a rail line running along the river. It was once Mauch Chunk, a coal and railroad town; today it is one of Pennsylvania's strongest small-town day trips.
The appeal is not one big sight but the combination. Ride the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, tour the Asa Packer Mansion, walk Broadway's old stone and brick streets, then head into the gorge for biking, hiking, or whitewater rafting.
Jim Thorpe's history is unusually visible. The mansions on the hill tell the railroad-money story; the Old Jail Museum tells a darker coal-region story; and the town's current name comes from the Olympic athlete buried in a memorial on the edge of town.
It gets crowded on autumn weekends, when the foliage trains and festivals fill the narrow streets. Go midweek or early in the day if you want the town at its best.