Explore Our 2025 Connect Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is not only home to this year’s CrossState Connect Annual Convention, it also is home to a rich culture and colonial history. In addition to the many dining and entertainment options at the Wind Creek Bethlehem offers, check out these experiences you can explore in your free time while attending Connect this year:
SteelStacks
Distance: 15 minute walk or a 3 minute drive from Wind Creek
The arts and American history go hand-in-hand at the SteelStacks campus in SouthSide Bethlehem, PA. SteelStacks is a ten-acre campus dedicated to arts, culture, family events, community celebrations, education and fun.
Concerts, comedy shows, cinema, culinary events, and festivals bring people from near and far to the awe-inspiring ruins of the former Bethlehem Steel plant. The site that made the steel used in the construction of the Chrysler Building, Madison Square Garden, the Golden Gate Bridge, and ally ships for World War II, finds renewed purpose as a place to come together and celebrate the arts.
Kayaking Tour
Distance: Tour location is a 30+ minute walk or 5 minute drive from Wind Creek
Join the fun as Historic Bethlehem River Tours takes you on a new adventure on the Lehigh River. This 1/2 day kayak and bike adventure paddles 5 miles on the Lehigh River past the iconic Steel Stacks and bikes back on the D&L Trail. Historic Bethlehem River Tours provides equipment, trained guides, transportation, and a trip souvenir.
With every Historic Bethlehem River Tour, guests will get to pilot their own kayak (or ride in a tandem kayak), on the journey (2+ hours on the water) paddling through the metro wilderness of the Lehigh River, beginning at Sand Island in the heart of Historic Bethlehem. Our take out 5 miles downstream is right on the D&L Trail where you swap your kayak for a mountain bike and hit the D&L Trail for the 45 min ride back.
Each guest will be issued all gear for the trip. Complimentary photos of individuals and groups will be taken as they pass by the Bethlehem Steel Stacks. Transportation is provided back to Sand Island via our complimentary shuttle vans for those who do not want to bike back.
Bonn Place Brewing Co.
Distance: 20 minute walk, 4 minute drive from Wind Creek
Enjoy creative beers at this pint-sized spot near Lehigh University’s campus on SouthSide Bethlehem. Bonn Place offers many ways to get a beer: order beer to-go, curbside, crowlers, growlers or taste a flight at the bar.
Try the “Mooey,” a “not-so-ordinary” English-style pub ale which is great on its own or you can try it as a shandy, or try the “Bianca Bianca” a strong witbier with notes of orange, coriander, and juniper. Check their website for all their current offerings, which is updated daily.
Hours:
Monday: 4–8PM, Tuesday: Closed; Wednesday & Thursday: 4–10PM, Friday: 3–11PM, Saturday: 12–11PM, Sunday: 12–8PM.
Saucon Valley Country Club
Distance: 13 minute drive from Wind Creek
Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, PA is a picturesque private club retreat offering a myriad of exceptional recreational and social experiences with an emphasis on golf.
Three 18-hole championship golf courses provide unique and varied play, while a six-hole course introduces the novice. Seven dining venues and nine banquet venues deliver the most diverse culinary experience in and beyond Lehigh Valley.
The outstanding racquets and fitness programming, and 18th century Guest House, further enhance the exceptional member experience. Cool off during the summer months in the four swimming pools the entire family will enjoy. Founded in 1920 by 16 business leaders from Bethlehem Steel, the Club has evolved gracefully over the past 100 years and today encompasses 850 acres that serve as a timeless retreat from the everyday hustle and bustle where families enjoy new experiences and create memories.
Dorney Park
22 minute drive from Wind Creek
Lehigh Valley’s Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown features two great parks for the price of one, spread across 200 acres of amusement! There are more than 100 rides, shows and attractions for guests to enjoy including seven roller coasters, the largest collection of kids’ rides in Planet Snoopy™ and one of the country’s best-ranked water parks.
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is one of the most visited amusement parks in the United States and is the perfect combination of thrills and family fun. If you are up for it, the coasters make your head spin, heart throb and hair stand straight up. You will go upside down, backwards, vertical, and sideways! Fan favorites are Steel Force, Hydra: The Revenge, and Talon: Grip of Fear. Thunderhawk, one of the oldest wooden coasters in the U.S., was even recognized by the American Coaster Enthusiast (ACE) as an International Roller Coaster Landmark!
Hoover-Mason Trestle
Distance: 4 minute walk from Wind Creek
Explore the former site of Bethlehem Steel and discover its history. Completed in 1907, the Hoover-Mason Trestle in Lehigh Valley connected the ore yards, once located near where Wind Creek Bethlehem stands, to the blast furnaces at the heart of the plant. For almost a century, cars ran along it daily, delivering the ingredients for making iron.
Today, it has been reimagined as an elevated park and pedestrian walkway. It is here that you will stand almost within arm’s reach of the blast furnaces that were once used to make the iron that helped create the Golden Gate Bridge and the Empire State Building among several other iconic structures. Raised 46 feet above the ground, the $15.5 million trail runs 1,650 feet from near Bethlehem Landing Visitors Center toward Wind Creek Bethlehem.
Allentown Art Museum
Distance: 19 minute drive from Wind Creek
The Allentown Art Museum is a vibrant cultural center with a world-class collection, programs for visitors of all ages and a distinctive Museum Store. Serving more than 60,000 participants annually, a large percentage of visitors are children through in-school programs.
The Museum’s collection of about 17,000 works of art offers the Lehigh Valley community the opportunity to experience nearly 2,000 years of cultural heritage in an accessible and visitor-friendly environment. The permanent collection includes superb European Renaissance and Baroque paintings, including a Rembrandt; American paintings and sculpture from the last three centuries, including a mural by Franz Kline of his nearby hometown; Southeast Asian sculpture; international textiles; decorative arts; and a library designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Admission to the Museum is FREE for all thanks to a generous legacy gift from the Century Fund and lead support from Lehigh Valley Health Network along with City Center Allentown and J. B. and Kathleen Reilly.
Hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 11 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Mack Trucks Historical Museum
Distance: 20 minute drive from Wind Creek
The Mack Trucks Historical Museum in Lehigh Valley, PA is the repository of historical documents and artifacts from Mack’s long and storied history as the leading American truck manufacturer and world-renowned brand name.
Among the antique vehicles in the museum’s collection is one of the original sightseeing buses built by Jack and Augustus Mack in the first decade of the 20th century. The gas-operated, open-air bus carried up to 26 tourists at a time around the streets and sights of Chicago in the summer and New Orleans in the winter for 25 years and more than a million miles of service before returning to Mack as the anchor of its antique truck collection.
Visitors of all ages are welcome to participate in a tour. Each tour is limited to 10 or fewer people. If you have more than 10 people, your group will be divided into multiple tours. Tours consisting of more than 10 people are required to make a reservation. Smaller groups will be slotted into the next available tour time. The Museum is wheelchair accessible.
Hours: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. (last tour starts at 3 p.m.)
Martin Guitar Factory Museum
Distance: 28 minute drive from Wind Creek
C. F. Martin & Co., one of the world’s leading acoustic instrument makers, has been creating the finest instruments in the world for over 175 years. It continues to innovate, introducing techniques and features that have become industry standards including X-bracing, the 14-fret guitar, and the “Dreadnought” size.
A visit to C. F. Martin & Co. in Lehigh Valley is a must for any music lover who wants to enjoy what’s inside the world of Martin Guitar. The Visitors Center located in Nazareth highlights the 1833 Shop and is the official source of Martin branded merchandise that appeals to the music lover in all of us. The Pickin’ Parlor is a private room where you can play high-end and limited edition guitars. The Play Me Wall is where the world comes to test out the new factory offerings and some of the best-known and top-selling guitars.
Tours last approximately one hour. Photographs are allowed without a flash. Video cameras or recorders are not permitted. Cell phones are permitted for capturing images and for use on the Museum Audio Tour. Closed-toe shoes are recommended. Tour groups depart 6 times per day, Monday – Friday between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and are limited to 6 people per tour. Tickets must be purchased in advance for all adults and children.
The Martin Guitar Museum is free and showcases a collection of historical instruments, memorabilia, photographs, and other objects that tell the Martin story – past and present – and Martin’s commitment to keeping music alive. The Martin Guitar Museum is a center for reflection, bringing together music history, culture, and craftsmanship.
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Weil Antique Center
Distance: 18 minute drive from Wind Creek
One of Lehigh Valley’s premiere antique centers with over 150 dealers displaying quality antiques. Featured are furniture, clocks, jewelry, china, lamps, linens, memorabilia, retro, pottery, books, toys, primitives, vintage clothing, postcards, and much more.
Hours
- Monday – Friday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Saturday: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.