What to do and see in Erie, Pennsylvania (PA): The Best Budget-friendly Things to do

Learn the history and culture of Erie’s beautiful downtown area while enjoying delicious food from locally-owned restaurants, bakeries, and specialty shops. Whether you’re an Erie native or you’re just visiting our city by the bay, this is the perfect lunchtime activity for anyone who enjoys eating good food and learning a little bit along the way.

Escape Game Erie is a fun, interactive entertainment opportunity for your group - whether they are family, friends, or co-workers. Your team will work together to solve clues and puzzles and ESCAPE the room in the allotted time. Come and experience something new! COVID Disclosure: We clean surfaces after each game; we spread out our games so you only are exposed to your group; we do not allow other people to join your group; face masks must be worn when entering and exiting the facility.

Multimedia exhibits and a 19th century U.S. Flagship are featured at this museum.

Give your family all the fun and excitement of more than 100 great rides, slides, and attractions at Waldameer. You’ll find thrilling rides and family classics, plus some awesome rides for the little ones! Then there’s Water World, a whole water park full of wet n’ wild fun for everyone. Plus, check out challenging midway games and tasty summertime foods. Waldameer & Water World is family-owned and family-friendly – we are proud of our Park’s major expansion in recent years, which has only improved upon the park’s long rich history of providing safe, clean and affordable summertime fun!

The Tom Ridge Environmental Center (TREC) is an educational center dedicated to teaching visitors about the unique 3,200 acres of Presque Isle and the many different forms of life that inhabit the peninsula. TREC also serves as a center for research -- contributing to conservation efforts and promoting environmental awareness, helping to preserve the unparalleled beauty of Presque Isle, the site of Pennsylvania’s only seashore. While some facilities along the Great Lakes offer environmental education and others do research, none offer research, education, and visitor services in one place, making TREC a unique destination for learning, wonder, and fun. TREC is open year-round and offers free admission to its changing interactive exhibits, glass-enclosed tower, and orientation movie. Learn about the history of Presque Isle and how you can contribute to keeping it pristine and beautiful.

Presque Isle State Park is a 3,200-acre sandy peninsula that arches into Lake Erie. As Pennsylvania’s only “seashore,” Presque Isle offers its visitors a beautiful coastline and many recreational activities, including swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, bicycling, and in-line skating. The neck of the peninsula is attached to the mainland four miles west of downtown Erie. The park creates Presque Isle Bay, a wide and deep harbor for the city of Erie. The bay attracts many pleasure boats and worldwide freighters -- making Erie an important Great Lakes shipping port. A National Natural Landmark, Presque Isle is a favorite spot for migrating birds. Because of the many unique habitats, Presque Isle contains a greater number of the state's endangered, threatened, and rare species than any other area of comparable size in Pennsylvania. Open 5AM to sunset year-round, after sunset visitors must be in a vehicle.

The Station Dinner Theatre operates year-round and is the home of the original “A Canterbury Feast”, the longest running medieval musical comedy dinner theatre in the United States. Along with it’s many original themed musical comedies, the Station Season also includes a variety of comedies, farces, murder mystery comedies and musical reviews, as well as a popular Christmas Memories musical...combined with our delicious American cuisine full meal add up to the region’s most unique and entertaining dining experience.