Free & Cheap Things to Do in Allentown

Science & Discovery

The Lehigh Valley's hands-on science museum reopened in a brand-new, much larger building in downtown Allentown, with three floors of interactive exhibits on space, the human body, water, and engineering plus live science demonstrations. It's the region's marquee family-science destination and a perfect rainy-day anchor. General admission covers all core galleries; special ticketed features (like the Dinos Alive add-on) cost extra.

Address: 815 W Hamilton St, Allentown, PA 18101

Tip: Buy online to save $2 per ticket and skip a surprise infrastructure fee at the door; open daily 10am-5pm. Members and reciprocal ASTC-member science centers get in free.

Museums

A genuinely free regional art museum with a strong permanent collection spanning European old masters, American art, and a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed library interior. Admission is free every day thanks to donor support — no pay-what-you-wish gimmick, just free. Rotating special exhibitions are also included.

Address: 31 N Fifth St, Allentown, PA 18101

Tip: Free parking in the adjacent lot at Fifth and Linden. Open Thu-Sun 11am-4pm, with extended hours to 8pm on the third Thursday of each month.

Zoos & Wildlife

A compact, walkable zoo set inside the Trexler Nature Preserve, home to African penguins, river otters, big cats, a farm area, and free-roaming barn animals. Its manageable size makes it an easy half-day for families, and admission stays under $20 for everyone. Combine it with a free hike in the surrounding preserve.

Address: 5150 Game Preserve Rd, Schnecksville, PA 18078

Tip: Weekday and Sunday hours are 10am-4pm; Saturdays run to 6pm. Pair the visit with free bison viewing and hiking in the surrounding Trexler Nature Preserve for a full free/cheap day.

Museums

A transportation museum on the Allentown waterfront covering the history of American cars, trucks, and motorcycles, with rotating exhibits, a 1950s-style diner, and a strong local Mack Trucks connection. It's a solid indoor pick for car-loving families. Adult admission is $20, but kids and seniors have genuinely free days.

Address: 5 N Front St, Allentown, PA 18102

Tip: Kids 12 & under get in free every 'Free Kids Thursday,' and seniors are free the first Thursday of each month — plan around those to cut the cost sharply. Open Wed-Sun; closed Mon and Tue.

History & Culture

A small nonprofit museum inside a 1700s stone farmhouse in Lehigh Parkway, dedicated to the Lenape and other Northeastern Native peoples, with artifacts, tools, and cultural exhibits. It also hosts seasonal powwows and cultural festivals. At $5, it's one of the cheapest museum admissions in the area.

Address: 2825 Fish Hatchery Rd, Allentown, PA 18103

Tip: Open Fri-Sun year-round (plus Thursdays June-August); pair it with a walk in the surrounding Lehigh Parkway. Watch the site for its seasonal Roasting Ears of Corn Festival and powwows.

Museums

A museum devoted to Allentown's iconic Mack Trucks heritage, displaying restored trucks, engines, the famous Bulldog hood ornaments, and archival material from the company's long history in the city. Admission is by suggested donation only, making it one of the best cheap-history stops in town. Visits are primarily by scheduled guided tour.

Address: 2402 Lehigh Parkway South, Allentown, PA 18103

Tip: Guided tours run Mon/Wed/Fri at set times and self-guided visits are only on monthly open-house Saturdays — check the online reservation calendar and book ahead. Use GPS address 11 Grammes Rd for navigation.

History & Culture

The Lehigh County Historical Society's flagship museum tells the story of the county from its founding, and now also houses the collection and the actual Liberty Bell shrine artifacts relocated from the former Liberty Bell Museum. Exhibits cover local industry, immigration, and everyday life. It's a cheap, substantial local-history stop downtown.

Address: 432 W Walnut St, Allentown, PA 18102

Tip: Open Tue-Sat 10am-4pm. This is also where you buy tickets for nearby seasonal tours of historic Trout Hall.

Historic Homes

The oldest house in Allentown, this restored 1770 Georgian mansion was the summer home of the son of city founder William Allen. Guided tours walk you through colonial-era rooms and furnishings. It runs on a limited seasonal schedule and is one of the most affordable historic-home tours in the region.

Address: 414 Walnut St, Allentown, PA 18102

Tip: Open only May-September on Saturdays, with guided tours at 11:30am, 12:30pm, 1:30pm, and 2:15pm. Buy tickets next door at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum; call ahead in extreme weather.

Parks & Nature

A sprawling Lehigh County preserve of over 1,100 acres with more than 18 miles of hiking, walking, and bridle trails, plus roaming bison and elk — a legacy of the preserve's original conservation mission. The Lehigh Valley Zoo sits within it. It's completely free and open dawn to dusk.

Address: 4935 Orchard Rd, Schnecksville, PA 18078

Tip: Open sunrise to sunset. The ADA-accessible Covered Bridge Trail reaches Jordan Creek for fishing; combine with the Lehigh Valley Zoo, which sits inside the preserve.

Parks & Nature

The crown jewel of Allentown's city park system — a 629-acre greenway following the Little Lehigh Creek for about three miles from downtown to Cedar Crest Boulevard. It offers paved trails, bridle paths, fishing spots, a disc golf course, the historic Bogert's Covered Bridge, and the Lil-Le-Hi Trout Nursery. It's free and open year-round.

Address: Lehigh Parkway S, Allentown, PA 18103

Tip: Great for jogging, birding during spring migration, and family bike rides; park near the trout nursery or Bogert's Covered Bridge. The seasonal 'Lights in the Parkway' holiday drive-through runs here in winter (paid, separate event).

Wildlife & Nature

A free, city-run trout nursery inside Lehigh Parkway where visitors can watch and feed thousands of rainbow, brown, and brook trout raised in raceway pools before they stock local streams. It's a simple, popular, genuinely free outing for young kids. The coin-operated feed dispensers cost only pocket change.

Address: 2901 Fish Hatchery Rd, Allentown, PA 18103

Tip: Bring quarters for the feed machines; the nursery is an easy add-on to a Lehigh Parkway walk and is best in daylight hours. A great low-cost stop for toddlers.

Gardens

Cedar Beach Park is Allentown's central signature park, home to sports fields, a playground, a spray pool, and the free Malcolm W. Gross Memorial Rose Garden — an old-fashioned formal rose garden with thousands of blooms, lily ponds, and All-America Rose Selections. The rose garden is a favorite free spot for strolls and photos, and both are free and open to the public.

Address: 2600 Parkway Blvd, Allentown, PA 18104

Tip: Roses peak from June through early fall — visit then for the fullest bloom. Free parking along Parkway Boulevard; the garden is a popular (free to stroll) wedding-photo backdrop.

History & Military Sites

An open-air industrial-heritage site in Alburtis, southwest of Allentown, preserving the ruins of the 1868 Thomas Iron Company anthracite iron furnaces — among the only intact surviving anthracite furnace structures in the region — set within a free county park with trails along a former rail bed. You can walk the furnace ruins and interpretive panels any time the park is open.

Address: 525 Franklin St, Alburtis, PA 18011

Tip: The park grounds and furnace ruins are free and open in daytime year-round; the indoor furnace museum runs limited seasonal tours (roughly May-September). Confirm indoor-building access before visiting in 2026.

Scenic Drives & Bridges

A free, self-guided driving tour of the Lehigh Valley's historic red covered bridges, the oldest dating to 1839. Several — including Allentown's own Bogert's Covered Bridge in Lehigh Parkway — are open to foot traffic and are favorites with photographers, especially during fall foliage. There's no admission; you just drive or walk to each bridge.

Address: Bogert's Covered Bridge, Lehigh Parkway, Allentown, PA 18103

Tip: Start with Bogert's Covered Bridge inside Lehigh Parkway (right in Allentown), then loop the outlying bridges. Go in October for peak foliage; all bridges are open to pedestrians even where closed to cars.