A Visit to Bear Rock Junction in New Tripoli, PA

Date of Visit: June 19, 2022

It sometimes feels like there is an endless number of family fun centers in Pennsylvania. Some can be overwhelming with sports, arcades, and dozens of mini attractions. Others feel too small, as if the drive was too much for the return. But then there are those places that feel just right, like Bear Rock Junction.

Located along Route 309 in New Tripoli, Lehigh County, Bear Rock Junction has four attractions, food and ice cream – and we found it to be the perfect number of attractions for an enjoyable afternoon for our family of three.

Small shack with the words "The Grill" on a sign above

We arrived shortly after the park opened at 12 noon on a Sunday (Father’s Day, to be precise). Our first stop was to order lunch from the Grill.

The Grill is open weekends and features made-to-order burgers, hot dogs, fries and more. For our meal, it definitely over-delivered. The burgers were very flavorful and the toppings were fresh. The fries were simple, but really good. And our little one devoured his hot dog. The best part: the meal cost less than $20.

Tray of food including two burgers, fries and a hot dog

Everything at Bear Rock is reasonably priced. Mini golf is a little pricier than some places – $9.50 for adults and $7.50 for kids, but the train ride is just $3.00 per person and there’s a combo ticket that will save you some money.

We opted to play 18 holes before it got busy. Bear Rock has two 18-hole courses, and we chose “track 2”. The whole mini golf complex is beautifully maintained, easily one of the nicest and best-kept around with no signs of fraying carpets or broken obstacles.

It was challenging at times – there were a couple holes where a golf ball could get an unwelcome bath – but it wasn’t too challenging that we couldn’t enjoy it with a four-year-old.

One of the coolest things about the course is that the train actually goes under a tunnel beneath it, which just made my son even more excited for his train ride.

Engineer firing up a miniature train at Bear Rock Junction

While the train is a smaller scale, it is a real coal-fired steam engine. After we boarded the train, we had to wait a few minutes as the engineer added more coal, and continually tweaked the fire until there was just the right amount of heat and boiler pressure to carry us around the park.

The train skirts around the edge of the mini-golf course, then cuts through a tunnel to the other side. It passes the go-kart track on the left before making a right turn into the woods.

Minature train ride at Bear Rock Junction

Despite the warning not to feed the bears, we didn’t see any wildlife on the jaunt through the trees. The closest thing was the metal cut-outs in the shape of bears that were seen “climbing” one of the trees. After a few minutes, the train chugged out of the woods and back toward the station, completing our short but enjoyable ride.

selfie of a man and his young son a go-kart at Bear Rock Junction

From there, we headed down to the go-kart track. It’s pay-per-ride with each ride lasting approximately 20 laps. I took my son with me in a two-seater and we raced against my wife who was more…cautious…than I was. We made sure to wave every time we passed her.

After working hard on the kart track, we headed back up the hill to the Dairy Bar for some ice cream. In addition to more traditional flavors like vanilla and chocolate, Bear Rock offers about 20 flavor varieties including two rotating flavors from the Nesting Box, a local creamery in Kempton, Berks County.

dish of ice cream and a milksahke in a styrofoam cup from Bear Rock Junction

Jakob was able to get his favorite ice cream – cookie monster (cookies and cream ice cream colored blue). Julie had a peanut sundae with salted caramel truffle ice cream. And I had a milkshake with lemon meringue pie ice cream. None of us were disappointed.

And there was nothing to be disappointed about. We had spent about three hours at Bear Rock and loved every minute, from the food to the fun. With it being less than an hour from our home base, I can say with certainty that we will be back.

When You Go

Attractions are priced invidiually, though a combo pass is available for a round of mini golf and a train ride.
There is a separate payment window at the go-kart track for purchasing rides. Races are five minutes long but it generally takes longer in between to collect admissions and give instructions so be prepared to wait.
There are two mini golf courses to choose from but both will fill up on busy days.
Bear Rock Junction offers a paintball target shoot, but it wasn’t open on our last visit.