Earlier this month I crossed off a big bucket list item that had been years in the planning: attending *the* Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA! Here’s what the experience was like for me, including some tips and what to expect, and what I’d do differently next time.
The Journey From Upstate New York
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is 6 1/2 hours from Albany, New York, where I was picking up my friend who was brave enough to sign on for this expedition. I’m another hour north of Albany, in Queensbury, making this a 7 1/2+ hour journey.
Because this was a childhood friend I hadn’t seen in years we had *lots* to catch up on, so the first several hours was just chatting and went by quickly.
We planned to stop at a bookstore, and after extensive research, landed on Known Grove Books & More, about 40 minutes outside of Scranton. We were delighted to find a cat, Fable, perched like a decoration by the front door.
Then, we stopped for lunch at Abe’s Deli in Scranton. Fun fact: I had been to Scranton before, for a Hanson concert, but this was pre The Office, so there was no excitement around that.
Stopping a couple of times along the way, plus for gas, helped break up the trip.
Where We Stayed & Ate
We stayed at the Ramada by Wyndham in Indiana, Pennsylvania, about 40 minutes from Punxsutawney, which was as close as I could get.
We ate dinner at the nearby The Coney. I did not get a picture of the food, but I did photograph my beer, because I’d done dry January and it was February 1st and thus exciting.
Although there were festivities going on the night before the big event, we opted to go to sleep. Because Groundhog Day starts at 3am.
The Day Of
While the Groundhog Day festival begins at 3am, we opted to wake up at 3am and then start heading over. You need to park in one of three designated parking lots and then take a shuttle to Gobblers Knob.
My dumb ass was thinking, I hope other people are there at the same time as us in the parking lot, so we know where to go. Yeah. MASSIVE long line to get on the shuttle bus.
And in fact, the parking lot was full. We opted to pay $20 to park across the street and then walk over.
With staying 40 minutes away and the logistics of getting on the shuttle with all the people and everyone getting searched (yes), we did not arrive at Gobblers Knob until sometime between 5:30am and 6am. Phil comes out at 7:20am.
Pro tip: You cannot bring alcohol, they are strict about it, and you will be searched. In my research, it looked like they used to allow alcohol and it became a shit show.
At the festival, there were a lot of people. That sounds obvious, but typically there’s about 20,000 people, their prior record was 40,000, and the day we were there, February 2, 2025, saw upwards of *50,000* people.
Not only were we not close to the groundhog, but I could barely see the screen they were projecting him onto. We opted to stand next to some news vans where I could climb up onto the tire and get some better views.
Leading up to the big moment, you can enjoy plenty of music and fireworks. Wow, the fireworks went on for a long time.
If you live in this town and are trying to avoid the event and stay shuttered in at home, you cannot, because of the 6amsih, 15-minutes long (it seemed like?) fireworks.
I danced/bounced even when there was no music, to help stay warm.
The big moment arrived, it was magical, Phil looked calm and composed, and I got a decent video with my friend helping to hoist me up onto that news van. As per usual, six more weeks of winter was predicted.
Heading Home
A mass exit took place once the prediction was been made. We headed back onto a shuttle and were able to get one of the first ones, but we also saw a ton of people walking.
We opted not to get food close by for obvious reasons, and ended up eating at The Shore Diner, about two hours out of Punxsutawney. It was perfection. I mean, you have to eat at a diner just like in the movie, right?
Tips & What I’d Do Differently
On What to Wear
They say dress warmly, and it was 20 degrees with a 10 degree windchill when we were there. But what does dressing warmly mean?
For me – and I get cold easily – I wore three pairs of pants, three shirts, two sweatshirts, and two pairs of socks, in addition to my fluffiest coat, hat, scarf, and mittens. I brought handwarmers but did not end up using them.
Here’s what I’d do differently: Have toe warmers or heated socks of some kind. Two layers of socks was absolutely not enough. Most of me stayed warm enough, considering, but I could not feel my feet.
On Who to Go With
I’d read beforehand that the event is not recommended for children or the elderly, and I can confirm this. Hence why I went with a friend and not my family. I saw maybe a handful of kids while there, out of a crowd of 50,000.
You are standing outside, in the freezing cold, on the frozen ground, for hours. There is no place to sit down. There is no place to go inside and warm up.
I made the right choice on who to go with: a friend who is into traveling and trying new things, and was okay signing up for this cold excursion in Pennsylvania in February.
On Where to Stay & What to Do
Where we stayed worked out fine, but obviously, it would have been ideal to be closer.
What I’d do differently: I’d book lodging out a year in advance, which is what you need to do; I booked several months in advance and still 40 minutes was as close as I could get.
I would also like to check out more of the festivities leading up to the big event, so instead of doing a quick overnight, I’d make it more of a several day vacation to soak it all in.
One More Thing (Two More Things)
The only other thing I can think of is that I wish I’d gotten souvenirs. I need to seek out a groundhog hat or other memorabilia!
I lied, I have one more recommendation: Listen before you go to the Stuff You Should Know podcast episode on Groundhog Day, which dives a lot into the movie. Fascinating stuff!
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