Amish Country Tours in Western Pennsylvania: The Quiet Side of Amish Life

When most people think of Amish country tours, they picture Lancaster County, with its buggy rides, big gift shops, and busy weekend crowds. But about an hour north of Pittsburgh, there's a quieter Amish country where the farms aren't built for tourists at all.

Around New Wilmington and Volant, Pennsylvania, Amish families have been farming the land since 1847, and their brown-topped buggies still share the back roads with cars every day.

This corner of Lawrence County is one of Pennsylvania's older Amish settlements, and it feels more like a working community than a destination. That's exactly what makes Amish country tours here so memorable: real bakeries, real quilt shops, real farms, and a little mill town at the end of the road.

TAKE A SELF-GUIDED TOUR OF NEW WILMINGTON'S AMISH COUNTRY:

The New Wilmington to Volant Amish Country Driving Tour is a self-guided GPS audio tour that starts on the town square in New Wilmington and ends at Volant Mills. Your guide, Greg, tells the stories behind the places you pass, and the narration plays on its own as you drive.

Along the way you'll learn:

• Why the buggies here have brown tops instead of Lancaster's gray

• How nine Byler families started the settlement in 1847, according to local tradition

• Why a 68-year-old bishop walked about 250 miles across Pennsylvania—twice

• How the town of Volant nearly faded away, then came roaring back

Most visitors spend two to three hours exploring the route with stops.

Check out the New Wilmington to Volant Amish Country Driving Tour here.

WHY NEW WILMINGTON INSTEAD OF LANCASTER:

Lancaster County is famous, and for good reason, but it's also built for visitors. New Wilmington's Amish country is different. There are no theme parks or tour buses lining the roads, just farms, greenhouses, sawmills, and small family shops tucked along country lanes.

The families here trace their roots to Big Valley in Mifflin County, in the middle of the state. They came for the flat, rich farmland, and they've kept life slow and simple for nearly 180 years. If you want Amish country without the crowds, this is it.

WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON THE BACK ROADS:

Brown-topped buggies are the first thing most visitors notice. The brown top marks this community and the settlements that grew out of it, while Lancaster's Amish drive gray ones. Historians say buggy colors mostly come down to tradition, not some secret code.

You'll also spot light-blue doors on many Amish homes. Some folks say a blue door means a daughter is ready to marry, but that's a legend. Here, it's simply tradition.

Along the way, you can stop for cheese, apples, and doughnuts, drive through Banks Covered Bridge, one of only two covered bridges left in Lawrence County, and finish at Volant Mills, a wooden gristmill from the early 1800s.

AMISH AND MENNONITES: WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

The Amish and the Mennonites share the same roots in a movement that began in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1525, when a small group of Christians chose to baptize adults instead of babies. Their followers were called Anabaptists, or "rebaptizers."

In 1693, a tailor named Jakob Ammann pushed for stricter rules, and his followers became the Amish. Today, most Old Order Amish worship in each other's homes and don't own cars, while Mennonites range from horse-and-buggy groups to modern churches. On the New Wilmington tour, you'll pass a Mennonite church built in 1872 by families who arrived the same year as the first Amish settlers.

TIPS FOR VISITING AMISH COUNTRY RESPECTFULLY:

• Bring cash. Most Amish bakeries, grocery stores, and quilt shops don't take cards.

• Plan your shopping for Monday through Saturday, since most Amish shops close on Sundays.

• Photograph the buggies and the countryside, not the people. Many Amish prefer not to have their faces photographed.

• Slow down for buggies, especially on hills and curves, and pass only when it's clearly safe.

• Stay on public roads and visit shops that welcome customers. Amish farms and homes are private property.

PLAN YOUR TRIP:

Want to make a day of it? Our Volant travel guide covers the best things to do in Volant, where to eat and stay, and how to plan a one- or two-day trip through New Wilmington's Amish country.

Check out the Volant, PA Travel Guide here.