Groundhog Day is February 2. Next year, that also happens to be my husband’s 40th birthday. So I’m planning a trip for us.
Has anyone been to the celebrations? Any recommendations/advice? I’m not sure how long to plan to be in Punxsutawney itself.
I’ve been to Punxy, but never for Groundhog Day. I’ve heard reservations for rooms sell out quick. I’d consider renting a small cabin in Brookville or Cook’s Forest and driving to Punxy from there.
But I’d try to set up reservations now.
If you and your husband are big fans of the movie, you might consider Woodstock, Illinois
Punxsutawney is a quaint town but I hear one day is plenty there.
Yes, but how many of that one day?
I was born and raised in Punxy. My recommendation is to not go there for Groundhog Day…or any other day…unless you have family there you want to visit. It is a dwindling little west-central PA town without much to do and little that is unique. If you do GhogDay, it goes like this:
- Overpay for lodging.
- Stand in line for the shuttlebus.
- Get searched for alcohol and drugs by the state cops before you board the bus.
- Stand outside all night, in the cold and rain or snow, while amateur talent from Punxy tries to entertain.
- Watch Ron Ploucha yank the rodent out of its fake den.
- Stand in line to get a shuttle back to town.
- Stand in line somewhere to pay too much for an entirely unremarkable breakfast.
- Walk around town for about 15 minutes til you realize there is nothing to do or see.
- Drive home or to the airport.
I drove through once, on the way from Altoona to Erie.
Totally disagree! I’ve been there a few times & was planning on going this year, but someone deciding to schedule a funeral for that day quashed that idea.
It is something I highly recommend everyone do once in their life as it’s so stoopit & silly & bizarre that it’s a blast! Hey, fireworks on TV aren’t nearly as good as fireworks live, are they?
Don’t stay in town; it’s ridiculously overpriced for that one night. Try either DuBois to the north (along I-80) or Indiana to the south (home of eye-youp).
Unless you have HP parking (&, I think, a pass) you can’t park up there. You need to park at one of the few shuttle (school) bus stops in town. Don’t get there near the end of the window, either because some of the lots fill up & then you need to try & find another one & somewhere to park.
Half, or more of the crowd is college kids, many of them go to a bar until closing time (2am) & then directly to the shuttle lines. The average BAC on Gobbler’s Know is about a .12, including those who are not drinking. Hey, you’re standing, not moving outside, in pre-dawn hours in February, in a northern state; you need ‘anti-freeze’ in your system. 
Don’t worry; however, I’ve never seen any issues with drunks/fighting. There is even a designated family section for little kids & strollers.
Depending upon your age, demeanor, & traveling companions (kids); the security screening is, “Have a nice day.” If you’re early 20’s, with a cooler, yup, you’re getting a patdown.
Once you get up to Gobbler’s Knob, it’s a bit of a natural amphitheater with a sloped hill. There are numerous TV & satellite trucks parked up top all setup for their live hit (approx 7:30ish). There are a few beachballs batted thru the crowd, like at a summer concert. Bring one if you can to add to the mix. There’s a comedian that comes out to warm up the crowd. There’s pre-dawn fireworks.
Then the ‘inner circle’ pull up in their heated van, get out wearing their tuxes, walk down the cordoned off pathway down to the stage. His appointed handler pulls him out of his stump, they confer, & read his proclamation…& the crowd goes wild…or boos.
Hint: NOW is the time to move towards the shuttle buses back into town. Once they all fill up & depart it’s probably 20 mins until they come back around. If you’re way back in line, I’d suggest walking the mile or so back into town. Once in town, there are numerous, cheap pancake breakfasts. There’s plenty of food, but only so much seating so they do end up with lines, literally out the door. Get into one, eat, buy some souvenirs, walk around a bit & get pics of the statues (4’ tall fiberglass groundhogs sponsored by various businesses - the pharmacy sponsors ‘Phil my prescription’ painted like a druggist, etc.). Then get the 'ell out of this two-stoplight, one-trick town. You can easily be on the way out by 9am having pretty much done everything worth doing.
You should come a little further to NYC, and see the musical on Broadway.
Agreed K364. I remember the Ground Hog Day house was up for sale. Unfortunately, the hostess has died.
I’ve been to the celebration. Personally I like the Buzzard Festival over in Ohio better but I’ve been to worse places.
I second the Brookville idea. Just remember that for a lot of the Cook Forest stuff, that is off-season and limited options are available. The parks cabins are closed for the most part and even places like MacBeth’s tend to pair down. I’ll be there there this weekend if you want me to ask around.
Thank you all for sharing your thoughts!
Visiting the house used in the film sounds great but is unfortunately beyond the means of this trip, especially in winter. My husband has enjoyed watching the live stream of the Groundhog Day ceremony for many years, so that’s really the experience we’re looking to replicate.
We’re currently looking to book accommodation in Dubois.
A request that you bump this in Feb & let us know your thoughts.
Remember it’s pronounced “do-boys” and you’ll be fine there.
I’ve visited the nearby Allegheny National Forest, which was nice. But I don’t imagine it’s as pleasant in February.
Have fun. Keep your expectations really, really low and you won’t be disappointed.
Be sure to visit the Harley shop; its seriously unique and the urinals are worth having him sneak you in to see.
Just avoid the Penn State football coaches. <we really need a wide evil grin smilie>
Good advice for life in general.
I visited Punxsutawney for about an hour about 15 years ago. It’s not as interesting as a lot of other Pennsyvania towns of a similar size.
By coincidence, my visit was on a drive from Dubois back to Ohio, where I lived at the time. We spent a week at a resort in Dubois, and it’s not all that interesting either, but you can reach interesting places from there. The most interesting place that we saw on that trip was the Titusville / Oil City region, where oil was first drilled out of the ground.
No, the DuBois joke originated about Michael Jackson, not Sandusky, though I see how it might have evolved into that. “What’s Michael Jackson’s favorite town in PA? DuBois, of course.”
I live about 90 minutes from Punxsy, and have never gone for Groundhog Day. Seems like a bucket list kind of thing, but also a lot of trouble for what you get out of it. I always watch live on my TV, though.