Penn State Visiting Guide

A lot of people say that Penn State is in the middle of nowhere. The truth is that it is indeed in the middle of somewhere. The transportation is a bit expensive if you travel by air but it will be easy if you drive here. The main campus of the Pennsylvania State University is called University Park. There are many other campuses around the Pennsylvania. So the first thing to keep in mind your destination is University Park or State College, PA 16802. University Park is only a small part of State College. State College is also known for "Happy Valley" for unknown reasons.

[BY AIR]

The airport code is SCE. There are small planes travelling non-stop between State College and five cities as follows.

[BY BUS]

Dragon Deluxe provides direct bus between State College and New York City. Check their website for schedule. The rate is $35 for one-way and $70 for round trip. This might be the best choice if the schedule fits you.

Greyhound can bring you to State College from vitually everywhere in the United States. The problem is that it makes a lot of stops, takes a huge amount of time, and sometimes can be unsafe.

Fullington Bus can also bring you to State College from many places. Specifically, it has a weekend bus between State College and NYC called "The Big Apple Express". It is scheduled to leave from the State College bus depot, 152 N. Atherton St., at 2:30 p.m. on Fridays and arrive at about 7:15 p.m. at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York. Round-trip ticket holders would then re-board at 5 p.m. on Sundays. New Yorkers desiring a weekend in Happy Valley will depart at 5 p.m. on Friday and then return to New York at 11 a.m. Sunday. Tickets are available at bus terminals. One-way tickets are $40 and roundtrip tickets are $80. For more information, visit www.transportation.psu.edu/psu2nyc

[BY YOUR OWN CAR]

State College is on Interstate 80 and Interstate 99. It is in general easy to get here by driving your own car. The conditions for highway in Pennsylvania is very poor. The number of lanes are not as many as in any other state. Thank god that no bridge has collapsed so far but be prepared for construction work especially if you drive from Pittsburgh to State College. Check Google Map for details. Estimations from Google Map are listed below and it usually takes half an hour less if the traffic is not heavy.

From Pittsburgh: [133 miles, 2 hours and 50 minutes]

  1. Take Route 22 East to Route 220 North (Interstate 99) to Altoona.
  2. Continue on Route 220 North to Route 322 East to Port Matilda.
  3. Continue on Route 322 East to Route 26 South at State College.
  4. Follow the directional signs listed above from State College.

From Philadelphia: [199 miles, 3 hours and 39 minutes]

  1. Take Interstate 76 West to Route 322 West at Harrisburg.
  2. Continue on 322 West to Route 26 at State College.
  3. Follow the directional signs listed above from State College.

From Washington DC: [216 miles, 3 hours and 54 minutes]

From New York City: [239 miles, 4 hours and 10 minutes]

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