The Best Place to Live in the Poconos. The Best Place for a Vacation Home or Investment in the Pocono Mountains
Well... now it depends.
So.. we'll helped you narrow the choices with some qualifying factors, below. But... if you want .. call me ( Rick Golden, Broker) at 570-517-2428 and ask questions or to talk over your criteria. I can narrow the selection for you pretty quickly since I've been doing this for over 50 years.
Want more information on Where to Live in the Poconos? Ask The Rick Here.
Here are the best gated communities in the Poconos... Now .. "gated" doesn't mean much in the Poconos. We're in the woods, so there's really not much privacy provided by a gate. Consider that the generally recognized "best" communities are mostly ungated.
Best Vacation or Retirement Community
#1
Pinecrest Lake Golf and Country Club
Pocono Pines PA.
A neighborhood with everything. golf, lake, outdoor pool, excellent tennis facility and good management.
There are homes here with award winning design. And, this is a great location on top of the Pocono Plateau, with its unique weather system, allowing for cooler breezes in the summer and more snow in the winter.
Pinecrest is also, easy to get to from either New York of Philadelphia. It is convenient to skiing at Jack Frost or Camelback. Less than 6 miles to the Mt Airy Casino. Minutes to river activities on either the Lehigh or Delaware rivers.
Homes are constructed with better than average materials and are situated in alcoves of Mountain Laurel and Pines.
The original developer created Pinecrest as a haven for the vacation or retirement owner... The community does a lot of maintenance. This lifts a lot of the load off the homeowner.
There are townhomes, Single maintained homes (Think townhomes with maintenance but as a single detached home) and homes on lots.
Community has beautiful lake, top tennis facility, great management, outdoor pool with snack bar, hiking trails and lots of history.
Short term rentals are regulated with some restrictions in Pinecrest. Allowed, but limited in number of times per year per unit.
Request more info or a tour of Pinecrest
There are some second runner ups to this category.
Lake Naomi, also in Pocono Pines, PA on the Pocono Plateau.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly about Lake Naomi:
Good, Great location in the geographic center of the Poconos region. About 2 hours to either Philly and New York City. Lots of activities in and around the community. Beautiful lake and community center and well respected management.
The Bad: some older stock of housing with some, at this point, needing renovation.
The Ugly: the cost, the cost, the cost. There is a high entrance fee and it's expensive to get access all of the amenities. As a result, it is VERY expensive (Up to $10K per year) and this is on top of taxes.
Granted the amenities are top notch with very nice indoor pool, tennis, fitness and beautiful lake with beaches and restaurant, but you'll need to have the disposable income. It ya got it Then this is the spot!
Short term rentals are regulated in Lake Naomi. Allowed, and because of this it's not a profitable place to make a business renting out a house, used more to cover some carrying costs of your vacation home.
More info on Lake Naomi
Another second runner up is Hemlock Farms.
Gated, well run, lots of community activities, and reasonable fees.
Hemlock Farms would be the number one community, bar none, except there is no skiing in the immediate area. The travel distance to skiing activity is over 3/4 hour. There's also a limited number of restaurants within 15-20 minutes.
USA Realty services and can help you find the right home for your family in Hemlock. But, no short term nightly or weekly vacation rentals are allowed. 570-517-2428
Best Unknown Place to Live:
Cherry Valley – Part of this quiet rural area where 20,000-acres have been designated as a National Wildlife Refuge. I’ve always felt driving through Cherry Valley is like driving through rural West Virginia. A valley surrounded by high hills of maples, pines, and oak trees.
The valley floor is a patchwork of working farms and country estates.
Very small villages, some with less than 10 homes, make up the social network. Yet, all this is within a few minutes of Stroudsburg. Allentown, and it's regional airport, is 20 minutes and it is less than 2 hours to Manhattan.
There are no “communities” in Cherry Valley. It is a geographical region comprised of Smithfield, Stroud, Hamilton and Ross Townships and many small villages.
There is no good way to find a home in Cherry Valley online (one of the reasons that it is quiet and nice.) So, it is necessary to call a local Realtor and ask for a list in your price range. USA Realty can help 570-517-2428 and will send you a list of homes that meet your criteria.
Best All Around Low Priced Vacation Home spot –
Pocono Farms Community Association (note, not Pocono Farms East)
This community has homes from the low 150’s, paved roads, community water, a small lake, a nice pool and tennis complex.
Here there is good management, a golf course, low dues, and a sense of community.
It’s about 2 hours from Manhattan and 2 from Philly. Skiing, casino, more golf, state parks and the big Lake – Wallenpaupack are all close by.
Short term rentals are allowed in Pocono Farms.
More info on Pocono Farms
We might runner up this with Arrowhead Lakes. Gated, lots if amenities and close to 3 ski resorts and waterparks. Short term rentals are allowed in Arrowhead Lake.
Best Lake Vacation Communities
Lake Naomi and Hemlock Farms – Tie – Best places for Sailors, Swimmers and kids. The lake at Lake Naomi is the primary attraction. It is the third or fourth largest in the state and has the correct climate for sailing. (on Top of the Plateau where the wind is consistent and cooler).
Lake Naomi has recently completed an indoor recreation center with kids programs, indoor pool, tennis, water slide and more.
As a vacation (not retirement or year around home) these are the top picks. We might add there are more ranch homes per square mile in Hemlock Farms than anywhere else in the Poconos. As a result, there are more retirees in the community than many other places.
More info on Hemlock Farms
Best Place for Ski / Winter Home.
Northridge at Camelback – Close to the largest and most active ski resort and summer water park in the Poconos. Only about 25 minutes from the other four major ski and winter resorts (Jack Frost, Big Boulder, Shawnee and Blue Mountain)
Most ski homes here were designed by Bill Deveraux one of the nations leading home architects and constructed to pretty high standards, at least in the older Northridge homes.
The community is well run, has a good mix of New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia owners. This is where you will find the best short term rental potential of any community in the mountains.
More info on Northridge
Best Place to Buy a Home for the Motor Boater
Lake Harmony – This one gets a little tricky. There are three places in the reachable Poconos (2 hours from NYC and Philly) that you can motor boat. Lake Hauto with few homes and is the most remote, Lake Wallenpaupack, the largest lake in the region and Lake Harmony.
Each has its flaws and each could be right for your boating crowd, but they are VERY different. Lake Hauto, besides being far, has little around it for the kids or grand kids. But, is near Jim Thorpe with many more adult activities. It is a medium sized body of water long and narrow so it could get boring and has few homes on the water.
Lake Harmony, the smallest of the
Poconos Motor boating lakes WILL get boring for the motor boater, BUT
has indoor water parks, skiing, a great variety of restaurants and
shops, whitewater rafting, paint ball and many more things to do close
by.
Lake Harmony Estates in Lake Harmony is tied with Northridge at Camelback for The best spot to buy and investment property for short term rentals.
More info on Lake Harmony
Lake Wallenpaupack is regulated by Pennsylvania Power and Light with its own set of restrictions. While there are some other activities around the lake, there’s not much for kids to do here. AND, restaurants in the area are know to close off season, so it gets REAL quiet in winter.
Best Place(s) to Live or Vacation for the Sportsman
Blue Heron Lake (Dingman’s Ferry PA, NOT the one in Hawley)- This one is NOT tricky. With its 500 plus acres of common land, being surrounded by thousands and thousands of acres of state lands and hunting clubs, a limited membership, the ability to ride ATVs onsite, a great quantity of game, a clay shooting range, a 200 plus acre private lake, and an attitude that is a cross of Paul Bunyon and Ralph Lauren, Blue Heron is a sportsman’s paradise.
Folks here are a little picky about who they want as neighbors (a good thing.) They have a passion for the outdoors, an even greater passion for privacy (someone from there will probably call me and ask to have this award removed), and have allowed only 60 or so homes of varied size and type.
And yes, we know Porter’s lake is better, but neither you nor I will get a chance to buy at Porter’s.
There are actually two other choices for sportsman White Heron Lake and Poconos Springs – each of these is unique.
Best Values in Commuter Homes in a Community
Penn Estates – There are some GREAT buys in Penn Estates, a community with lakes, pools, tennis, clubhouse and varied community activities. Originally designed and built at a vacation home neighborhood, it now has mostly year around residents.
With its mixture of contemporary and traditional home designs and wooded lots, this neighborhood feels different than other “cookie cutter” communities.
For families looking for bargains in larger homes, Penn Estates may be the answer. Actually, anywhere in the East Stroudsburg school district is within reasonable commute to NYC or northern New Jersey.
More info on Penn Estates