Want to make a Penn State visit even better? Add in a Penn State stay. Make the University’s iconic Penn Stater Hotel your home base for your next Happy Valley getaway. Here’s four reasons why.

The Arboretum at Penn State, located at Penn State’s University Park campus, is a special Happy Valley treasure. The H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens, open daily from dawn until dusk, offer visitors ten acres of specialty gardens. Beyond the gardens lie fields and woodlands for hiking, biking, and observing wildlife. Admission is free.

Greg Guise puts a new meaning on the term ‘active retirement.’ After graduating from Penn State and working as a videographer in Detroit and then in Washington, D.C. for 40 years, he’s back in Happy Valley. And when I call him, he’s climbing Rattlesnake Mountain to install communications gear for the amateur radio community. It’s “just a way of giving back,” he says just before he drives out of cell phone range. When he calls back, he tells me just why community is so, so important. Read on.

The Arboretum at Penn State, located at Penn State’s University Park campus, is a special Happy Valley treasure. The H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens, open year‑round from dawn until dusk, offer visitors ten acres of specialty gardens.

The Happy Valley Adventure Bureau has plenty of inspiration for Penn State students interested in exploring and enjoying all corners of the county – the beautiful valleys and unique communities that comprise our big Happy Valley.

We get many questions about our county, but these are the most common questions you'll see through Google.

There are so many opportunities for places to visit, sights to see, food to eat, and teams to cheer-on in Happy Valley. As a visitor, exploring the many opportunities the valley has to offer means having to come for more than just one trip. To help plan your next trip to Happy Valley, we wrote the “must do’s” for each season.

Penn State University Park is a spawling campus that provides tons of breath-taking backdrops for your photos. For many alumni, there are locations on campus that hold special meaning both while they were a student and during their returns to the area. Here are 11 “can’t-miss” locales throughout campus where you can grab a memorable shot to share on your social media and treasure in the years to come.