Pennsylvania Dutch Country

The purpose of our trip to the Pennsylvania Dutch Country was to meet my college roommate, Tom, and his wife for lunch at Yoder’s Country Market and Restaurant in New Holland. Some shopping was also planned.

Since we had plenty time for our trip in the morning and it was forecast to be a hot day, I selected a route consisting of back roads and state highways to take advantage of the refreshing and cooler temperatures created by shade along the route.

The route consisted of many roads, too numerous to mention. However here are a few I would like to comment on:

1) Mountain Road (Marker A to B) – A very scenic cruising road that is a good connector between SR 309 and the Lehigh Gap (Junction SR’s 248, 145, & 873). The Blue Mountain to the north provides a continual scenic backdrop.

2) Werley’s Corner Road (Marker C to D) – This back road provides some wonderful riding, whether on 2 0r 3 wheels. Well kept farms and homes dot the entire route and traffic was minimal.

3) SR 568 (Marker E to F) – 568 is a real gem. May be one of the best motorcycle roads in the Reading area. Curve after curve after curve! It appears that the road was laid out before safety engineers got involved. 568 follows the natural terrain, which provides the curves and some whoop-de-do’s. With a narrow roadway and many blind spots, you need to be on your toes.

Overall, the route down to New Holland took some time but it provided a varied and interesting ride, which any motorcyclist would appreciate.


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This was the first time that we have dined at Yoder’s (Marker G) and it didn’t disappoint. We all took advantage of the $10 lunch buffet, which included everything you expect from a well-stocked buffet. The food was excellent and the dining area was very clean. Yoder’s Restaurant is highly recommended in my book.

Besides the restaurant, Yoder’s also includes a very large country market plus a couple of small shops. After lunch, the wives took advantage of this opportunity to do some shopping while Tom and I spent the time in conversation.

After Yoder’s we headed to the Flower & Craft Warehouse (Marker H, map above) in Blue Ball. More shopping and conversation. By this time it was late afternoon and since Tom and his wife had a several hour ride to return home, we parted ways till our next rendezvous in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

For the route home I selected some tried and true roads and one, which was new.

First I backtracked on SR 625 (Marker B to C, map below) and rode it for it’s entire length up to Kenhorst. With out a doubt the best portion is north of SR 568, which had plenty of shade, a smooth tarmac, and nice scenery along Noide Forest State Park.

From there is was onto US 422 & US 222, a 4-lane beltway around Reading, with it’s ‘rush hour’ traffic. When US 222 turned into a 2-lane congested highway, I decided to try Maiden Creek Road (Marker D to E) for the first time in an effort to avoid all the traffic. It turned out to be a wise choice. Traffic was light and the road was in good condition. At the eastern end, Maiden Creek Road terminates at a crossroads with SR 662 and SR 143.

SR 143 (Marker E to F) is one of my favorite roads. South of I-78, it has a good number of sharp curves but the road surface is rough in some sections. North of I-78, 143 has a different character with sweeping curves, smooth tarmac, and wonderful scenery provided by the Maiden Creek. In any case the entire route is a great motorcycle road.

After SR 143 it was a final stretch on some familiar roads back home.

A very hot ride in the afternoon, but a wonderful day of motorcycling, food, and conversation.

Total mileage for the trip was 180 miles on some great motorcycle roads.


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