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Pocono Golf Courses | Woodloch Springs | Woodloch Resort

Woodloch’s Blog

Keep up-to-date with all things Woodloch on our blog featuring exclusive recipes, heartwarming stories, lifestyle content, contests and more.

The Top 3 Pocono Golf Courses

As we swiftly approach summer’s emergence here at Woodloch Resort, we cannot help but daydream of golden days spent surveying the prettiest Pocono golf courses. Whether you make a habit of sinking birdie putts or you often shriek, “Fore,” seconds after each drive, you’ll undoubtedly find something to love about the rolling forestry of the Pocono Mountains during your stay. It’s only a matter of weeks before the top-rated Pocono golf courses gleefully open their doors, effectively ushering in thousands of golfers, many of which from nearby New York City and Philadelphia.

Find Your Swing at These 3 Pocono Golf Courses

While we’re certainly biased toward the sprawling, awe-inspiring course design at Woodloch Springs, we also appreciate the fine work from several of the area’s premier country clubs. Our growing team of golf professionals has played 18 holes at each of the most popular Pocono golf courses, and we believe that these three options truly encapsulate the visual allure of the region.

Woodloch Springs

Because Woodloch was recently named USA Today’s “Best Family Resort in America,” it’s easy to overlook the fact that we also boast the top-reviewed 18-hole course in the region. This 1992 Rocky Roquemore design is equally a visual delight and a smile-inducing challenge. Woodloch Springs holds a 4.8 rating on Golf Advisor and a near-perfect overall recommendation grade. Golfers love this award-winning, 6,600-yard marvel because it snakes through the heart of the Poconos. The layout features upland meadows, pristine wetlands, and towering pines along with immaculate greens and fairways.

Lords Valley Country Club

Lords Valley Country Club is, as you might expect, a private institution. That being said, seemingly every golfer in the area knows someone with a membership. Not a far drive from Woodloch Springs, it is especially nice to play during autumn’s peak. What was once known as “Camp Hemlock” in the 1920s is now a scenic, 18-hole course that spans 145 wooded and waterfront acres.

Honesdale Golf Club

Honesdale Golf Club remains one of the more underrated Pocono golf courses because it doesn’t sit at the foothills of gently rolling mountains. However, Honesdale is one of the oldest clubs in Pennsylvania; they’re set to celebrate 120 years this summer. The course’s history seeps through every acre, and the pace of play is idyllic. Again, membership is required so don’t forget to reach out to your network of golfers to book a tee time.

Pocono Mountain Resorts

After quelling 18 holes at one of the best Pocono golf courses, enjoy a gourmet dinner inside The Grille Room and return to your course-side vacation rental for a few hours of late-night relaxation. Woodloch Resort, in combination with its sister property The Lodge at Woodloch, is one of the premier four-season destinations in North America. To learn more about our “stay and play” Pocono golf packages, please visit us online at Woodloch.com.

Filed Under: community, golf, reunions, Summer Tagged With:

Things to Do in the Poconos: 30 Fun Activities | Woodloch Resort

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30 Fun Things to Do in the Poconos

There’s no off-season for adventure here in the awe-inspiring Pocono Mountains. Regardless of the season, the Poconos allure travelers of all kinds to enjoy the region’s many perks, such as seemingly endless outdoor adventures, historic boroughs, and, of course, the top-rated family resort in the United States. Woodloch Resort is not only centrally located near the area’s most popular attractions, lakes, and outfitters, but guests can partake in as many as three dozen activities on a given day (as seen on the daily activity sheet). 

With so many fun things to do in the Poconos throughout the year, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of exciting activities. Luckily for you and your family, we’ve pieced together 30 of the best things to do in the Poconos, ranging from bass fishing on Lake Wallenpaupack to backpacking along the Delaware Water Gap.

The Top Things to Do in the Poconos

As one of the premier all-inclusive resorts in Pennsylvania (and the country), we’re committed to providing each and every guest with the experience of a lifetime. These efforts wouldn’t be possible without the hard work from our small village of employees—it also wouldn’t be necessary without adventurous families, such as yourselves. To ensure that your next visit to Hawley, PA, is nothing short of spectacular, we’ve compiled a list of 30 fun things to do in the Poconos. Click the links below to learn more about each activity and destination.

Family-Friendly Pocono Mountain Resorts

It’s worth noting that the majority of these adventurous, undeniably fun things to do in the Poconos are offered right here on Woodloch Resort’s 1,200-acre woodland haven. As winter transforms into spring, we welcome thousands of families who are in desperate need of a break from log-jammed streets, blustery dog walks, and early-morning car-starts. To learn more about a potential mid-spring escape, please visit our packages page. You’ll notice that we cover everything from Mother’s Day to Peter Cottontail. Give us a call today at 1-800-966-3562 to speak with a friendly member of our team about available rooms and dates!

Filed Under: community, golf, Summer, Winter

Woodloch Scouts Operation Cookie Drop | Woodloch Resort

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Woodloch Scouts and Friends Fall-In for “Operation: COOKIE DROP”

Over the past few years, Woodloch has become a terrific escape for visiting scout groups.  They’re here to participate in our marquee events such as Scavenger Hunt, Winter Olympics, Cupcake Wars and more not only for the coveted gold medals but also for customized Woodloch badges that will soon be stitched on their sashes.  Needless to say, their presence is always known- their enthusiasm and laughter buzz like a nest of honeybees wherever they travel off to.

And of course, THE COOKIES. They always seem to have them in close reach.  For years, our scout groups would have some extra boxes here and there and simply leave them with staff as a “thank you” for a fun weekend (or perhaps as an underhand attempt at gaining a few more points for Scavenger Hunt… but who are we to judge?). Thin Mints became a staple in our break rooms.

As Woodloch employees, however, fresh baked goods are never really out of our reach- extra breads from the bakery are often left up for grabs to those who need it. As sweet of a gesture as it may be, the treats could be put to a better use. And those thoughts led to the creation of our annual “OPERATION COOKIE DROP.”

Throughout the “off-season” months, each visiting Girl Scout is given the opportunity to donate a box of Girl Scout cookies into our special “Drop Crate” located in our Main Lobby. Upon doing so, they receive a special gift from Woodloch as a “thank you.” At the end of the season, every last Samoa, Trefoil, Peanut Butter Patties and everything in between will be shipped overseas (through the help of our friends in “Operation: Touch of Home”) to the brave men and women serving in our armed forces.  Everyone is invited to drop hand-written letters into our mailbox for the soldiers as well.

The cookies are a warm and happy reminder of home, bringing comfort to those who may be in an uncomfortable place for some time.

They’re a reminder to our protectors of exactly what they’re protecting.

“They’re a small token of gratitude… but it’s a great way for all of us to start,” says Joey Ranner, Activities Director. “I have to smile every time we start initiatives like this- our guests (Scouts and non-scouts alike) spring into action and share that Woodloch warmth with others. Our collaboration has collected almost 10,000 boxes of cookies since we started the program in 2014, and we gain momentum each year. Watching a plan unfold firsthand reminds me of how fortunate I am to work with such good company.”

If you’ve outgrown your berets, fear not- we have extra cookies available to purchase on hand. While you’re at it, be sure to fill out “Letters From Home” to give a shoutout to your heroes!

Scouts posing outdoors in winter.Girl Scouts posing with their Troop flag and Woodloch sign.Various flavors of Girl Scouts cookies.Various flavors of Girl Scouts cookies.

Filed Under: community, fall, reunions, youth travel Tagged With: , ,

The Spirit of Hospitality | Woodloch Resort

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“The Spirit of Hospitality”: Woodloch Recognizes Staff

On May 5th, Woodloch Pines, an all-inclusive family resort in the Pocono Mountains, held its annual Spring Staff Appreciation meeting. The Kiesendahl Family, who have owned and operated the business since 1958, took the time to recognize and reward its loyal employees who have worked there for 10 years or more. Of the 1,200 part and full-time workers, 200 have served the company for at least a decade. Considering that the hospitality industry is well-known for its high turnover rate, this is certainly a notable accomplishment.

During the meeting, nearly 17% of Woodloch’s employees were recognized for at least 10 years of dedicated service, and 90 of these staff members have worked for the family resort for at least 20 years. Employees were given both gift certificates and golden nametags in recognition of their service. Additionally, two staff members were honored with the annual Aunt Mary and Aunt Marge Awards, named as a tribute to two of the founding matriarchs of Woodloch, Mary Kiesendahl and Marge Kranich, respectively representing a front-of-house employee and a back-of-house employee. The awards are meant to recognize employees who routinely go above and beyond the call of duty to give Woodloch guests an outstanding vacation experience. This year’s recipients were Amanda Griffenkranz, who is part of the weddings and events department, and Ryan Dailey, a member of the culinary team at Woodloch Springs. The evening concluded with a party at Woodloch Springs.

“We are where we are thanks to our amazing staff members, who make Woodloch the very special place that it is. They have been the key to our success for over 61 years now. We take tremendous pride in our employees and are eager to acknowledge the incredible success they have helped us achieve,” said John Kiesendahl, President and C.E.O. of Woodloch Pines.

Filed Under: community, employment

Woodloch Behind the Smiles: Meet Woodloch's Gardening Department! | Woodloch Resort

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Woodloch Behind the Smiles: Meet our Gardening Department!

~shared by J. Ranner

“Love is the flower- you’ve got to let it GROW.”

-John Lennon

It was one long and at times frustrating battle, but we endured. And after a winter that just didn’t want to let up, here we FINALLY are: Spring has arrived and is in full bloom in our little corner of the Pocono Mountains. All is right with the world.

To me, one of the biggest drawbacks of winter is what I can only call “graying.” After vibrant shiny lights illuminate the coldest of winter nights, we seem to hit months and months of complete absence of color. Then, as the days warm and sun reinvigorates the earth with life, my senses are just about overloaded with stimulus as flowers begin to surround the world in a full spectrum of colors.

This is something that I notice every single day as I stroll to my office at Woodloch. Brilliant displays of flowers catch my eyes at every entrance and nooks and crannies in between. Being less of a winter fan (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) and more of a summer fan, the arrival of blossoms brings me much joy.

Woodloch is a pretty big property- almost 1,200 acres between our resort and Woodloch Springs, our golfing community. So in that respect, you might be quite surprised to find out that ALL of the flower work- planting, maintenance and care (not to mention the challenge from deer, moles, and other flower munching critters) – is the product of just three ladies. Ellen, her daughter Dusty and Jess – our Woodloch Gardening Department- are tasked year round with caring for all of the beautiful flowers that adorn our resort.

Every morning, just as the sun rises above our resort, the ladies set forth planting, watering, deadheading and treating flowers sprawled all across our resort. It’s a never-ending commitment- just as one path of flowers are in pristine condition, something else likely needs attention. There’s a lot of ground to cover! From all of our roadside signs, to each and every building entrance and flower pot, it’s a labor of love.

Behind the scenes, Ellen and the girls are always preparing for our next season. Orders for new spring plants starts well before March while bulbs from last season are prepared in Woodloch’s greenhouse. Plastic flowers are displayed during our “swing” months (after all, March and April are somewhat inconsistent with temperature) until spring plants finally find their way into the ground. By this time, summer flowers are being prepared, then mums and cornstalks for fall and Halloween celebrations, and so on and so forth. Mother Nature, as well as the ladies, don’t stop moving!

The ladies of our Gardening Department of course have their support. Our landscaping crew is constantly cleaning up our flower beds and making sure the rest of our grounds are looking just as beautiful as the flowers surrounding them. Let it be known that in addition to our front of staff operations, we have hundreds of “behind the scenes” employees that keep the cogs of Woodloch moving like a well-oiled machine!

In case you haven’t already noticed (which it is very, very hard NOT to), take an extra couple of minutes to scope out our floral displays- I think you’ll be very glad that you did!

Filed Under: community, employment Tagged With: , ,

Blizzard 2018 | Woodloch Resort

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Woodloch “Unplugged” – Weathering the 2018 Blizzard

~shared by J. Ranner

If I can sum up everything I’ve learned over the past three decades of my life, it would be in two statements from two of my favorite movies:

  1. “Plan to be surprised.” – Dan in Real Life
  2. “Happiness can be found even in the darkest times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

This past weekend at our resort, I think both of my life mottoes came to fruition.

If you had visited Woodloch during the President’s Week midwinter recess, you probably wouldn’t have believed it. Everyone assumed that Phil the Groundhog was wrong and that we would be getting an early springtime after all- temperatures soared as high as 73(!) degrees with lots of sunshine. Our grounds were bare of any snow (save for our man-made tube runs), the lake was just about thawed and everyone had a little bit of spring fever.

And cue THE SURPRISE.

Winter isn’t over after all. March came in like a lion with Winter Storm Riley, featuring heavy rain on March 1st that transitioned into snow. Over the course of 24 hours, Woodloch was covered in about 20 inches of wet heavy snow. Coupled with sustained winds of 30 miles per hour gusting up to 60 mph, it was a recipe for a power outage. Which (surprise) happened just as our first March weekend guests were set to arrive.

Trying to stay ahead of the storm, efforts were made Thursday to either encourage early arrivals while dozens of our guests had to cancel. Needless to say, we still had approximately 400 guests weather the storm with limited electricity and running water. They were here to have a good time and by-golly, we were going to give them one. Even if it had to be a little “unplugged.” With a little optimism (“the light”) great things are possible!

Thankfully, Woodloch has emergency generators that switch on in the event of power failures. Emergency lighting, water and even our North Lodge stage and Nightclub can operate in some capacity. While we were able to do our famous Winter Olympics, Cake Wars and even some Name That Tune and Movie Game, amenities like Bumper Cars, our Indoor Pools and game rooms were unavailable.

Our guests kept their smiles as they still enjoyed archery, skating, snow tubing (there was no shortage of powder, to be sure), indoor Forest Playground (courtesy of flood lights, maybe even adding to the “jungle ambiance”) and all sorts of trivia. Proving the fact that we don’t need technology or even electricity to have a good time- often, we just need each other.

The hardworking folks at Pennsylvania Power & Light (PPL) sprung into action and restored power to our resort at approximately 5:30 Saturday evening- roughly 36 hours without power. As the adage goes, “the show went on” as our Broadway style Theme Show took the stage as usual.

At the end of the day (and as we still continue to dig ourselves out of this) we are reminded of how fortunate we are. Between all of the relief workers braving the elements to restore energy, PENN DOT and emergency personnel keeping everyone safe and our own staff for making it to work (many even staying over), we consider ourselves very fortunate to have what we have. Without the teamwork (and our guests that had faith in us), the weekend could have been a mess instead of something that we’ll smile back on when strolling down memory lane.

Filed Under: community, Winter Tagged With: ,

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