Odds are, you’ve eaten a mushroom grown in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Yet visitors quickly discover that agriculture is only the beginning of the story here.
Winding roads connect vineyards, historic inns, and restaurants, where what’s fresh and foraged travels only a few miles from field to plate. Tucked into Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley, the town and its surrounding farms produce more than 60 percent of the U.S. mushroom crop, earning it the title of Mushroom Capital of the World.
Here, morning farmers’ markets segue into afternoons filled with hands-on experiences alongside vintners, growers, and cheesemakers. Trace the region’s legacy as a center of rose and chrysanthemum production and explore the area’s role as a haven for freedom seekers at the Kennett Underground Railroad Center. Altogether, these experiences reveal a side of Pennsylvania that’s deeply rooted and delightfully unhurried.
Explore Downtown Kennett Square and mushroom country
Historic buildings, independent shops, and locally owned restaurants make downtown Kennett Square a walkable hub.
Courtesy of Visit PA
Quintessential small-town Americana comes naturally in Kennett Square. Hundreds of protected Colonial Revival, Victorian, and Federal-style buildings, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, line the streets downtown. The brick facades house family-owned boutiques, bakeries, cafés, and farm-to-table restaurants.
That connection between fork and field is impossible to miss. Spots like Talula’s Table (pro tip: reserve far in advance for dinner or pop in for a grab-and-go breakfast or lunch) and local favorite Portabello’s celebrate what’s local and seasonal, and put Kennett Square on the culinary map. Throughout downtown, menus reflect the rhythms of the surrounding countryside and the farming community that’s sustained it for generations.
Fertile soil, a favorable climate, and generations of farming expertise mean Brandywine Valley is home to vineyards, orchards, and vegetable farms, but mushrooms remain king. Learn about cultivation, varieties, and health benefits hands-on at the Woodlands at Phillips Farms.
Visit Brandywine Valley wineries, farms, and markets
The nexus of it all is the farmers market, where growers, cheesemakers, bakers, and artisans showcase the rural bounty that defines Brandywine Valley. Here, colorful bouquets from Brandywine Blooms complement rainbows of fruits and vegetables harvested from nearby farms like Full Table. The regenerative farmstead, which supplies local restaurants, also offers the best of what’s in season to home cooks.
For visitors, the market is the perfect place to gather picnic provisions, too. At Birchrun Hills Farm, cheesemakers Sue and Ken Miller, along with their sons, transform milk from their Holstein herd into some of Pennsylvania’s most lauded cheeses.
The area is rife with shops featuring artisanal goods and gifts.
Courtesy of Visit PA/Philip Gabriel Photography
The award-winning Birchrun Blue, aged for months in underground cellars, balances creamy richness with a subtle sweetness and gentle tang. Alongside other farmstead cheeses, locally made crackers, jams, and honey make it easy to build a cheeseboard worthy of a leisurely afternoon in wine country.
Vineyards like Wayvine, which also has a tasting room in the heart of Kennett Square, welcome visitors. The winery is one of several on the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail, a collection of vineyards committed to producing exceptional vintages and preserving the region’s farm landscapes.
As the sun begins to dip, head to the Creamery. Located on the grounds of a former milk plant and mushroom cannery, the gathering space has craft beer, local food vendors, live music, and public art. Grab a set of cornhole sacks for lawn games, or take a seat at a communal picnic table to immerse yourself in a setting that captures Kennett Square’s appeal—a deep connection to an agricultural legacy that brings people together around the table.
See Longwood Gardens and Kennett Square’s historic sites
The beer garden at Longwood Gardens
Courtesy of Visit PA
Kennett Square’s beauty extends beyond its farms and vineyards. One of the world’s most impressive botanical destinations, Longwood Gardens, is a few minutes’ drive from downtown. Here, landscapers and botanists highlight the changing of the seasons by orchestrating transitions of colors, textures, and scents across 1,100 acres of formal gardens, meadows, woodlands, fountains, and conservatories.
Local inns make it easy to book a hotel stay among the scenic beauty. At Fairville Inn, settle into a historic property surrounded by gardens, stone walls, and quiet country roads. Or check out the Inn at Whitewing Farm, a peaceful retreat with pastoral vistas where manicured grounds burst with vibrant floral hues.
For a deeper sense of place, plan a visit to the Kennett Underground Railroad Center. There, exhibits and educational programs illuminate the lives of freedom seekers and abolitionists who helped make this corner of Pennsylvania an important refuge along the Underground Railroad. You’ll gain a multidimensional understanding of the people and events that shaped the community long before it became the culinary and hospitality destination it is today.
