Theodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryPublic Lands Directory

Alerts and conditions

All clear. The managing agency, the National Weather Service and wildfire reporting show no current alerts.

Overview

Feel the heat from the firebox, smell hot steam and oil; hear the whistle and the "chuff-chuff" from the smokestack, feel the ground vibrate, and watch as one-ton drive rods turn steel wheels. Discover how steam railroading helped shaped our nation's history and culture. Learn about the stories of the people who built, repaired and rode, and about the ongoing work to preserve railroading history.

From the National Park Service

History

The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.

What to see and do

Activities

  • Food
  • Picnicking
  • Guided Tours
  • Self-Guided Tours - Walking
  • Hands-On
  • Junior Ranger Program
  • Park Film
  • Museum Exhibits
  • Shopping
  • Bookstore and Park Store
  • Gift Shop and Souvenirs

Browse hiking, biking and paddling routes on AllTrails

Plan your visit

Hours

Park Hours: The park is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. During severe weather events, the hours of operation may be impacted. For updated information, please check the alerts section at the top of this website. Please plan accordingly. The connecting walkway to the "Marketplace at Steamtown" is not the property of the National Park Service. The walkway is typically closed from November through April due to icy and other unpredictable weather conditions.

Getting there

Our GPS coordinates are: N 41.410730 (latitude), W 75.671329 (longitude) using our Park entrance, Lackawanna Ave at Cliff St, 18503 General Driving Directions: Take I-81 to exit 185. Continue onto President Biden Expressway (formerly known as Central Scranton Expressway) and follow signs to Mifflin Ave. Turn left onto Mifflin Ave. Turn right onto Lackawanna Ave. Turn left onto Cliff St (Park entrance).

Visitor centers

Weather

Warm and sometimes humid summers; cold and rainy or snowy winters. Wear seasonable clothing and good walking shoes. For travel aboard the summer and fall seasonal excursion trains, please note that the commuter-type coaches are not air-conditioned, or may not be heated. Therefore, we recommend that you dress appropriately for the season that you plan to visit us!

Phone: (570) 445-1898

Whose lands these are

These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.

Photos

Black and yellow diesel engine 514 pulling a faded red box car and a dark red caboose
Pennsylvania Box Car and Lackawanna Caboose · NPS Photo / Alan Schulze
Historic Baldwin Locomotive Works engine number 26 out for a test run on the tracks.
Steam Locomotives · NPS Photo / Alan Schulze
large black train stationed on a track to the left of a paved road
Big Boy returns to Display · NPS Photo
A mechanic grinds metal in the Locomotive Shop causing sparks to fly towards ground.
Sparks fly · NPS Photo
An aerial view of Steamtown which falls within the boundaries of a mid-size city.
Aerial view of Steamtown NHS · NPS Photo
black train with yellow horizontal stripes and the number 514 pulling a larger black train on tracks
Diesel No. 514 pulling the "Big Boy" · NPS Photo

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