Within about six weeks, two of the biggest year-round gathering places around Long Pond and Lake Harmony went quiet. Pocono Organics wound down its market and café on Long Pond Road at the end of August. By September 23, when 28/22 News reported it, Split Rock Resort had closed its Town Center hotel rooms and its indoor water park for renovation. WFMZ reported that no timeline was given for the work to finish.
So this October, more of the area's calendar sits on public land, and the dates are posted where anyone can check them. Hickory Run and Lehigh Gorge state parks each have free programs scheduled this month. Pocono Raceway's October calendar is full, but only some of those events let in spectators. The local restaurants have posted their hours. Here is what has changed and which doors are still open.
The barn on Long Pond Road
Pocono Organics sat at 1015 Long Pond Road in Blakeslee. It broke ground in 2018 and operated as a Regenerative Organic Certified farm with a market, a café, and a research partnership with Rodale Institute. Over the years it hosted Earth Day celebrations, cooking classes, field yoga, sunflower field photo sessions, comedy nights, holiday festivals, and weddings. Its Clean Food, Dirty Hands program reached more than 1,200 students, children, and parents.
28/22 News reported the closing on August 11. Founder Ashley Walsh's statement called it "a thoughtful and difficult business decision made in light of long-term funding realities." The statement set August 28 as the last day for the market and café. Local coverage and a release posted by Monroe County gave September 7 as the end of all operations, including the farm and research work. Both dates have now passed. WNEP reported that 50 employees were affected.
The operation was large. WFMZ described roughly 380 acres and more than 32,000 square feet of greenhouse space, and reported that revenue could not support a farm that size. The same report said Rodale Institute expects the techniques developed there to continue at its Kutztown campus. It also said the future of the Long Pond land and buildings is unclear. No sale or new use has been announced. The farm's homepage says its online shop remains open while supplies last.
For most of the past few years, the farm was the place across from the track where something was on the calendar even when no race was. That role has moved elsewhere for now.
Split Rock is half open, and it matters which half
The Split Rock closure is narrower than some headlines suggested. The renovation covers the Town Center, its guest rooms, and Water Park H2O. The work is a modernization of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. According to the 28/22 News report, these amenities remain open:
- Willowbrook accommodations, which now take all new overnight reservations
- Indoor pool
- Fitness center
- Indoor and outdoor sports complexes
- Arcade and game zone
- Bowling
- Mini golf
- Beach
WFMZ added that the resort opened in 1941 as a lodge and a hunting and vacation retreat. Bel Air Collection Resorts & Spas bought it in late 2020 and promised a full restoration of its buildings. Split Rock's own dining page lists its dining centers as temporarily closed for renovations. The water park page says it "will remain closed until further notice."
The indoor pool is the detail to confirm before you go. The news report lists it as operating. Split Rock's activities page places the indoor pool in the Town Center, which is the area under renovation. Neither source explains how the two fit together. The resort's homeowner membership page lists the "Galleria indoor pool" among full-membership amenities, so cottage owners with memberships are the most likely to be affected. That page carries a "2025 / 2026" heading and a last update of October 22, 2025. It lists the boat slip and beach membership season as running May 15 through October 15, which ends next week. A call to the front desk is the reliable way to check current access.
Lake Harmony itself is privately owned. The Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau notes that it is open only to guests at lakeside accommodations. With the Town Center closed and the lake private, most of the open-to-anyone options this fall are a few miles away.
Where the free dates are: the two state parks
Hickory Run State Park is open daily, sunrise to sunset, all year, though some facilities run seasonally. These programs on the DCNR events calendar for Hickory Run and Lehigh Gorge are free, and none of them has passed yet.
| Date | Park | Program | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Oct. 16 | Hickory Run | Shades of Death Trail hike | 9 a.m., free |
| Friday, Oct. 23 | Lehigh Gorge | Walk to the Lock | 10 a.m., White Haven South Access off PA-940, free |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Hickory Run | Women in the Wilds glow night hike | 8 to 9 p.m., Gould Trail, free |
Bridge work affects both parks, so check the alerts before you leave. Hickory Run's alert warns of weekday delays from the Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge replacement over PA Route 534 near Hawk Falls. At Lehigh Gorge, the park alert says White Haven South can only be reached from PA-940 and parking is limited to the overflow lot. The trail stays open but may close temporarily for safety during the I-80 bridge replacement. Neither alert gives an end date, and the Walk to the Lock starts at that same access point.
The Raceway's October, filtered for who can get in
Pocono Raceway says it hosts more than 200 events a year beyond its NASCAR weekend. Its calendar also warns that some events are private, require a membership, or are closed to spectators. That filter decides most of what's useful this month. The remaining October dates on the Raceway calendar fall into three groups:
- Open to spectators or the public. Mass Tuning on October 18 is a high-performance driving day, and its event page says "Spectators are welcome." Cub Fest on October 24 is open to all families, whether or not their children are already in Scouting. It includes race cars, a LEGO Pinewood Derby, archery, climbing, a bike course, Scout skills, and Touch a Truck.
- Open to a defined group. The Jack Rader Shredding event on October 17 is a community shredding day for Monroe County residents only.
- On the calendar, but spectator access isn't confirmed. Champ Car runs October 10 and 11, and the Ready Set Drift season finale runs October 17 and 18. Check each event page before you plan around either one.
The calendar shows no public events for November or December. Cub Fest on October 24 is the last confirmed family event at the track this year. That same evening, the glow night hike starts at Hickory Run at 8 p.m., so the two can share a Saturday.
Posted hours around Lake Harmony
With Split Rock's dining centers closed, the nearby restaurants that publish their hours are easier to plan around. These come from each restaurant's current website or visitor bureau listing. The pages aren't dated, so a quick call is worth it before a holiday weekend.
- Piggy's: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- Sunset Green Restaurant & Bar: posted "Autumn hours" are Thursday noon to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.
- Louie's Prime Steakhouse: Tuesday through Thursday 4 to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4 to 10 p.m., Sunday 4 to 9:30 p.m., and closed Mondays, per its visitor bureau listing. Its own site advertises a wine dinner on 10/23 at 6:30 by reservation.
- Boulder View Tavern: Tuesday through Thursday 4 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 10 p.m., Sunday noon to 9 p.m., and closed Mondays.
Piggy's is the only one of the four serving breakfast and lunch every day. Monday dinner takes more planning, since both Louie's and Boulder View Tavern close that night.
Ski season dates aren't official yet
The next big change will come from Jack Frost and Big Boulder. Neither resort has announced an opening date yet. Vail Resorts' August 18 opening-date release didn't include them and said more dates would come later. OnTheSnow projects December 4 for Jack Frost and December 12 for Big Boulder, and the site says those projections aren't official. The hours page on the resorts' own site still shows the 2025 to 2026 winter schedule.
The pass deadline has already passed. The JFBB pass page notes that prices went up October 7. As of October 2026, the Epic Local Pass lists an adult price of $849 for ages 31 and up and $675 for ages 13 to 30. The Northeast Value Pass lists $690 for adults ages 18 to 64. Vail cut 2026/27 Epic and Epic Local prices for ages 13 to 30 by 20%, which narrows the gap for households with teens and young adults on the same plan.
Until the lifts open, the free hikes, the two open Raceway events, and the restaurants with posted hours are the confirmed options around Long Pond this fall.
The empty barn on Long Pond Road and the renovation at Split Rock will shape this corner of the Poconos for a while, and I'm following both stories as they develop. If you own a home near Lake Harmony and want to talk through what these changes could mean for you, I'm glad to help. Schedule a free consultation with Suzanne Kasperski.
