Garden Drive-In Theater & Flea Market

Sunday was a beautiful autumn day in central Pennsylvania, with clear blue skies, temps in the high 60’s and colorful leaves still on the trees. We headed north to explore the Garden Drive-In Theater & Flea Market in Hunlock Creek, PA.  From Harrisburg it’s about an hour and 45 minute drive up route 81 to exit 164 for PA route 29 toward Nanticoke, south-west of Wilkes-Barre. From the exit it’s only a few minutes drive to reach the flea market. The market is held every Sunday (spring till October).

Garden Drive- In Theater & Flea Market
Route 11
Hunlock Creek, PA
570-735-5933
HOURS: Sunday’s 7am-3pm (spring-fall)
MAP

 The Garden Drive-In theater and flea market is nestled in a small valley between the Susquehanna river and route 11. It’s a really pretty spot and must be a lot of fun to see a movie here as well as shop the flea market, during the summer months. We were reminded of Vermont the way the mountains hovered nearby, providing a leafy backdrop for the movie screens – they have 2!

The day we visited, the flea market was low-key and we could tell the season was at its end. The lot wasn’t full, but the vendors we spoke with assured us that during the summer the market is packed with vendors filling the entire parking lot, even behind the huge movie screens.

The market was made up of people selling yard sale type stuff, but there were a few dealer types also selling (military, antiques, etc.) and two produce vendors from local farms. The apples we bought were delicious! There was also a snack bar open and a few picnic tables available. I spotted several port-a-potties, but didn’t give them a try.

The Garden Drive In & Flea Market was a fun place to spend a few hours on a beautiful sunny morning. We drove home the scenic way along the Susquehanna river on Route 11 and managed to hit a few junk and group antique shops.  It’s such pretty country up there, with so many acres of beautiful state game land and Ricketts Glen State Park, this would be a great place for a weekend get away or vacation.
A flea market, drive-in theater is a perfect combo, movies at night, shopping during the day! I’m already looking forward to next summer, so we can check out more drive-in/flea markets in Pennsylvania and beyond. Winter will be a good time to do some planning and research. If you know of any drive-in/flea markets we should visit, leave a comment and I’ll add it to next summer’s list.