Other nearby villages include Buck Hill Falls, Canadensis, Skytop, and Mountainhome. Due to the small size and proximity of the surrounding villages, locals often colloquially refer to the area by the township name, Barrett, instead of the village name.
Brodhead Creek runs through Cresco along State Route 447 and feeds into the Delaware River. Considered one of the birthplaces of American fly fishing, it is a popular spot for trout fishing.Cresco Heights (elevation: ~1,719 feet) is a hiking spot near Rattlesnake Falls with views of the Pocono Mountains and the Delaware Water Gap.
Tourism
Two horses waiting for riders at Mountain Creek Riding Stables, located on Route 940.
Although Cresco is part of the Pocono Mountains tourism area, it is located further off of the main highway so it receives significantly less traffic. Callie's Pretzel Factory and Callie's Candy Kitchen are the most popular tourist attractions. The Cresco Train Station MuseumArchived May 31, 2017, at the Wayback Machine is also a popular historic site for residents and tourists. The train station no longer offers passenger train service, but is primarily used by the lumber treatment company adjacent to the tracks. Antique shops, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, and camping also draw in visitors. Mountain Creek Riding Stables and Pleasant Ridge Farm and Equestrian Center are two horseback riding destinations. The Paradise Fishing Preserve, a trout hatchery located on the edge of town, offers a fishing spot for tourists and residents.
Local Businesses
Cresco is home to mainly mom and pop stores. These include Lewis' Supermarket, Mick Motors, Price's Lumber and General Store (now affiliated with Steele's True Value Hardware), Basso Italiana, Kasa's Pizza and a number of antique shops. There is a CVS Pharmacy and Family Dollar located off of Route 390 in the center of town.
The Barrett Paradise Friendly Library serves all of the villages of Barrett Township and neighboring Paradise Township. The library offers free internet access, computer stations, ebooks, print books, magazines, and newspapers.
The Friendly Community Center, located in the home of the previous Barrett Friendly Library, offers a place for residents to connect and engage in community programming.
Well into the 1960s, the Erie Lackawanna Railroad operated several trains a day that made stops in Cresco. These included the Lake Cities,Phoebe Snow,Pocono Express and the Twilight. The last train was the Lake Cities on January 6, 1970.[2][3][4]
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton operates area Roman Catholic schools. The diocese formerly operated Monsignor McHugh School in Paradise Township, with a Cresco address. It opened in 1961. Enrollment declined in the period circa 2015-2020 by 61%. In the 2019-2020 school year, the enrollment was 97. Had the school stayed open, only 70 students were scheduled to attend the following school year.[6] The school closed that school year.[7]
