penn state campus tour route

See for Yourself Visit Schreyer

The Schreyer Honors College offers multiple ways for you to customize your visit to suit your individual interests and schedule. From day-long programs to self-guided tours to individual meetings with College staff, with a little planning, you can create a personalized visit to maximize your time.

Many Ways to Explore Plan Your Visit

Your years in the Schreyer Honors College and at Penn State are going to transform the rest of your life. Come see firsthand how the College will support your journey through the variety of programs listed below.

Scholars Day

Learn about the Schreyer Honors College, the application process, and life at Penn State as a Schreyer Scholar. Current Scholars and Honors College staff will be available to answer any questions you may have during this session.

Next Event: April 12, 2024

Information Sessions

The Schreyer Honors College at University Park hosts virtual information session for high school students who are interested in learning more about the Honors College at Penn State.

Virtual & In-Person

Spend a Summer Day (SASD)

Learn about the Schreyer Honors College, the application process, and life at Penn State from current Schreyer Scholars. Although you can be a Scholar at any Penn State undergraduate campus, please select the University Park campus when registering.

Online and Virtual

Other Ways to Explore

Penn State's Undergraduate Admissions Office offers a variety of ways to explore campus.

All About University Park Welcome to Happy Valley

Make the most of your visit to State College — find out what makes this "Happy Valley".

Maps & Directions

Attractions.

The Schreyer Honors College administrative offices are located in Atherton and Simmons Halls..

Getting Here

The State College area is served by the University Park Airport (SCE) , located five miles from campus.

Fullington Trailways , Greyhound Lines and Megabus offer bus service to and from State College. The bus terminal is located on the west side of campus on Atherton Street.

The University Park campus is centrally located within Pennsylvania and is within driving distance of many major cities, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and New York City.

On-Campus Parking

The visitor parking option closest to Atherton Hall is the HUB Parking Deck , located along Shortlidge Road about a block away. Parking at the HUB Parking Deck is charged by the hour.

If you schedule a visit in advance with the Undergraduate Admissions Office, they will provide you with a parking pass for Lot 44 and Stadium West .

Off-Campus Parking

Downtown State College offers a variety of parking options , including garages, lots and metered parking.

Getting Around Campus

CATA Bus provides free service on campus. We recommend the Blue Loop , which stops in front of Atherton Hall on College Avenue and includes stops at Shields Building (home of Penn State Undergraduate Admissions) and near the Bryce Jordan Center (where visitor parking is abundant).

Campus Shuttle

The two-route Campus Shuttle provides no-fare transportation across campus every 15 minutes on weekdays between 7 AM and 6 PM.

Taxis & Ride Sharing

The State College area features a variety of taxi companies, a pedicab company , and ride sharing with Uber and Lyft .

You will find two hotels on the University Park campus along with business-class hotel chains, independently owned motels, and bed and breakfasts throughout downtown State College and the surrounding area.

Penn State Hotels

Choose from the colonial-style Nittany Lion Inn or the understated luxury of The Penn State.

Hotels & Motels

The State College area is home to a variety of hotels that will satisfy your needs.

Bed & Breakfasts

The Centre region features a variety of bed and breakfasts for you to enjoy.

Choose from one of the many Airbnb listings in the State College area.

A wide range of dining options both on campus and off give you plenty to choose from.

Penn State Dining Commons

With dining commons found in each residence area, you're never far from some food.

Penn State HUB Dining

HUB Dining offers a flavorful mix of national and one-of-a-kind restaurants.

Get a taste of local flavor by exploring our restaurants and bistros.

Delivery/Take-Out

Have dinner come to you, or grab it and go as you hit the road.

There's plenty to keep you busy on and off campus.

Campus Attractions

Visit some of Penn State's points of pride while at University Park.

State College Attractions

If you have time, explore the many attractions of the Centre region.

I want to be able to find something through research that can help the rest of the world. If you find this one thing, that could change the course of everything afterward. Ananda Rankin ' 20 Microbiology

Explore University Park

Welcome to Penn State University Park! As a transfer or change-of-campus student, you will be a new member of our University Park community in the fall. To help ensure you have the information you need to know before you arrive on campus, we are hosting virtual orientation opportunities throughout the summer—you can find more information about virtual orientation in your tasklist. Because we know you may want to visit University Park this summer in addition to attending your virtual orientation, we have created this website to help you plan your trip. You can use this website to customize a self-guided experience to explore the University Park campus before you arrive in the fall. 

We’ve designed this webpage to help you plan for your visit to the University Park campus. Please note that these visits are optional, and at your own leisure. Because some offices and buildings may have different hours in the summer, we encourage you to reach out to any individuals you plan to meet with ahead of time to coordinate a meeting. Please do not expect that all offices and buildings will be open.  

You can get started by clicking through the menu below.  

Download Penn State Go on your mobile device: Penn State Go is an all-in-one mobile app that provides a custom campus experience for students. With GPS integration, this will also be one of the tools you use to navigate campus upon arrival. (Download here: mobile.psu.edu )  

Plan Your Route: Don’t think of this visit as a campus tour, but rather, a self-guided expedition of Penn State University Park. Visit map.psu.edu and use the menu on the left to filter through the locations available on the map. This is a great opportunity to visit Points of Pride (landmark buildings), Academic and Administrative buildings (including the location of student service offices and classrooms), and to just see the campus. We’ve included instructions on using this feature below in the “during your visit” section of this page.  

Customize Your Experience: You may have specific people you want to meet or places you want to visit. If so, be sure to reach out with plenty of time in advance to coordinate a meeting. Please note that not all individuals or resources will be able to accommodate a meeting request. If you aren’t sure who to see while you’re on campus, here are some options to consider: 

Meet with an academic adviser from your college. If you have questions about your fall schedule or academic opportunities within your college, connecting with an adviser may be helpful. To view your new assigned academic adviser in your college, select “My Advisers” on the homepage of your LionPATH. If you do not have a new adviser in LionPATH yet, you can reach out to your college’s change-of-campus contact listed on this website (scroll halfway down the page to find the list of University Park colleges).  

Discuss your education-related finances with Student Aid. You may have questions about your financial aid, scholarship opportunities, or work study, and the Student Aid office can help. You can find their contact information on their website . 

Connect with the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC). The MRC supports students from diverse backgrounds and works to foster their success. Contact the MRC to meet with a counselor and understand the identity-based resources available to you.  

Meet with Student Disability Resources. If you received academic accommodations previously or would like to consider utilizing accommodations, discuss your needs with the Student Disability Resources staff; find their contact information here . 

Plan for your future with Career Services. Now is a great time to meet with Career Services to discuss your post-college goals and develop a plan to achieve them. View Career Services’ offerings and contact information here . 

Meet with Housing . If you are living on campus in the fall, the Housing website has a wealth of information you need to know, and information specific for change-of-campus students  and transfer students . You can also reach out with questions or to find a time to meet.

Learn how Off-Campus Student Support can help . Living off campus? The office of Off-Campus Student Support has resources and people who can help you navigate that. Consider coordinating a meeting with them if you have questions about off-campus housing.

Be Flexible: As you plan for your visit, we ask that you plan with a bit of flexibility. This includes confirming the hours of operation for your intended stops during your visit to University Park.  

Dress Appropriately: The University Park campus and State College are walkable communities. You should be prepared to spend a lot of time outside during your visit!  You can plan for this by keeping an eye on the weather in the days leading up to your visit, but also plan for quickly changing weather conditions. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and pack an umbrella or raincoat. 

Parking at University Park: You will be required to have a visitor parking pass while parked on campus. Parking in the Stadium West lot costs $5 per day. To pay for parking, you can use the Park Mobile app or the physical paystation in the lot. This website provides more information on parking while visiting campus. Pro tip: From the Stadium West lot, we recommend starting with either Beaver Stadium, the Bryce Jordan Center, or head down Curtin Rd into the heart of campus with a quick stop at the We Are Statue and then to the Berkey Creamery. 

Begin Your Journey: Welcome! Now that you’ve arrived, it’s time to explore campus. We recommend using features located in the Penn State Go app. Follow the steps below to access the map and apply filters (or search a specific location) to set up walking directions to your first destination.  

To create your own experience: 

Open Penn State Go (download here: mobile.psu.edu ) 

Select the “maps” icon  

Allow the website “map.psu.edu” to use your location 

To search a destination, select the magnifying glass in the upper right corner 

To activate filters, select the menu button in the upper left corner.  

You can filter by Pride Points, Academic & Administration, Dining, Campus Housing, and more.  

Once you select your category and find a location you would like to venture to, select the navigate icon to generate walking directions 

Repeat steps 3-5, to select and navigate through your desired campus spots.  

To generate a pre-made campus walking tour: 

Select the menu button in the upper left corner. 

Tap “tours” listed to the right of “Locations.” 

Select the “Campus Walking Tour.” 

At each location, tap up arrow next to the name of the destination at the bottom of the screen to read more information. 

Be Prepared for Classes: Exploring University Park before your classes start provides you with a great opportunity to map out your route between your scheduled classes. If you have already scheduled your fall semester classes, pull up your class schedule in LionPATH and use the Penn State Go map to search your classroom locations and walk your route. Keep your eyes open for nice study spots.    

Get Social: We’d love to know that you’re visiting campus and see your photos!  Use our hashtag (#psusummer) and tag our Instagram @PennStateSOTP.  

The Borough of State College: The excitement and energy of Penn State extends beyond campus and into State College. Check out these resources below for ways to enjoy all that Happy Valley (State College) has to offer: 

• Things to do in Happy Valley: happyvalley.com/play
• How to spend 48 Hours in State College (article):  Link to Article
• Happy Valley Highlights curated by our 2020 Orientation Leaders. 

If you still have questions about visiting University Park, contact us!

Experience Penn State

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Penn State University Park Prospective First-year Students

Penn state university park on-campus visits.

There is no better way to experience Penn State University Park than to visit us on campus! We invite you to register for one of our on-campus visits and see how remarkable this university really is.

For virtual visit opportunities you can review our Experience Penn State page to find additional online resources, answers to frequently asked questions and information about next steps in the admissions process.

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What you learn as a penn state tour guide.

“Hi! My name is Mary Frances Pillion and I’ll be your tour guide for the day! I’m a sophomore double majoring in Supply Chain and French, with a minor in International Business, and I’m from Mechanicsburg, PA.”

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to be one of the khaki-wearing, backwards-walking Penn State tour guides? Well lucky for you, today you get to hear our fun facts and dad jokes without having to walk all over campus!

This semester I was lucky enough to be chosen as a Penn State Lion Scout, and I’ve spent the past six weeks training to give tours. Above is the intro that all tour guides must give at the beginning of every tour, which is followed by us asking the prospective students where they’re from and what they’re thinking about studying. Next, we do what is arguably one of the most important parts of the tour, and that is to teach them the “We Are” chant so that they’re prepared when random students yell “We Are!” at them while walking around campus.

I’m not going to take you through the whole tour process — I know you’re all just here for the fun facts. So I’ll walk you through the best parts of our tour route and tell you my favorite jokes along the way.

“If you look to your left you’ll see the Wagner building, home to our ROTC program on campus. We have four out of the five branches of military here on campus, can anyone guess which branch we don’t have? We actually don’t have the Coast Guard, because we’re in the middle of Pennsylvania – we have no coast to guard!”

That one always kills it with the dads.

Did you know that the Creamery has rules? Well it does!

“If you look to your right you’ll see the famous Berkey Creamery home to Penn Staters’ favorite ice cream. However, when going in there for some delicious ice cream you should know that there are two rules: The first rule is that you can have any color sprinkles you’d like – as long as they’re blue and white! The second rule is that you cannot mix flavors.”

Despite the strict rules, one person in the history of the Creamery has HAD mixed flavors. When Bill Clinton was the president, he took a trip to Penn State and obviously had to make a stop at the Creamery. The woman who served President Clinton that day was new on the job, so when he asked for two different flavors (Peachy Paterno and Cherry Quist) she gave it to him not knowing that mixing flavors was strictly forbidden. However, when Clinton came back to the Creamery later, he tried to mix flavors again and was denied.

One more fun fact about the Creamery: It only takes four days to get from Cow to Cone.

“And now we’ve arrived at the Pattee and Paterno Library on Campus. It holds more than 6 million volumes of books. If for some reason you can’t find the book you’re looking for in our library, we can reach out to all our commonwealth campuses and see if any of them have what you need. If we still don’t find it there, we then reach out to all of the Big Ten schools to see if they have the book you need. This is great because we get a lot of coloring books from Ohio State!”

You always have to pray there’s no Buckeye alumni on your tour when you make that joke, but it’s too good not to say — especially given our recent upset win.

When standing on the side of the library that’s closer to Downtown, have you ever noticed that the scenery looks oddly familiar? Well if you’ve ever been sightseeing in Washington DC, you might know why.

“When looking down towards Downtown, the setting may look a bit familiar to you, that’s because this area of campus was modeled after the National Mall in Washington DC. The grass is meant to be the reflecting pool, and if you look back up at the library, that was modeled after the Lincoln Memorial.”

Once you realize this, you can’t unsee it.

We all know that Penn State is a huge school, and we’ve all gotten the “We Are” chant in random places, but did you ever stop to wonder just how many Penn Staters there are out there?

“Penn State has more than 600,000 living alumni. One out of every nine Pennsylvanians who hold a baccalaureate degree is a Penn State graduate, and one out of every 117 people who hold baccalaureate degrees in the United States is a Penn State graduate.”

So yeah, there’s a lot of us, and we’re everywhere .

Next we get to talk about some of my very favorite fun facts of the entire tour — Old Main fun facts.

“We are now passing Old Main, the most Instagram-able spot on campus! Old Main used to be the entire campus of Penn State, the students and faculty alike lived there, worked there and attended class. They also housed livestock in the basement. When the school started, students had to contribute a few hours of manual labor per day in addition to their classes in order to finish building Old Main. They used donkeys to haul the stone up from the quarry, which is around where the Corner Room is now. One of the donkeys, Coaly, worked harder and longer than all the rest, and thus Penn State got its first mascot, Old Coaly.”

It’s probably a good thing we changed our mascot to the Nittany Lion, I’d rather not think about the chants we’d get from other schools if we were the Penn State Donkeys. (Honestly though, it would still be better than a Buckeye.)

“Although the bells are now automated, there used to be a real bell in the bell tower. The original bell now sits to the left of Old Main. Back in the day, this bell used to signal the start and end of the day as well as all classes at Penn State. Legend has it that when it was cold, students would sneak up the bell tower at night, flip the bell over and fill it with water so that it would freeze and the bell couldn’t ring. If the bell couldn’t ring, it couldn’t signal classes. The students could have a day off.”

Meanwhile, we had one snow day two years ago, and no one can recall another time we’ve had one.

After Old Main we usually lead tours past the McAllister Building and into the HUB.

“The McAllister Building is home to Penn State’s post office. Penn State University actually has its own zip code that is different from Downtown and the surrounding areas, it’s 16802.”

“Now we’re about to enter the Hetzel-Union Building. This is the first and last time you will ever hear it called that, as students just refer to it as ‘The HUB.’ Approximately 43,000 people walk through the HUB every day.”

No wonder you run into everyone and their brother in the HUB.

Obviously Penn State is a huge school, but do you know how big the biggest classroom is on campus?

“This is the Thomas Building which has both big lecture halls and smaller classrooms. This building actually houses the largest lecture hall on campus, which seats 725 students.”

The moms’ faces when you say this are priceless. Their eyes get huge and they look terrified until you tell them that the average class size is about 25-35 students.

We all know that we have the best student section in the country and everyone else is just playing for second, but our cheering on game day actually causes something other than an Ohio State loss.

“If you look behind me you can see the Millennium Science Complex which was completed in the Fall of 2011. As you probably know, we Penn Staters love our football, and we love to cheer loud at football games. We cheer so loud in fact, that we actually register on the Richter scale because we cause mini earthquakes with the magnitude of our cheers. The Millennium Science Complex built underground labs for sensitive projects that are controlled for temperature, humidity, and vibrations, so our cheers can’t throw off the scientific data.”

After a few more stops this specific tour route ends at the Pollock Commons, and that’s where we end our tour and take any questions. So I’ll leave you with my official tour ending.

“It has been a pleasure being your tour guide today and I want to thank you guys for being such a great group! At the end of every tour we like to tell you something we call our ‘Warm and Fuzzies.’ These are the stories of why we chose Penn State and why we love it so much.

Here’s mine: My dad went to Penn State, so I grew up coming to at least one football and basketball game every year. I grew up bleeding blue and white and from the time I was four years old. I told people that I was going to Penn State when I grew up. Then for one year during high school, I decided that I was going to the University of Virginia — I was dead set on going there and nowhere else. However, my parents still wanted me to consider Penn State, so we took a trip up to State College and walked around the campus. Eventually my momma wanted to take a picture of my dad and I at the Lion Shrine, like we’d done a thousand times before. This time was a little bit different, though. When I looked at the picture, all I could see was a past Nittany Lion and a future Nittany Lion. And that’s when I knew there was no other school for me. I was destined to be a Penn State student.”

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About the Author

Mary Frances Pillion

Mary Frances is a senior from Mechanicsburg, PA. She is double-majoring in Supply Chain and French and is a photographer and occasional writer for Onward State. She is an avid lover of weenie dogs, macaroni and cheese, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. She is also the Vice President of Lion Scouts and you'll often catch her running into things as she walks backwards around campus giving tours. To contact Mary Frances, email her at [email protected] , or if you're feeling particularly generous, follow her on Twitter @maryfranny2.

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Engineering Student Tours and Resources

Established in 2020, the Engineering Student Tours and Resources (ESTAR) group offers walking campus tours for prospective engineering students and their families. ESTAR members lead visits through key Penn State and College of Engineering facilities, sharing information about life on campus and specifically about their experience in the college. Current students from all engineering majors are encouraged to apply for ESTAR. 

Tour Information 

ESTAR tours happen rain or shine! Please dress accordingly. In the event of a severe weather warning or campus closure, tours are canceled for the safety of our guests and students.   

On an ESTAR tour, you will be led around Penn State University Park by one or two current Penn State engineering students for approximately a one-mile walking journey. Along the way, you will see some highlights of campus, like the HUB-Robeson Center and Old Main . The main attractions of the tour, though, are the engineering facilities.   

Some locations you will see are:  

• Kunkle Lounge, a popular event and study space for engineering students  
• The Engineering Library , a great resource for learning  
• Engineering design classrooms, computer labs, and workshops  
• The E-Knowledge Commons , a collaboration space  
• The Knowledge Lab , a multidisciplinary maker space and classroom  
• General classrooms and research labs  

We are excited to soon be able to share with you our new buildings on the west side of campus.  

ESTAR tour guides share information about engineering majors, the first-year experience, and various opportunities for involvement like student organizations , research , internships and co-ops , study abroad , and outreach and inclusion programs . Most importantly, the ESTARs share their own experiences and stories of their time at Penn State.   

We can make accommodations for accessibility on the tour route. Please send us an email at [email protected] so that we can discuss your accessibility needs.  

• ESTAR Interest Form for Current Students
• [email protected]  
• College of Engineering Student Resources  
• Engineering Summer Bridge  
• Jump Start  

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Apply to be a Penn State Tour Guide

If you are interested in becoming a Penn State Tour Guide, review the information here and access the application.

Tour Guide Eligibility Information

tudent from all backgrounds backgrounds and academic programs who will be enrolled in courses at the University Park Campus in either the Fall or Spring semesters are eligible to apply. The Undergraduate Admissions office encourages those who have taken advantage of the 2 + 2 Plan and attended another Penn State campus to apply.

If you have questions about the Penn State Tour Guide Program or the application process please contact [email protected] .

Tour Guide Application Information

Penn State students interested in joining the Penn State Tour Guide Program, should complete the application form at the button below before the deadline.

Complete applications should include the following:

• An Updated Résumé
• A copy of your course schedule(s)

You can click the button below to be directed to the application. Should you be a successful candidate the Penn State Tour Guide Program staff will instruct you on how to complete a Workday application in order to be paid by the Undergraduate Admissions Office.

Summer Application Deadline

Friday, April 19th 2023 at 11:59pm

Tour Guide Application