Fell covers a variety of landscapes in Northeast Pennsylvania
Fell stretches from the wooded shoreline of Crystal Lake to a building-lined Main Street. The Pennsylvania township encompasses the scattered communities of Simpson, Crystal Lake and Richmondale, with countryside in between. This allows for various living situations and landscapes in the community, which sits on the northeastern edge of the Scranton metro area.
Residential areas vary from riverside village to lakefront living
The largest residential area in Fell is Simpson, a dense hamlet of traditional homes and American Foursquares built into hills around the Lackawanna River. To the north, split-level houses and Colonial Revivals make up Richmondale, an entirely residential community. In the northwest corner of Fell, houses stand on wide, tree-dotted lots near Crystal Lake. Homes sell for a median price of roughly $165,000, lower than the national median.
Kids can go to Carbondale Area School District
Just south of Fell, students can go to Carbondale Area Elementary, graded a C-minus by Niche. Seventh through 12th graders may attend C-rated Carbondale Area Junior/Senior High School. The high school has multiple outdoors-oriented clubs, such as the Carbondale Area Ski Club, which takes trips 15 miles north to Elk Mountain Ski Resort.
Golf clubs, hiking trails and more accessible from Fell
Golfers can play multiple nearby courses, each with views of distant mountains from the fairways. Panorama, Homestead and Sleepy Hollow courses are open to the public, while Elkview Country Club is private. Hikers can access the 33-mile O&W Rail Trail from Simpson. The trail extends north and follows the Lackawanna River, popular with anglers. Meanwhile, the Valley Area Girls Softball League plays games at a pair of fields in Simpson. On the west end of Fell, Merli-Sarnoski Park spans 840 acres surrounding a lake stocked with fish. Swimmers wade into the water from sandy beaches, while hikers and mountain bikers explore the park’s 15 miles of trails.
Shopping in Simpson and Carbondale, with waterfront dining at Crystal
Simpson is home to the township’s biggest clusters of shops and restaurants. Frank’s Place is known for its steaks. “People come from all over the state for Frank’s,” says Tom Prince, mayor of nearby Vandling. On the other side of the Lackawanna River, locals grab drinks at Fell Inn and shop at Dollar General. Some of the most recognizable buildings in Simpson are Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church and St. Basil’s Russian Orthodox Church. The churches were built with spires topped with respective gold and green domes.
There’s a Weis Markets grocery store farther south in Carbondale. Residents of the northeast end of Fell live closer to retail in Forest City, which includes Zazzera’s, a 50-year-old family-owned supermarket. “The owner is very meticulous,” Prince says of Zazzera’s. “A lot of the food there is homemade. He buys items from local vendors, like premade pizzas.” In the Crystal Lake community, people dine lakeside at Oliveri’s Crystal Lake Hotel.
A car-dependent community with highway access
State roads such as Route 171 and Route 1007 connect Fell’s various residential clusters. U.S. Route 6 passes by the township’s south side, leading south toward Scranton and connecting with interstates 81 and 84. Lehigh Valley Hospital is about 10 miles south of Fell in Dickson City, and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport is about 20 miles south.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom