Known for its retail, but chosen for its villages and trails
Home to the Lehigh Valley Mall, the Whitehall Mall, big-box stores and strip malls, Whitehall Township at first glance appears to be the retail heart of the Lehigh Valley. “Every major retailer, from Lowe’s to Walmart to Dicks Sporting Goods is here,” says associate broker Tim Tepes with Better Homes and Gardens, Cassidon Realty, Tim Tepes Real Estate LLC. “It’s all on MacArthur Road, which many call the ‘Golden Strip of the Valley’ after the high school’s colors, gold and maroon.”
Upon closer inspection, this 13-square-mile township north of Allentown offers hiking and biking trails, a collection of small villages, and a history that spans nearly 300 years. “The Ironton Rail Trail is converted railroad tracks. Hikers and bikers can see the whole township on it,” Tepes says. He was born and raised in Northampton on the east side of the Lehigh River from Whitehall. “The township is broken into smaller communities, each with its quirks. Part of those differences can be seen in the many houses of worship. It’s also a very family-oriented place.”
Germans were the first Europeans to settle Whitehall in 1752. Grist mills and iron furnaces drove the economy until limestone deposits were discovered and the first cement plants were opened in the 19th century, making Whitehall Township the “Cement Belt” of the Lehigh Valley. Today, Lukes Hospital, the Lehigh Valley Health Network, and the many retailers and restaurants along MacArthur Road are the township’s main employers.
The Lehigh Valley Mall is one of the two malls located in Whitehall Township.
Whitehall Parkway features a bike trail through nature in
Whitehall Township.
1/2
MacArthur Road, the “Golden Strip of the Valley”
The Lehigh Valley Mall in Fullerton at the intersection of MacArthur Road and Route 22, the main east-west highway in the Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton region, is the area’s largest enclosed two-level shopping center. It features three department stores including Macy’s and over 130 specialty stores, such as Apple, Pottery Barn and White House/Black Market. Customers can also dine at national chains like Bonefish Grill or local favorites like Pocono Brewery Company.
The Whitehall Mall and the Lehigh Valley Mall are so close to one another that they could share the same parking lot. The Whitehall Mall, however, is a mostly outdoor shopping center following a renovation in 1998 that left only a small portion of the traditional enclosed mall intact. In addition to Kohl’s, Whitehall Mall offers home improvement stores like Floor and Décor, Lomax Carpet and Tile Mart, as well as the Habitat Lehigh Valley ReStore.
Farther north on MacArthur, shoppers will find big-box stores and supermarkets at the MacArthur Town Centre, including Walmart, Lowe’s, Giant and Aldi. Smaller shopping centers serve local villages, such as Riley’s Restaurant and Pub, located in Egypt , which serves cheesesteaks, burgers and fresh hot wings. The nearby King Kone and Jungle Kafe features every kind of frozen sweet treat, from vanilla cones to banana splits.
Whitehall Township is home to the Whitehall Mall.
Riley's Restaurant & Bar is a local favoirte to stop by.
1/2
Mix of historic, vintage and new homes in several villages
The median home price in Whitehall Township is $330,000, nearly a fourth less than the national median. A third of the single-family homes in the township were built between 1850 and 1925; many are colonial-styles with Victorians and bungalows found in villages like Egypt, where Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church and the Whitehall Mennonite Church are located. A larger number of midcentury homes, including ranch-styles, raised ranch-styles, split levels and Cape Cods can be found throughout the township in areas like Hokendauqua and Stiles within walking distance of playgrounds and the Ironton Rail Trail. New and vintage townhouses account for nearly half the homes in Whitehall, some clustered in communities like Fullerton, with easy access to shopping malls and churches like the Korean Church of the Lehigh Valley, the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. “People also choose the Lehigh Valley because we’re within commuting distance or a day’s drive of Philadelphia, Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.,” Tepes says. “You can find single-family to multifamily homes here, built in the 1800s to brand new.”
Greek revival style homes is an option in Egypt, PA.
Traditional homes in Fullerton often have large well-maintained yards.
1/2
Crime, climate and health care in Whitehall Township
According to Pennsylvania State Police Uniform Crime Reporting data, violent and property crime incidents in Whitehall Township have returned to pre-pandemic levels over the last five years after a 40 percent drop in crimes in 2020.
Residents experience all four seasons in Whitehall Township with warm and humid summers and cold and snowy winters. Typically, the average summer high is 86 degrees with an annual precipitation of 48 inches, and the average winter low is 22 degrees with an annual snowfall of 21 inches.
Two of the region's leading health care providers and its biggest employers are in Allentown, less than 2 miles from Whitehall Township. Lehigh Valley Hospital on 17th Street is ranked by U.S. News & World among the Top 40 hospitals in the nation for pulmonary and lung surgery. The St. Luke’s Hospital–Sacred Heart Campus specializes in family medicine with primary care for adults and children and a state-of-the-art emergency department.
Village parks, festivals, indoor recreation and trails
Each of the villages in Whitehall Township has a central park that often features sports facilities, playgrounds and municipal pools, like Hokendauqua, which has all three. In Cementon , ball fields and basketball courts surround the municipal pool in Cementon Park. The park is also the setting for the Cement Belt Fair in June, a five-day celebration of Whitehall’s history as the “Cement Belt,” with carnival rides, food, games, and live music and entertainment every night. Parks can also be found along the Lehigh River or where Jordan Creek or Coplay Creek runs through villages, allowing visitors to fish and kayak. Whitehall Township also has several indoor recreational facilities, including the New Jordan Lanes bowling alley, the ice rink and fieldhouse at St. Luke’s Sports Center, batting cages at the Hitters Edge, and a roller rink at Whitehall Skateaway.
What ties many of these recreational areas together is the Ironton Rail Trail, the path of the former Ironton Railroad, which travels alongside much of the Lehigh River in Whitehall, loops around Hokendauqua, and heads northwest to Egypt. Whitehallians can also pick up the D and L Trail in Cementon and take it to Jim Thorpe, a 22-mile journey north, or Easton, 18 miles east.
The Ironton Rail Trail runs through Hokendauqua Park.
The Ironton Rail Trail provides 9 miles of beautiful trails to nearby neighborhoods.
1/2
Getting around the Lehigh Valley by car, bus, bike or plane
MacArthur Road, the main north-south highway through Whitehall Township, crosses U.S. 22, which runs west to Harrisburg, 85 miles away, and east to Bethlehem and Easton, 10 and 20 miles away, respectively. MacArthur also runs through the heart of Allentown and south, intersecting Route 309 on the way to Philadelphia, a 65-mile drive. Interstate 476 is west of town and also takes drivers to Philadelphia. Residents can catch LANTA buses on major roadways like MacArthur Road to destinations throughout the Lehigh Valley. Cyclists can also ride the miles of multi-use trails throughout the township and beyond, including the Ironton Rail and D and L trails. The Lehigh Valley International Airport is also next to Whitehall Township, about a 4-mile drive, with nonstop flights to over 10 destinations, including Chicago O’Hare and Orlando.
Athletics-rich school district producing Super Bowl stars
The Whitehall-Coplay School District serves Whitehall Township and receives an overall B from Niche. The district comprises five schools on a single 143-acre central campus, enrolling approximately 4,300 students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Seventh through 12th graders can participate in 21 sports. Whitehall High School competes in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, one of the premier high school athletic divisions in the U.S. “Saquon Barkley plays for the Philadelphia Eagles and just won the Super Bowl,” Tepes says. “He and Matt Millon, who has four Super Bowl wins, graduated from Whitehall High School. It’s a great area for sports.”
Whitehall Township also offers several parochial and private schools for elementary-aged children, including Good Shepherd Catholic School, (K-8), Manarah Islamic Academy (PK-5) and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School (PK-K).
Whitehall High School receives an overall B- grade from niche.com.
Zephyr Elementary School sports a 14 to 1 student to teacher ratio.
1/2
Planned improvements to schools, roadways, trails and bridges
In 2024, the Whitehall-Coplay School District was awarded $500,000 to improve Steckel Elementary School, which was constructed in 1975. The township also received a grant of over $320,000 to help with repaving the Ironton Rail Trail and installing security gates at key intersections where the trail crosses streets. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced roadway and traffic signal improvements to MacArthur Road and a $21.7 milllion replacement of the 90-year-old Route 329 Cementon Bridge over the Lehigh River.
On average, homes in Whitehall, PA sell after 19 days on the market compared to the national average of 70 days. The median sale price for homes in Whitehall, PA over the last 12 months is $425,000, up 37% from the median home sale price over the previous 12 months.
I'm an expert real estate agent with Realty One Group Restore-Collegeville in Collegeville, PA and the nearby area, providing home-buyers and sellers with professional, responsive and attentive real estate services. Want an agent who'll really listen to what you want in a home? Need an agent who knows how to effectively market your home so it sells? Give me a call! I'm eager to help and would love to talk to you.
Disclaimer: Certain information contained herein is derived from information provided by parties other than Homes.com. Our sources include: Accuweather, Public Records and Neustar. All information provided is deemed reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate and should be independently verified.
