Direct Flights from Washington to Lancaster
Lancaster · Pennsylvania
Nonstop service from IAD to LNS on Southern Airways Express. Here's the schedule at a glance — plus what to do once you land.
How rare is this nonstop?
Only 4 cities have a nonstop to Lancaster, so this is a route worth knowing about — most travelers connect to get there.
How long to go to Lancaster for, from Washington
40m in the air, 102 miles: short enough that a single night in Lancaster is worth it, and a day trip is not absurd.
About Lancaster
Lancaster is a city of around 59,000 people (2021) in Lancaster County in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. It is one of the oldest inland towns in the United States, and the center of an area inhabited by many members of the Amish community.
Summary from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA).
Top things to do in Lancaster
- Hersheypark is a family theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, about fifteen miles (25 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (155 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S.
- The Cathedral of Saint Patrick is a cathedral of the Catholic Church in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Harrisburg and is the seat of its bishop.
- Longwood Gardens is a public garden that consists of more than 1,100 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows in the Brandywine Creek Valley in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, United States.
- City Island is a mile-long island in the Susquehanna River between Harrisburg and Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is used mainly for leisure and sports activities.
- The State Museum of Pennsylvania is a non-profit history museum at 300 North Street in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States.
- The Ephrata Cloister or Ephrata Community was a religious community, established in 1732 by Johann Conrad Beissel at Ephrata, in what is now Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
- The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (RRMPA) is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
- Dutch Wonderland is a 48-acre (19 ha) theme park just east of Lancaster, Pennsylvania in East Lampeter Township, appealing primarily to families with small children.
- ZooAmerica is a zoo located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1910 by Milton S. Hershey with a few animals, including bears, birds, and deer.
- The National Watch and Clock Museum (NWCM), located in Columbia, Pennsylvania, is one of a very few museums in the United States dedicated solely to horology, which is the history, science and art of timekeeping and time…
- The Reading Public Museum is a museum in Reading, Pennsylvania, located in the 18th Ward, along the Wyomissing Creek.
- Demuth Museum of Art in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, is a museum dedicated to noted American Modernist painter Charles Demuth (1883–1935) located in his former studio and home at 120 East King Street.
Attraction descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); place data from Wikidata (CC0).
Lancaster weather, compared with Washington
4° cooler than Washington on average across the year, on daytime highs:
- January
- Lancaster 39°F · Washington 43°F · 4° colder
- April
- Lancaster 62°F · Washington 67°F · 5° colder
- July
- Lancaster 85°F · Washington 88°F · 3° colder
- October
- Lancaster 65°F · Washington 68°F · 3° colder
January bottoms out near 39°F — a real coat, not a layer.
Daily highs averaged from Meteostat station records (CC BY 4.0), measured at each city's airport.
Planning a trip to Lancaster
- Best time to visit
- The best time to visit Lancaster is April–June and September–October, when daytime highs are a comfortable 62–81°F.
- How long to stay
- Lancaster rewards a longer visit — a full week lets you explore its many sights, from Hersheypark, Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), and Longwood Gardens and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a direct flight from Washington to Lancaster?
- Yes — you can fly nonstop from Washington (IAD) to Lancaster (LNS) on Southern Airways Express.
- Which airlines fly nonstop from Washington to Lancaster?
- Southern Airways Express flies nonstop between Washington (IAD) and Lancaster (LNS).
- How many nonstop flights are there from Washington to Lancaster?
- There are about 2 nonstop departures per day (roughly 14 per week) from Washington to Lancaster.
- How far is Lancaster from Washington?
- Lancaster is about 102 miles from Washington by air.
- What is there to do in Lancaster?
- Popular things to do include Hersheypark, Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), Longwood Gardens, City Island (Pennsylvania), and more.
More nonstop destinations from Washington near Lancaster
Airports near Washington
The closest other departure airports to Washington — each opens up more nonstop destinations.