Living in Drums, PA — Country Space at the Crossroads

Drums is the heart of Butler Valley — a green bowl of farmland and forest at 1,500 feet, framed by ridgelines, ten minutes north of Hazleton. It offers something increasingly rare: real country space with a genuine commuting advantage. The I-80/I-81 interchange sits at the valley’s edge, putting Wilkes-Barre about 28 minutes north, the Lehigh Valley an hour south via I-476 — and weekend trips toward New York straight out I-80.

That combination — acreage, valley views and interstate access — is why Butler Township has one of the area’s most active new-construction pipelines, and why roughly three-quarters of homes here are owner-occupied.

Food & Drink

• Vesuvio’s Pizzeria & Ristorante — the family-run Italian anchor on Butler Drive, serving the valley since 1975, with an outdoor patio bar.
• Sugar & Loaf Bakery — croissants, quiche and pastries, with gluten-free options, on Pecora Road.
• Pecora’s Creamery — a family-owned farm creamery churning 25-plus rotating handmade flavors on site.
• Honey Hole Winery — handcrafted wines, meads and wine slushies with tastings Tuesday through Sunday.
• Top of the 80’s — the fine-dining tradition since 1976 in the former Hazleton Country Club clubhouse, with patio views over four miles of Conyngham Valley countryside.

Things to Do

Two public golf courses bracket the valley: Sand Springs Country Club — “The Public’s Country Club,” an award-winning course opened in 1994 on Nescopeck Ridge — and Sugarloaf Golf Club, an 18-hole course playing since 1967. Honey Hole Winery covers Saturday afternoons; Hazleton’s cinema, events and restaurants are 10 to 15 minutes; and residents of the Beech Mountain Lakes community have access to a 160-acre private lake with a beach, clubhouse, pool and boating.

Outdoors & Parks

Here’s a fact few Pennsylvania towns can match: Nescopeck State Park is in Drums. Its 3,550 acres hold more than 19 miles of trails, the stocked 9-acre Lake Frances for kayaking and fishing, wetlands boardwalks and year-round wildlife watching — with the park office on Honey Hole Road. State gamelands ring the surrounding ridges.

Gyms & Fitness

Planet Fitness and Iron House Gym are 10 to 12 minutes away in the Hazleton/Laurel Mall corridor; Beech Mountain Lakes residents have a community fitness center and indoor pool.

Schools

Drums is served by the Hazleton Area School District — one of Pennsylvania’s largest, with more than 14,000 students across roughly 255 square miles — with Drums Elementary/Middle School (K–8) right in town and Valley Elementary/Middle serving neighboring Sugarloaf. The district’s Academy of Sciences, a STEM magnet school, is a standout option, and Penn State Hazleton is minutes away.

School Performance

State assessment results for the high school serving Drums, from the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Future Ready PA Index, 2024–25 school year:

• Hazleton Area High School — Keystone Literature 46.9% proficient or advanced (statewide 49.9%) · Keystone Algebra I 24.9% (statewide 41.7%) · four-year graduation rate 76.1% (statewide 88.0%)

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education, Future Ready PA Index, 2024–25. We publish these same three measures, from this same source, on every community page in this guide.

Everyday Essentials

Local services line Route 309 through the valley; the full big-box lineup — Weis, ALDI, Walmart, Boyer’s and Gould’s — is 10 to 15 minutes toward Hazleton; and Lehigh Valley Hospital–Hazleton is about 15 minutes.

The Homes

Farmland acreage, established single-family neighborhoods like Bentwood, the gated Beech Mountain Lakes lake community — and active new construction, including new townhomes and larger planned phases in Butler Township. Values here are supported by the mix itself — acreage, newer construction and the amenity communities are all in the same market, which is unusual for the area.