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Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour

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Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

The Utz Factory Tour: Hanover’s Self-Guided Factory Tour

Driving up to the Utz Factory Tour in Hanover, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Having already visited the Martin’s Potato Chip Factory Tour and the Snyder’s of Hanover Factory Tour , I wasn’t sure if I would be toured out.

Unlike many of the factory tours in the area, the Utz Factory Tour is self-guided. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to show up at a certain time for a tour, but I was skeptical about whether or not the tour would provide the same wealth of information I’d gotten on my previous tours.

However, I wanted to check it out because Utz Snack Foods is the largest privately-owned snack food company in America. Amazingly, Utz produces one million pounds of potato chips and 900,000 pounds of pretzels each week, the majority from their factory in Hanover, near the Maryland border.

The entrance to the tour is behind a marked door on the side of the Utz’s factory. Immediately upon entering the facility, a recorded voice comes over the speakers, welcoming you to the factory and giving you the history of the company as you ascend the stairs to the second floor touring area.

The first stop of the tour is a large open room that features written information about the history of  Utz, as well as many pictures and memorabilia from their 90+ years of production.

However, the reason people come to the factory is for the viewing gallery, which is the next stop on the factory tour.

Like I said before, the Utz Factory Tour is self-guided. So, to help you understand the process, each section of windows has an audio recording that can be played by pressing a button.

Just like the Snyder’s of Hanover Factory Tour , you’re in a second floor gallery, looking through panes of glass at the factory floor below. However, in my opinion, what made this tour better than the guided one at Snyder’s was that I had no problems hearing the recorded audio, and I had an unobstructed view through the windows.

The 11 different sections of the tour explained the entire process, from the potatoes arriving at the factory to the packaged chips getting shipped out. At either end of the tour they provided closed-circuit TVs to show you areas that you couldn’t visit. It was a nice idea, but the feed didn’t appear to have been updated since the 1980s.

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience of the factory tour at Utz. While it may not be as exciting as the factory floor tour at Martin’s Potato Chips , being able to tour at your own speed certainly makes it easier to hear and understand the process that goes into making a potato chip.

And, while the audio recording at times seemed like more of a public relations tool than an informative one (i.e. Frying potatoes doesn’t lock in the nutrition. Sorry Utz), it still gives a good overview of the process that goes into making one of America’s most popular snack foods.

If you’re in the York/Hanover/ Gettysburg area , I would highly recommend a visit to the Utz Factory Tour. It’s an interesting look into the production of potato chips.

Visiting the Utz Factory Tour

The Utz Factory Tour is located in Hanover, which is about half-way between York and Gettysburg, near the Maryland border.

The self-guided Hanover factory tour is open Monday to Thursday: 10:00am-3:30pm. While no reservations are required, Utz does recommend calling ahead to ensure that the production facility will be open, as it does close from time to time. The phone number is 1-800-367-7629.

Friday tours may also be available with at least 10 days notice by calling the same number.

If you find yourself craving potato chips after the tour is over, and the small sample bag doesn’t fill your need, visit the nearby Utz Factory Outlet, an Utz Factory store which sells just about every variety they produce, including some that are hard to find in the region.

While in the area, also consider visiting some of the other great snack food factory tours in York County .

Some photos in article used courtesy of Utz Snacks.

Utz Factory Tour

See map below for other area attractions.

Great places to stay in York County

• Home2 Suites - The city's highest-rated hotel on TripAdvisor .
• Grace Manor B&B - A popular B&B near the center of town
• Candlewood Suites - A great value with excellent reviews
• Heritage Hills Resort - A relaxing property with great ammenities
• Find more great places to stay on Airbnb!

Click the map to see more nearby things to do

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Find more things to do in pennsylvania dutch country.

Jim Cheney is the creator of UncoveringPA.com. Based in Carlisle near Harrisburg, Jim frequently travels around Pennsylvania and has visited, written about, and photographed all 67 counties in the state. He has also traveled to more than 30 different countries around the world.

2 thoughts on “The Utz Factory Tour: Hanover’s Self-Guided Factory Tour”

Five hundred tons (one million pounds) of potato chips every seven days???

Fact checkers please confirm.

I can’t personally confirm, but that’s what they claim.

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Utz Factory Tour Review

If you live in one of the states where Utz products are available you might want to add the Free Utz Factory Tour to your bucket list. 

The Utz factory tour is a free tour where you can see how Utz potato chips are made. 

The factory tour is self-guided and ends with a free bag of original Utz potato chips. 

The Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour 

On the tour, you will see the whole potato chip process. From potatoes coming up out of storage and getting washed, peeled and sliced to boxes of chips waiting in storage. 

The facility is over 600,000 square feet with a glass-enclosed observation gallery looking down at the production process.

The tour is self-guided with windows looking down into the factory floor. Each area has a button that can be pushed explaining what you are seeing and sharing fun facts. 

Looking out the factory windows you will see people working in different areas. Don’t be afraid to wave try can see you too. Sometimes they even wave back! 

We have done the Utz Factory Tour in Pennsylvania several times and we all enjoy it. It’s a great tour for kids because it’s self-paced so you can go as slow or fast as you need to.

Each visit to the potato chip factory we usually end up spending 45 minutes to an hour doing the tour, taking pictures and eating our chip sample.

I love that the tour shows the whole process from potato to packaged bag of chips. It’s a great way for my kids to see first hand where chips come from.

A trip to the Utz factory tour is fun and educational. Any age can enjoy the tour, I would say that preschool age and older would appreciate it more, but even younger kids will have fun.

If you haven’t visited the Utz Factory in Hanover before you’re really missing out. You can’t beat a free activity that is fun and educational, plus it ends with a free snack!

Know Before You Go

Before visiting the Utz factory call to make sure they are open. Depending on the time of year the factory tour has different hours. 

Address:  900 High St. Hanover, PA 17331

Hours: Monday – Thursday 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. (before visiting call to make sure the tour will be open, hours can change. )

Outlet Store:  861 Carlisle St, Hanover, PA 17331

Website: utzsnacks.com

After enjoying the factory tour head over to the Utz outlet store to pick up some of your favorite Utz products. You might be surprised by all the different things you can buy. 

Other things to do in the area 

Snyder’s of Hanover Factory Tour

Gettysburg National Battlefield

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3 thoughts on “Utz Factory Tour Review”

Factory tours are so much fun, and I love when they’re self-guided so we can go at our own pace!

That sounds like such a fun family outing. I’m hungry for chips, now!

It really is a fun place to visit.

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• Pennsylvania

Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour

900 High Street, Hanover , Pennsylvania 17331 USA

• Independent

“see & smell the making of the famous snacks”

You can see and smell the making of the famous Utz Potato Chips and Snacks at our over 600,000 square foot facility in Hanover, Pennsylvania. There, we have built a special glass enclosed observation gallery that looks down on our production process from beginning to end. You will be guided step-by-step with the aid of a push-to-talk audio program and closed-circuit TV monitors. A wall display of Utz’s history will enhance your understanding of the company and its products. From start to finish, you’ll be impressed with the care we put into Utz Potato Chips. At Utz, we use the finest ingredients and the most advanced equipment. Our factory is one of the cleanest and most modern snack food operations in America.

Reviewed by Osceptrus

Excellent self-guided tour where you can see the chip-making process from start to finish. We saw the trucks roll up, the potatoes off the truck being transported into the peelers, slicers, cookers, and then bagged. Very cool!

Then we bought way too many bags of chips down the road at the outlet store; chocolate pretzels, honey twists, and dill pickle. Those dill pickle are the best I've tasted.

A great stop for a family on a road trip.

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Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour

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UTZ POTATO CHIP FACTORY TOUR (Hanover) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour

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Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour

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UTZ POTATO CHIP FACTORY TOUR (Hanover) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

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Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

A day trip from Baltimore: Our first time on Utz’s factory tour

I don’t remember when we first heard about the Utz factory tour , but we have been wanting to go for years. But because the tour is only offered Monday through Thursday, we have never managed to fit it into our schedule.This summer, though, we were determined. My husband picked a day to take off during my staycation week with our sons, and we headed up to Hanover, Pa.

My husband and sons, though, are fans of the TV show, “How It’s Made,” which shows how different products are created, and we’re all fans of Utz potato chips. So, we were excited to see the process.

When we arrived at the factory, we found it wasn’t crowded. The Utz employees were warm and welcoming. They seemed genuinely happy to be there—and delighted to see us.

Then we headed into the factory viewing area. You aren’t allowed to take pictures or videos in there, as I learned quickly from the 9- and 11-year-old boys who were suddenly at my side saying, “MOM!!! Didn’t you see the sign?”

Oops. Still, even though you aren’t allowed to take photos, you are encouraged to watch, and there is so much to see!

Mounds of potatoes move into a machine and come out sliced. They move on a conveyor belt through another machine as they are positioned for cooking. Then they come out nice and crispy and darker. It was fascinating. We watched the process unfold and the perfectly sealed bags of chips moving up conveyor belts toward boxes, then boxes stacked high in the final warehouse room.

The variety packs were even put together by a team of women, not by robots. I learned later that that’s because there is such a demand for variety packs in the summer when everyone is going to picnics and barbecues.

The ladies staffing the counter seemed to have all the time in the world for our questions about the process, the history, how fresh chips are when we buy them in stores (no more than 2 or 3 days old), and their own time with the company (30-plus years for each of them). And no one seemed to mind that, as we talked, our children were bouncing around the room like chips rattling along a conveyor belt.

Then we drove to the outlet store and spent time selecting just the right snacks to take home. The cashier happened to have a coupon someone else hadn’t used and threw in a free bag of crab chips. Maybe they do that for everyone. Maybe it’s a sign that you’ve spent too much. Either way, we were happy. And I would definitely go again.

As the jingle says, “No ifs, ands, or buts, it’s gotta be Utz.”

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Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour

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Similar Experiences

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

Utz Potato Chip Factory Tour

• See all photos

Similar Experiences

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

UTZ POTATO CHIP FACTORY TOUR (Hanover) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go