Bethel is a census-designated place in Bethel Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located at the junction of Interstate 78/U.S. Route 22 and Pennsylvania Route 501. It is in the Susquehanna watershed and drained southward into the Little Swatara Creek. Its area code is 717. As of the 2010 census, the population was 499. Bethel was the original location that Cabela's was going to build their new location before they decided to build it in Hamburg.