By Brian O’Leary, AICP
When people envision Lancaster County, a lot of images come to mind – the Amish, rolling farmland, horses and buggies, Dutch Wonderland, or the Lancaster Central Market. What doesn’t come to mind is the great outdoors, but Lancaster County has a lot to offer for those who love biking, hiking, kayaking, fishing, or climbing, which my wife and I discovered when we visited for a long weekend in early July.
On our first day out and about, we drove to Columbia, a revitalizing borough on the Susquehanna River, which is the starting point for the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail. In Columbia, there’s a waterfront park with a nice visitors center, as well as a private outfitter for excursions on the river and the surrounding cliffs. Once we got on our bikes and began riding north on the multi-use trail, we encountered a wide variety of sites, such as the Chickies Rock climbing area, the Musselman-Vesta furnace historic site, Marietta’s brew pubs and restaurants, and the White Cliffs of Conoy. Clearly, planners have been at work along this trail, which is evident in the excellent interpretive signage, the restored historic sites, and the fields of native grasses.
On our second day, we explored the Safe Harbor area by kayak and bike. First, we used a canoe launch on the Conestoga River to get out to the islands and rocks below the Safe Harbor dam, paddling over to a couple of large rocks with Indian petroglyphs carved into them. I’d say the individual petroglyphs themselves, which are hard to see, aren’t particularly impressive, but the group as a whole and the fact that they exist in the middle of the Susquehanna is pretty amazing. After our kayaking, we hopped on the Enola Low Grade and rode over the Safe Harbor Trestle Bridge, which, because of its height, has beautiful scenic views over the Susquehanna River. Planners often hear that challenging projects like this trestle bridge are too difficult to do, but Manor Township did a great job rehabbing the bridge for trail use, even including glass panels to look down at the Conestoga River and abundant interpretive signage.
If you’re interested in exploring the lower Susquehanna River and gorge in Pennsylvania, check out the Susquehanna National Heritage Area’s website, which has great information about a wide range of activities in the area.
