fyi - website is very misleading. Very beautiful place…read more Definitely call before going. I only looked at website. you can't just go there and interact with horses you have to to call make an appointment for lessons.

A peaceful stable nestled among Amish farms, alongside the Conestoga River, offering riding lessons…read morein Western and English. Also offers horse boarding, trail lessons, gaming and horse leasing. Perfect for beginners to advanced riders of all ages. Flying M is a very laid back stable and has flexible scheduling. You can pay with cash or ask to muck stalls for riding time. The stable supplies riding tack and equipment if you do not have your own. The instructors can teach you anything from the very basics of tacking your horse, riding techniques, get you ready for your next event, to even prepare a horse for trails if you are not comfortable to do so yourself. The instructors are very nice and helpful and the regulars are too.

M&S has changed not only my horse's life, but my own. When I brought him here he was underweight,…read morenasty, and full of ailments. Michele's careful and personalized attention has brought my guy health and happiness. Having constant turnout in giant pastures with other horses, as well as unlimited hay and ample grain has made him perfectly plump and healthy. Her thoughtful, kind, and strategic approach to training my ottb has made him more than happy to work and given him the balance and confidence to do things I once thought impossible. But the biggest thing more me is her patience with me. I was scared of my horse that I didn't understand. Michele has taught me how to better horse owner, horse listener, and given my boy and I confidence and trust in each other. Finally, with her network of top-notch professionals (farrier, vet, etc.) my guy is...dare I say...an easy keep?! I couldn't live this place more. When I was forced to move to a few years after coming here, I chose to keep my guy here and visit monthly. It breaks my heart being away from him but I can't imagine taking him away from the family, comfort, and trustworthiness of M&S.

Please don't let two 1 star reviews (written by the same disgruntled family) deter you from…read moreconsidering Start Lance Farm. My daughters, age 7 and 9, have been riding with B.J. for two years now. Not only have they become better riders, but they have also learned proper horse care, how to be more responsible and to work as a team. They are constantly begging me to go spend more time at the barn and would probably live there if I let them. Does B.J. have set expectations for her students? Of course. When you are working with living, breathing, 1000lb animals this is a necessity. Safety is the number one priority and rules need to be adhered to not only to keep the kids safe, but the horses as well. Not having expectations for her students would only lead to a human or horse getting hurt. Policies for lessons, being a member of the show team, and payment are clearly explained, in writing, when you first begin at the farm. It is the responsibility of the students (or parents) to read and understand them. Being a member of the show team has been an amazing experience for my girls. They work hard at lessons each week to help reach their goals at the show. BJ preaches progress over ribbons and is always proud of what each of the show team members accomplish at every show. Sometimes it's overcoming being nervous in schooling and then having a great ride. Other times it's just being where you're supposed to be and following through on your responsibilities. All the show team kids help each other, root for each other and have a created a truly special bond. B.J. has become a great mentor for my kids. I am so thankful for what she has done for them as equestrians and people. If you are looking for somewhere for your kids (or yourself) to learn how to ride, learn responsibility, teamwork and how to care for and respect horses, I highly recommend Star Lance Farm.

Bj is verbally and emotionally abusive. Edit to add: you…read moremay see a review here by Megan. Megan's mom taught BJ how to ride horses and they have been best friends for like their entire lives so of course she will get on here and say what she's saying. Also, I have only left one review no one else in my household left the other review. My child's mental health slowly degraded over the 2 1/2 years we worked with BJ, and we are not her only students to feel this way. BJ knows she has this problem and tries to hide it from new people. So you'll go through a process of being love bombed by her before the abuse starts. After a year of working with her, my daughter had to start therapy. I attempted to explain this to her and work with her and reach our goal of the colonial classic horse show but her explosive anger and verbal abuse continued not only towards my child but the other students and her husband Joey as well. She has explosive, uncontrolled anger towards her horses as soon as they don't do what she wants, punching them in the head and hitting them with all her strength with farrier files. My entire families mental health has improved since we've cut ties with BJ. If I could give less than one star I would. My daughter is happier than I've seen her literally in two years since we decided a week ago that we would no longer associate with BJ and her Barn. Now she refuses to even refund our paid ahead lesson money. Word of warning to her current and potential future students: do not pay her ahead and record her constantly.

Carley is very knowledgeable about horses. I highly recommend her. She is in tuned to her…read morestudents and her horses needs. It is also a very beautiful setting.

This is a truly delightful park, combining elements of forest, water, and, of course, a the former…read moremine site. A favorite spot was the small dock where one can sit and watch the river's rapids. It was also heartwarming to see generations of families fishing together. A very nice place for a weekend stroll!

(This visit was made during the times of Covidious in January. When things return to a look of…read morenormality - your experience likely will vary.) On one hand Silver Mine Park looks more or less like any other smaller rural Lancaster County park yet on closer inspection you can see that it's more like two separate parks at one location. Let's call things the upper part of the park and the lower part of the park. In the lower part you've got a small parking lot along the Pequea Creek that leads to most of the trails in some form or other. While we didn't walk all of the trails, we got to most of them and they are fairly flat and benign. The upper part of the park starts with a small square stone parking lot next to a baseball field and what looks like a soccer field. Next to that is a larger rectangular lot that is close to some playground equipment and a large pond which you can fish (catch and release?). Now this is where it gets good (Dork! Alert!). Just down Silver Mine Road on the left side is another smaller parking lot which leads to a trail. This is the Geology Trail (yellow one on the below map) which is fairly flat and runs along a small stream. Along the trail you'll find an old kiln and the actual silver mine for which this park is named. www.pequeatwp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2012-08-29_Walking_Trails_Map_Kiosk_web.pdf Obviously you can't see or tour the mine (although that could change - link below) at this time but the trail will take you to the mine's front entrance and up to a few of the gopher holes were you can see that actual activity was occurring at various times over the past 150 years. lancasteronline.com/news/local/ambitious-plan-could-open-pequea-silver-mine-park-to-tours/article_89aba0c2-7995-11e8-90b4-f76ee454223a.html In principle the only way to get between the two halves of the park is to drive from one lot to the other unless you walk the Poplar Grove Trail which is a large half-loop that goes from the end of the Geology Trail to the almost beginning of the Red Trail. While I saw one or two people walking along Silver Mine Road, I wouldn't recommend it as there are one or two hills with a few blind spots where drivers wouldn't be expecting a pedestrian on the side of the road. Overall Silver Mine was a neat little find that I could see us definitely coming back to visit the next time we're in the area. A+ unchartedlancaster.com/2020/03/20/side-quest-explore-the-300-year-old-pequea-silver-mine/

I enjoy coming to this park on my lunch and just watching the river pass by. Beautiful park that is…read morewell maintained. Love this place!

Now THIS is a park, my friends! Riverfront Park (RP) in Marietta is simply gorgeous, tucked behind…read moresome train tracks and a small, country town. Like many of the parks I visit, I stumbled upon it while researching for another park. RP has almost 300-acres, which includes the park and East Donegal's section of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail (NRT). *Portable toilets *Boat Launch--oh how I wish I still had my kayak! *Covered Picnic Tables *Two parking lots: #1 is near the pavilion, boat launch and one end of NRT and #2 is next to NRT heading out the other direction *Benches *Historical Markers *Extremely large, grassy field to play *Nice lawn with shady trees and one lone seesaw--no other playground equipment *NRT is about 14-miles long so plenty of space to bike, walk and run. *Dogs are welcome--just clean up after them and keep them on a leash *The view of the Susquehanna River is spectacular. RP is now my favorite park in PA--so far. It has everything I need, including solitude. It's a great place to bring a picnic, watch the sunset, take a bike ride, or catch some ball. A well-planned park--great job, East Donegal Township!

When you are in Hershey and you want to try something different, you have to stop off at Hershey…read moreOutfitters. The Hershey Outfitters offers great out of the box activities in Hershey including kayaking, a challenge ropes course, Segway tours and a great Falconry experience. I tried out both the ropes-course and the Falconry Experience. First, the ropes-course was a fun activity where you climbed on different events. At the end, you got to do a zip line! While the ropes-course was fun it was nowhere near as amazing as the Falconry Experience. The Experience allowed you to see falcons in action and eventually you get to hold one! While I signed up for the kayaking, I was unfortunately unable to do so because of the rain. I found the cancellation somewhat ridiculous as it was only drizzling, but at least they called somewhat early. All the staff here was really nice and informative! Paul, Jack and Marc were especially great! Altogether, this is a great place to sign-up for a variety of fun activities.

I did the Segway tour and it was so much fun. Aaliyah was the most helpful and kind person. She not…read moreonly was very professional and gave a great tour but she gave us great ideas for what to do in Hershey. Definitely recommend this experience to everyone! :)

Ever since we found out my trunk bike carrier works on our SUV late this summer, we've fervently…read moreexplored biking trails around the Harrisburg area before the season's over.  One of the first things that came to mind would of course be the Capital Area Greenbelt.  It's a 23 mile route interconnecting paved paths, crushed-stone trails, and public roads.  We've only explored 3 different segments of the Greenbelt.   The first is City Island and Riverfront Park. Start by looping around the small island which is less than a mile but think of it as a warm up. You also get to see some touristy highlights such as the Pride of the Susquehanna Riverboat, Water Golf, and City Island Railroad.  Then cross the picturesque Walnut Street Bridge, turn left on to my favorite segment so far, the Riverfront Park. This paved segment runs for 3 miles alongside the Susquehanna River all the way to Vaughn St. You also have an option to take the path directly along the river or the path along the green/street.  Along the way you get to see many sculptures and historic landmarks. Some highlights include State Street, Governor's Mansion, Peace Garden, and Sunken Garden. And if you're open to excursions, take detours and check out the Capitol Complex and Italian Lake. The second segment we've been frequenting without realizing it's part of the Greenbelt - Wildwood Park. I've had a 5-star review on it. It's one of  my favorite parks in the Harrisburg area.  I've read that there's a new 1.5 mile segment connecting from Wildwood Park to Fort Hunter.  I can't wait to check that out! The third segment we just tried today, the Andrea Ave Spur.  It's not part of the main loop but still part of the Greenbelt. I guess you can think of it as an extension, much like the Fort Hunter segment.  This one starts out on a crushed-stone path but soon turns into a fully paved trail. It's only 2.3 miles to the main loop near the Farm Show complex, but it's hilly and punishing at times. This is a different experience than, say, a rail trail which is more secluded and allows you to be soaked with nature.  Here you do not completely leave civilization. Another negative aspect is that many sections insolve public roads.  I'm not sure I should venture the southeast portion of the Greenbelt, based on the map...

1. Route / Trail closed at the Riverfront Office Center (ROC) May 2024 for extended future…read more 2. Area from 581 bridge to ROC is lined with a huge homeless encampment. 3. Paved portion in Susquehanna Township along River has numerous potholes and speed bumps from tree roots. Pavement in terrible condition 4. Path along River is too narrow for walkers and bikers to safely share. 5. Not a continuous trail. There are gaps near the Civil War museum the trail uses city streets.