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/

What's not to love? Natural beauty is all around, and during migratory bird seasons, this location…read moreis a wonderful spectacle of nature!

Love this place but disappointed that the wildlife drive closed on 9/30 for the season before…read moremigration. I was traveling with someone who cannot walk the trails and the drive is a great opportunity for them.

A truly beautiful park I enjoyed when I was in the area. Great place to enjoy with family and…read morefriends, and there's plenty of open space and parking. There's also a picnic area and playground. We went to see the sunset (what an amazing view) and take a walk on one of the trails in the park. You will definitely get your steps in for the day! Lots of beautiful trees and flowers to admire. There are plenty of things to do here, and so much open space to easily enjoy.

(This is for the Speedwell Forge Lake which is right next door to the actual park itself.)…read more If you are so inclined for a little light reading and/or mapery, see the below for all of the technical necessaries regarding the lake. pfbc.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=c3a9b1eef46b4ebe85bf2c883fa7f73e&center=-76.30666700%2c40.20333300&level=13 co.lancaster.pa.us/DocumentCenter/View/521/Speedwell-Forge-Park-Location-Map?bidId= www.fishandboat.com/About-Us/PFBC-by-Region/PFBC-Lakes/Pages/SpeedwellForgeLake.aspx Looking for a new place put the kayaks in the water is what led us here. Why? To me, the lake is big enough to give you some interesting things to see and explore, but not too big that you can't see it all in a few hours. There are two docks you can launch from - one on either side of Brubaker Valley Road. It was mid-morning on a weekday and there were seven or eight other kayaks out there (mostly people fishing) and a few small boats that were also fishing. Plenty of wildlife with a Bald Eagle, a deer, a few Blue Heron and fish constantly jumping out of the water. At the far west end of the lake, where it gets shallow and you come to where it gets fed by the Hammer Creek, you expect to see a lot of ducks, turtles, frogs and since you're at the side of the Speedwell Forge Wolf Sanctuary - you can hear some barking & howling and even catch a few glimpses through the trees of a few of the residents running around. Fwiw, I can imagine that on weekends, this place getting very crowded and while it does have some size to it, compared to some other county/state parks, it's not that big. But for a weekday, it was more than fine. Beautiful. Peaceful. What more could you want?

This is a great place to go kayaking and fishing. Looks easy enough to navigate putting in even if…read moreyou are a beginner. First time here, apparently it's been recently drained and restocked. Lots of kayaks and canoes laying in the grassy areas, leading to a sense of serenity and safety, which is refreshing. Beautiful views & lots of wildlife all leading to a peaceful relaxing experience.

Nice trail to take your dog for a walk or even to just get out and enjoy nature. Plenty of…read moredifferent spots to park along the trail.

This is a nice well maintained trail partially crushed limestone and some areas are paved along the…read moreway. We rode an out and back (20 miles total) from the trailhead at Colebrook to the City of Lebanon. For the most part the trail winds along roads, and feels "seperated" from housing and traffic. There are a few portions (especially closer to Lebanon) where you encounter more walkers [seniors from the elder communities]. The trail is wide enough in those areas that you can announce and pass safely. The overall profile of this portion of the ride is a bit like a bowl, you climb out of parking area, descend (just 2-3%) level for some miles, then climb out towards city. It is overall an easy ride. We were on our Cannondale Topstone Gravel bikes, but anything with 25mm+ tires would likely be comfortable.

This is quite a nice trail. It connects to the conewago trail in lancaster and its slightly wider…read moreand a little quieter. With fewer intersections and parking lots, there are fewer people in the longer in between sections. It does have mile markers, but sometimes they can be hard to spot as they are wood colored and short. But thats my only real complaint with this trail. Like the conewago trail, there is no real address for this so I used the closest interesction from mile marker 1 which is the end of conewago and beginning of LVR.

Green Hills in the summer, but white hills it was when I visited after a snowfall yesterday…read more Green Hills Preserve is one of the Natural Lands properties where much of it is undevelopable for housing, so it has been put to good use as greenspace. There are huge power lines running right through it, but it is still a vast open meadow of tall grass, mowed for trails year 'round. The landscape did not have a ton of character, but seemed typical of the farm-y rural locale, so it works. Pretty bittersweet red berry bushes were planted by the parking lot to add some color. This is a good preserve for a relatively flat walk, in a meadow field, without woods, stream, rocks, or other terrain challenges. Drainage seems good too, so this would be a great preserve for those with physical challenges preventing them from a hike with obstacles. As always, the preserve was litter free, very clean. Leashed dogs permitted. Open dawn to dusk. Parking is plentiful and it's all free.

I picked this park due to the convenience where I'm staying, and this came up. It's easy finding…read morethe location, but the signage needs to be fixed and improved on Miller Street. Also, there is another entrance located on Theatre Drive. There is plenty of parking in both lots, even when it gets packed. The majority of the park sits right at a lake, with a path that does a complete loop around the lake. The views are pretty nice, with two sections going past a couple of houses, a bridge that crosses the dam (the main highlight), and also a big field. Finally, in the main parking lot, there is also an opening that heads close to the lake, providing two docks. Picnic tables are also provided in the park as a plus. Something that should be addressed is keeping the dock clean because it is covered with you know what?! Pennsylvania is a beautiful state if only I lived closer.

This is a nice park with a lake & camping spots. The only bad thing is the walkways are dirt, not…read moregravel & inconsiderate people let their dogs do their business without cleaning it up. Otherwise it's all good.