Ned to go somewhere serene?! If so this is your place!! There was dogs and people enjoying the…read morewaterfall. Amazing location for a picnic as well. There are several large rocks that you can sit down and enjoy the views. A great spot to get photos as well. Make sure you bring proper shoes as you will be in the element and it will get slippery and wet out there. I will definitely be back when it's warmer to enjoy the warm water!

Great hike for all ages and most abilities. I went hiking with my brother and his family and they…read morehave 4 kids ages 3-9. There is a Porta Potty at the beginning of the trail in the parking lot. The trail is well maintained. The are parts where the elevation is a little steep and long. If you have lunch issues then the elevated parts may be an issue. There is one part where you have to cross the river that requires some balance and walking across stones or through the water, whichever you prefer. The trail has tree roots on it in several parts, so watch your ankles so you don't roll them. There are benches along the way to sit rest on and there are benches at the end of the trail overlooking the falls. The falls has a little pool below it that is fun for the kids who like to wade in it. There are large flat stone spaces where you can sit and observe the falls.

This loop hike is absolutely one of the best hiking experiences I've had. We had two children ages…read more6 and 9, and they were beside themselves with excitement the whole time! Be prepared to climb rocks, hoist yourself over tree trunks and get a little wet! It is a fairly difficult trail at some points- please beware of slippery rocks and other obstacles! If you have balance issues this may not be the trail for you. Bring a camera- there are beautiful water falls on the second half of the trip! *Tip: Pack an extra set of clothing and some water shoes! There are great places to splash around when you reach the midway mark in the trail!

This is one of my new favorite hiking spots. Private parking spot (small) but your car is safe away…read morefrom the road. They have four trails, blue, yellow, white and orange (which is the Conestoga Trail). We hiked the yellow and blue. Each is on either side of the creek. The trails follow the creek out to the Susquehanna. When you are nonspot hiking takes between 1-2 hours to finish the whole thing. It is so beautiful here. The path directly follows the river and it varies in difficulty from flat ground to stepping over rocks to boulder climbing. It is fantastic! You can cross various fallen trees to get to the other side of the creek (it is safe the trees are stable and huge). So peaceful and quiet, until you hear the many waterfalls and rapids! Definitely going back to cheek out more trails. Only downside is limited parking. Went on a cloudy day.

Amazing views, beautiful park, awesome paved trail for walking and biking (: Wonderful trail that…read moreleads to the White Cliffs.

Along the water in Bainbridge is a small park with a covered area and a small lot where many hikers…read moreand bikers park to use the nearby trail. Personally, I parked to walk 1.5 miles to the White Cliffs of Conoy, an old quarry along the water with stunning views and photo opps.

Let me tell you something. During this time of Covidiousness, we've certainly done our fair share…read moreof outdoorsy types of things. While coming to a state park like this in York County may not seem like an obvious choice, it's actually been the perfect place. I'm not going to go in to any history or backstory (I covered that in my initial musings several years ago) but what sets this park apart from most PA state parks is its size. While the park is only 85 acres (PA has 121 state parks and some of them clock in at north of 15K acres just for a sense of scope) it's layout allows for things to feel more spread out than you would assume. The main road that wraps around the park is great for walking but there are also two miles of trails which if done in a clockwise direction are actually somewhat challenging with how it'll be mostly uphill. There is also a disc gold course, a rock formation that kids will love to climb on, a few small swing sets placed at different spots and a large open field at the top of hill with one hell of a view towards the Susquehanna River, Wrightsville and Columbia. The best part about this place is that it's rural enough so that it's never too busy. We've made trips to some state parks closer to us (Jacobsburg-Nockamixon-Lehigh Gorge) recently and they have been consistently packed. Here, not so much. The drive here is easy. There is an amazing view. There is usually more than enough space for everyone to spread out and do whatever they want. Sounds perfect to me and we'll be back this weekend.

Samuel S. Lewis State Park does not offer you a bunch of amenities. There's no amazing new…read moreplayground for the kiddies (although there are some swings and such throughout). There's very few short trails around the park (but enough to satisfy my dogs and if you go the "right" way, you get quite a workout hiking uphill). However, what you DO get is gorgeous views of the river and landscape from atop Mt. Pisgah. You also get open space to roam and run around. And my son's favorite part are the rocks! He loves to climb and explore. It's almost possible for me to give any park less than five stars--especially one with such a beautiful view. You won't regret the trip to visit this park. I'm just lucky that it's only 15 minutes from home. P.S. Go read Christopher C.'s review--it's very thorough and well-written.

We had a wonderful stay at Gifford Pinchot State Park!…read more The camping area at GP is separated into A loop and B loops with approximately 300 sites. All sites had a paved pad, varying in size depending on the location, with tent site being smaller. Most sites have electric and there are 22 full hookup sites in the camping area. Both loops are peninsulas into the lake, which is convenient to launching boats directly from many sites. Loop A is closer to the designated swimming area with a sandy beach and playground. B loop is closer to many of the hiking trails and also several boat launch areas. It is nice that the camping area and amenities are separated from the public day use area. At the entrance to the camping area there are three dump stations. During our stay we were at a full hookup site which was very spacious and often hard to find in PA State Parks. Our site was #299 and for some reason the entire site was paved/blacktop, which was different than all the other sites where the pad was paved and the picnic table area was gravel/grass. While this site made it easy to level our camper, it became quite hot in the afternoon/evening after the sun had baked it all day. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed GP and couldn't believe we hadn't visited before because it is a great state park. Wood is available for purchase at the campground hosts' sites and ice at the park office. As with most PA state parks, quiet hours are at 9:00PM, which is a bit early, and there is no alcohol allowed in the park. We look forward to returning to GP in the future.

First stay here while traveling and it is a fine spot to stay while passing through. They did have…read morea camp host in our area, A, though we never saw them even when we went looking b/c of a question we had. Never saw them the entire time we were there. The park is fine, needs a little TLC which the volunteers are doing a great job taking care of.

We biked from Koser Park to the Decatur Street Access in Marietta. It's a very well maintained and…read morepaved trail.  Great condition good enough for skates though we only saw mostly bikers and one skateboarder during our visit.  The trail must be relatively new because the donated benches are still in mint condition.  There are placards along the trail providing background on various subjects.  The trail offers many nice amenities. Among others, Porta-Johns are available at 4 locations and bike repairing stations at 2. The 6.5 mile trail offers good variety in terms of views and terrains. Though mostly flat and straight, there are short sections that are windy or sloppy.  There are open fields and woody areas. The trail is near the Susquehanna River and you can see the water in many sections of the trail which is great. There are even a few spots where you can gain access to the river. We crossed 2-3 small bridges and had a great view of the Shocks Mills Bridge. Around the midpoint is the River Front Park which offers a great view of the river and well maintained picnic area for large groups, and 2 vending machines! We were surprised to see a sign to Columbia when we reached Decatur Street access, our destination.  Per Google Maps the trail ended right there.  We asked a couple who just came from that direction and they said the trail doesn't go all the way and riding on public roads would be required to make the connections.   So we stuck with our plan and did not continue. Overall I'm absolutely impressed with how well the trail is maintained, all the amenities it offers, and its vicinity to the river. UPDATE: Google Maps is not to be trusted! I have since found out the trail continues 3 miles north of Koser Park access, and 4.5 miles south of the Decatur Street access. From the Decatur Street access, you can continue 2 miles of nice windy trail before having to venture out onto S Bank St in Marietta. At this point you can either cross the railroad and turn right to eventually get to Furnace Rd where the off-road trail resumes, or if you're adventurous, you can continue with the unpaved trail which will end up in the parking lot of the Chickies Rock County Park and when you come out through the tunnel you will end up with the same Furnace Rd connection to the River Trail. This gap is well worth it because the next 1.5 mile towards Columbia is such a delight to ride through. Once in Columbia, you can head back, unless you want to visit the Columbia Crossings Trails Center, in which case, you'll have to ride the sidewalks and cross busy Rt 441 twice.

Beautiful location in Lancaster County. 2 miles walkway. Plenty of room for walkers and bikers to…read moreshare. Lots of shaded areas. Incredible views of Chickie Rock. Areas to sit and relax. Also at Columbia station, there are snack items/drinks, very clean restrooms, and lots of historic displays. Neat to watch rock climbing too. Great fun for all ages. Also great spot for wheelchair too

Awesome workout and awesome view to reward yourself with after that tough walk. Also many places to…read moresit down and watch the view. I highly recommend coming here in summer and watching a sunset, it's mesmerizing. I actually asked my gf out here so it'll always have a special place in my heart. Also very cool place to bring your dog!

After my Yelp friend David H. posted about this small gem last month, I had to take a look myself…read moreas I have been in the area numerous times but had honestly never heard about this place. Just to keep the history lesson short, it was built by York County in 2007 and it is one of a series of ten overlooks that are at different points in the county all of which give views of the Susquehanna River. susquehannariverlands.com/the-great-outdoors/scenic-overlooks/highpoint-scenic-vista-rec-area/ The set up is fairly simple. There is a small parking lot at the base of the overlook on Hilt Road. At the base there is a picnic bench and a port-a-blaster along with some literature about York County parks/area trails. From there it's up and around the trail which is a 1/2 mile loop with five way point stops that I guess are made to have you appreciate the view from different angles? At the top the view is very nice. It's literally the same as if you were over at Samuel S. Lewis State Park except that now you're two-ish miles closer to the river. The overlook from Samuel S. Lewis is higher and is visible from here and the top of the vista here is very visible from Sam Lewis. We were here around 35 minutes and the parking lot was packed but people were at different point of the incline and on other trails nearby so things never felt cramped or rushed. While I'm not necessarily sure that this place needs a return visit, I'm glad we came and I appreciate David putting this one on my/everyone's Yelp radar as it is a unique spot worth a brief stop.

Today I attended Plants in the Park, a free event hosted by Penn State Extension…read more It was a wonderful experience learning about the trees, shrubs, and vegetation in the park, which felt more like a forest. Our guide knew the area well and welcomed questions about what we saw. We walked the easy White Oaks Loop path, with lots to see and learn about. We learned how to identify a tree by its leaves or bark and whether it is shade-tolerant or intolerant. We observed Eastern Hemlocks, White Oak, Tulip Poplar, Pitch Pine, Black Gum, mushrooms, and even sassafras.

It's no wonder Kings Gap was named PA's Park of the Year! It's so peaceful, beautiful, and less…read morethan 30 minutes from Carlisle. There are walking and hiking trails everywhere and the crown jewel of course is the mansion, the view, and the gardens. There are activities year round including music festivals, tours of the mansion, and you can even rent out the mansion or just rooms. There's truly something for everyone. I wish there was a small store in the education center that offered drinks, coffee, and snacks, but there is the general store at the bottom of the hill that offers sandwiches, take-out meals, and beverages so hit up Kings Gap General Store before heading up to the mansion. We're so fortunate to have this park so close to us and if it's not my favorite state park, it's in the top five at least.

Grew up in the area and came back to visit family. It's been *years* since I've seen the lights at…read moreRocky Ridge, but the stars aligned and we were able to take our kids this year. I have to say, it's just as magical as I remember. I love that there is a bit of a drive through portion in addition to the lights you walk through. Everything seemed well organized, to include parking. There were several people directing traffic-- it was easy to get in and out. Tickets were to be purchased beforehand online-- adults are $12, age 6 to 14 are $7, and kids under 6 are free. There were different sections of lights where you could stop and take pictures, drink hot chocolate, and see the model trains. The only bummer is there was no Santa to take pictures with, which is something I specifically remember doing as a child. I'm not sure if this is the first year or not though. All in all, if you're in or near the York area and want to check out the lights, do it! It's well worth the money and memories

$15 for my daughter and I and we were done in 15 minutes for the Christmas Magic lights. $1 a…read moreminute is way too high. The website says a 30-60 minutes walking trail, but only if you stop and stare at every light. Now don't get me wrong the lights are beautiful and there are thousands of them to look at but they are bunched together. Little kids will love it