ランカスター郡のおすすめウォーキング＆ハイキングルート

The Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area spreads over approximately 6,000 acres and is home to waterfowl, grassland-nesting birds, and wetland-dependent animals. A great display of nature is the annual snow goose migration from mid-February to early March when up to 200,000 snow geese and thousands of tundra swans stop over at the 360-acre lake created by a dam. There are more than 20 miles of hiking trails and a Visitor Center.

Wind Cave sits about 60 feet off the Conestoga Trail System, and the area offers scenic views of the Susquehanna River. The cave has no restrooms, restaurants, or gift shops, so visitors should come prepared. It features two entrances, each leading to separate parallel corridors connected by a single cross-passage. Here, the main entrance is easy to access, with an eight-foot-tall, three-foot-wide opening that leads into a gently sloping floor and a ceiling that rises 15 to 25 feet high. As you move through the straight corridor, you'll need to climb over large fallen boulders before reaching a narrow point, about 175 to 200 feet, where most visitors can go no farther. The cave is dark and easy to turn around, so explore cautiously.

Mill Creek Camping Area is a peaceful, primitive tent-only campground along Mill Creek in Lancaster’s Central Park, just two miles from downtown. The 10-acre site has five campsites with water spigots, a portable toilet, and access to a clean park restroom open during the day, though no showers are available. Campers can take a short walk to the historic Eshelman Mill Iron Bridge. Camping is open from April 1 to October 31, and you must call or visit the Parks Office to make a reservation.

Great trail. Very uneven path. Lots of rocks and roots. If you aren’t a stable walker this is not your trail.

This is the Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge, one of the many covered bridges in Lancaster County. This 94-foot bridge was built in 1876 and runs over Mill Creek.

These ruins of an old home are an interesting landmark along the Elder's Run Trail. They are what remains of a home and springhouse that were built in the 1930s, but torn down about 30 years later.

This trailhead is a central point where Middle Creek Trail, Explorer Trail, and Horseshoe Trail connect. Middle Creek Trail leads to a very pleasant loop along the creek and eventually connects with Elder's Run Trail and the other end of Explorer Trail. Horseshoe Trail runs straight through the park and eventually connects to the Appalachian Trail. While this is a good junction to choose your own adventure within the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, there is no parking here. The Visitor's Center to the north or Spring Mountain Road Parking Area to the south are better starting points for a hike leading to this junction.

The landscape from the Pinnacle Overlook is sensational: the view fades into the horizon, characterized by an immense forest and the serpentine of the Susquehanna River. Fantastic!