Lancaster Co, PA Parks

Lancaster County Department of Parks and Recreation
1050 Rockford Road
Lancaster, PA 17602
Telephone : (717) 299-8215 or 299-8220

Enjoy Lancaster County Parks

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, known as the Garden Spot of America since the 18th century, is located in the southeastern part of the state of Pennsylvania, in the United States. With an estimated 2005 population of 490,562 Lancastrians, Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the 99th largest of 361 MSAs in the U.S. 

The city of Lancaster is the county seat. On December 27th 2008, shortly after midnight, Lancaster County had a 3.3 magnitude earthquake.

Lancaster County is a popular tourist destination, due mostly to the many plain sect residents, known as the Amish or Pennsylvania Dutch. The term 'Pennsylvania Dutch' comes from the earlier use of "Dutch" to apply to all immigrants from middle Europe. 

They are the descendants of Germans who immigrated in the 18th and 19th centuries for the freedom of religion offered by William Penn, and were attracted by the rich soil and mild climate of the area.

Lancastrians can easily spot a visitor to the area by how they pronounce the word Lancaster. Locals and people from nearby counties in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware pronounce Lancaster as LANK-ister. 

This is unusual as most Lancasters in the United States are pronounced as LAN-cast-er, though Lancashire, England, and Lancasters in Texas, Ohio, and South Carolina also use the LANK-ister pronunciation.

The Department seeks to preserve and manage significant tracts of land and water for recreation and for conservation of scenic, historical, geological and ecologically significant areas.

With six regional parks and two recreational trails, the Department manages a total of 2,003 acres. Regional parks range in level of development from Central Park’s more urban setting to the Theodore Parker Natural Area’s rural setting in the woodlands along Stewart Run in the southeastern part of the County. All County parks and services are also open to non-residents.

• Lancaster County Parks
  • Central Park
  • D.F. Buchmiller Park
  • Chickies Rock County Park
  • Conewago Recreation Trail
  • Lancaster Junction Recreation Trail
  • Money Rocks Park
  • Speedwell Forge Park
  • Theodore A Parker III Nature Area