View from "House Rock" on the Conestoga Trail System looking south towards the "Pinnacle Overlook"

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Welcome to the Website of the Lancaster Hiking Club

and official site for the Conestoga Trail System in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Our Mission- "To provide a program of outdoor recreation and to maintain the Conestoga Trail System!"

Conestoga Trail System Needs Workers!!

The Conestoga Trail needs volunteers to keep it open especially in summer and to keep it well blazed. If you are willing to do trail care or to scout a section please email kenfil@ptd.net with subject TRAIL CARE. We need scouts to report on each part of the trail and muscle power for clearing trees and brush from the trail.

Trail care is conducted on Tuesday evenings from late spring to early fall. Meet at Buchanan Ave and West End ave at 6pm. Carpool to that night's maintenance location.

We also peridocally have a session on Saturday mornings. These are posted to the hike schedule.

"many hands make for easy work"

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WHEN & WHERE WE HIKE…

Lancaster Hiking Club offers hikes of 5-7 miles Sundays, most leaving at 1:15 p.m. as you can see on our SCHEDULE link on the left.

At the same time and place, folks wanting an easier hike or walk or a more challenging hike can come with ideas of where they want to hike and see if others will join them. Both groups of hikers meet about 1 p.m. at Buchanan Park on the corner of Buchanan and North West End Avenues in Lancaster PA (Mapquest: 899 Buchanan Av 17603) to carpool at 1:15.) You might like to join other hikers to eat out after the hikes.

We also have walks of 4-6 miles in or near town on Thursday evenings at 6:30, meeting wherever we will walk. (Mapquest addresses given on SCHEDULE. Its link is at the left side of this page.) Sometimes hikers are ready for supper or dessert out after the walk.

We also have walks of 4-6 miles in or near town on Thursday evenings at 6:30, meeting wherever we will walk. (Mapquest addresses given on SCHEDULE. Its link is at the right side of this page.) Sometimes hikers are ready for supper or dessert out after the walk.

And all year round we offer daytime Saturday hikes when a leader steps forward and chooses a time and place to go.

Occasionally we have longer hikes of 10-20 miles on Saturdays or Sundays. Long hikes carpool from Buchanan Park along Race Avenue close to Buchanan Ave, and we leave about 7 or 8 a.m. depending on how far we'll drive and how long we'll hike. Generally not back till after dining out on the route home. No long hikes in July or August.

Occasionally we go off for a weekend outing to hike. We'll stay at a campground or cabin or, once in a while, a motel if that's close to the chosen trail. Some of these outings are for members only.

Then too we have trail care which requires a bit of hiking also. In the summer we try to go out every Tuesday evening at 6 p.m.- usually, though not always, carpooling from the end of North West End Av; and spring through fall, we go on some Saturday mornings at 8 or 9 a.m. -carpooling* from whatever place is named. We always seem to need more help keeping up with this 63 mile project…so come on along. Painting blazes along roads or in woods is easy enough for most folks to do, and wrestling chain saws to House Rock or Cold Cave is challenging enough for others.

For meeting place and MapQuest DRIVING DIRECTIONS plug in the address at end of the hike description on the SCHEDULES.

Our hike descriptions on the website are limited in hopes that more viewers will support the club by joining it. Members receive newsletters with more information about the hikes than appear on the web, plus information about events for members only.

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THE CONESTOGA TRAIL SYSTEM

The club maintains the Conestoga Trail, open to hikers only. It is over 60 miles long and runs from the north end of the county where it links with The Horseshoe Trail to the southwest where it crosses the Susquehanna River to link with The Mason Dixon Trail. We are looking for more volunteers to help with maintenance, which must be coordinated according to the wishes of the land owners. To see maps and guidebook, click links for CTS in the right-hand column and print them out. Zip-lock bags might protect your print-outs while you are hiking.

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SUPPORT THE CLUB

The club welcomes financial gifts to help cover the cost of tools, paint, and signs for maintaining the Conestoga Trail System.

MEMBERSHIP -

Please Join…

Members receive a complete schedule of our events, including those not open to the public. Membership is $8.00 per calendar year. Any payment made after October 1, covers dues to the end of the following year.Send payment marked DUES to Lancaster Hiking Club, Box 7922, Lancaster PA 17604. Feel free to add a financial gift for the Conestoga Trail too.

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STATE ASSOCIATION FOR HIKING TRAILS

Keystone Trails Association is a state wide gathering of hiking clubs and of hiking persons and can help you find hikes, trails, and clubs all over Pennsylvania. They are at www.kta-hike.org

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LOCAL CONTACTS

The Lancaster Hiking Club PO Box 7922 Lancaster PA 17604

 

 

 

 

 

 

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