The South Mountain Trolley Greenway is a proposed 8-mile trail following the former Cumberland Valley Railroad corridor between Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg, and would cross the Cumberland County municipalities of Mechanicsburg Borough and Monroe and Silver Spring townships, and the York County municipalities of Dillsburg Borough and Carroll Township. 

The greenway was first identified as the Trolley Line Greenway in the Cumberland Countywide Greenway Study (2000) and the Northern York Region Comprehensive Recreation, Parks & Open Space Plan (2005). The Friends of the South Mountain Trolley Greenway formally mobilized this spring with the mission to generate community support for the trail, advance the trail planning effort, and conduct direct outreach to landowners to secure trail easements and generally to support the trail's establishment. The result will bring needed recreation opportunities to local residents, a renewed sense of place and community, and an appreciation for the unique historical, ecological, agricultural, and economic values of the South Mountain region.

CPC has participated on the study committee for the initial feasibility study and is working together with the Friends of South Mountain Trolley Greenway as a partner in this effort. By virtue of its function as a local land trust, CPC may serve as a holder of the trail easement agreements with landowners. While CPC is unlikely to be the entity to construct and manage the trail, it strongly supports the planning and outreach effort and securing and holding the trail easements.  

“Greenways offer unique open space conservation opportunities that can enable broader appreciation of and interaction with this region’s natural and historic landscapes. We’re really fortunate and thankful to be able to partner with an organization like CPC at this critical early stage of the trail’s development,” said David Maher, a Cumberland County resident who has been spearheading the Greenway effort since 2016.   

In this role, CPC has accepted the project's first trail easement for the northern trailhead at the Wertz Coal Yard property on Trindle Rd. in Mechanicsburg (pictured in the Google Earth image above). We hope this serves as an example or model for future landowner agreements. The trail corridor extends south to connect to Coover Park in Dillsburg, as the southern trailhead.

We are excited to announce that CPC, together with six partner land trusts and state agencies, is participating in a state-federal conservation easement purchase program, funded USDA's Regional Conservation Partnerships Program (RCPP), and administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

This means is that CPC is now in a position to purchase easements at a minimum of 75% of the value of the conservation easement, as determined by appraisal, to protect properties depicted in purple in the map above. You may already know that conservation easement properties remain in private ownership, and the easement restrictions run with the land during a transition of ownership. The easement permanently protects the conservation values, and the land trust monitors/enforces the primary restriction of subdivision and development, while also working with landowners to advance good stewardship of the natural resource values.

CPC is conducting outreach to landowners this summer and will submit projects for funding by October 1st. If you own property within the Kittatinny Landscape (within CPC's service area of Franklin, Cumberland, Perry, or Dauphin counties), and are interested or know someone interested in participating, please contact CPC's Director of Land Protection and Stewardship, Ben Mummert, for further information.

There is still time to register for the September 26th, Ironmaster's Challenge 15k & 50k Trail Runs! Spaces are filling up fast, and fees will increase on July 1st, 2021, so reserve your space today! The event offers two challenging and engaging trail adventures this fall at Pine Grove Furnance State Park and Michaux State Forest. The trails range from single track to rail trails to jeep roads through the beautiful and rugged public lands of the South Mountain landscape.

Register for the 2021 Ironmaster's Challenge. For more information, please see our 2021 race flyer.

CPC is hosting this event with the support of several integral partners, including the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club, the Keystone VHF Club of York, Pretzel City Sports professional timers, the Penn Township Fire Company, Yellow Breeches EMS, and our event sponsors and vendors. Click here for additional information on sponsorship opportunities. Our lead sponsors to date include F&M Trust, Boles, Metzger, Brosius & Walbourn, Select Medical, Hershey Company, and West Shore Family Dentistry.

On April 7th, CPC board members and staff met with Larry Weaner Landscape Associates (LWLA) for a site visit at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve. LWLA is an esteemed organization celebrated internationally for their pioneering use of native plants in landscape design, recently recognized by the American Horticulture Society with the 2021 Landscape Design Award.

Proposed focus areas for LWLA include the Preserve entrances, parking areas at South Spring Garden Street and the Union Quarries scale yard, the Heisers Lane trail extension, and around the Melester Barn and springhouse.

Tasteful, floriferous, native plantings in these key areas will act as beacons to visitors, signaling they've arrived at the Preserve and that CPC is intentionally promoting native habitats and natural processes. Leaning on LWLA's expertise to beautify the Heisers Lane trail extension and in the Union Quarries scale yard will evidence our commitment to this landscape to our neighbors and partners and provide visitors with unique experiences that change from season to season and year to year.

Larry Weaner, LWLA's founder, has published several popular books on sustainable landscape designs with native plants, such as Garden Revolution: How Landscapes Can Be a Source of Environmental Change. LWLA's work supports their non-profit, New Directions in the American Landscape, which hosts an annual symposium and promotes educational programming in ecological landscape design.

This work is part of a 3-year, park improvement project, funded by PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the PA Historical and Museum Commission, and Cumberland County's Land Partnerships Program. We are grateful for this opportunity to create an easily accessible, natural place restored to serve critical ecological functions, together with serving public recreation needs, and protecting local history and heritage for future generations.

Family and friends gathered at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve on May 15th to commemorate the life of CPC board member, career environmental attorney at DEP, and beloved family man, Mike Sokolow.