I (with my wife) successfully completed the Get Outdoors (GO) program for York County again this summer. Go York (www.goyork.org) provides clues to find posts in parks all throughout York County. While this program is designed for children, adults can participate as well. While we aren’t eligible for any prizes, the program offers many rewards.
Aside from getting out and getting some exercise, we got to enjoy:
- Lovely scenery: We enjoyed some lovely views this year. While some of the parks are basic loops of the local town park and the accompanying sports fields and tot lots, there were some lovely places. Urey Overlook and Apollo County Park offer excellent views of the lower Susquehanna River. Codorus State Park has lovely views of its signature feature, Lake Marburg. Native Lands County park offers a great view of rolling, bucolic farmland.
- Wildlife: We saw a lot of wildlife. Mostly deer. Lots of deer. We also saw egrets and heron. One cranky box turtle gave me the turtle equivalent of “get off my lawn” at Lake Williams.
- New places: Can’t say I’d ever been to a number of places on this years park list. While some places are staples of GO (Codorus, Pinchot, Heritage Rail Trail, Rocky Ridge, etc), a lot of the smaller parks are either new or not included ever year. Probably the highlight was Stillmeadow Park in Manchester Township.
- Comradery: There is a great FB group for Go York that currently sits at around 3800 members. You could often tell who was doing GO York: rubbing sheets and clue books in tow.
I’ll end with one thought. I have tremendous respect for the kids who finish any of these hikes, but those that do all 30 (yeah. 30) deserve more. It is both a time commitment and a challenge to complete these. Imagine doing this when you are 5 or 6 or 7. These kids are troopers.
Can’t wait for next year!
Keith Greenawalt