Susquehanna NHA Bucket List

Susquehanna NHA has built a fun, new list of exciting things to see, do, explore, and eat in America’s 55th National Heritage Area!

Download your Bucket List and get started! Pick up a paper copy at Columbia Crossing River Trails Center, 41 Walnut Street, Columbia, PA or Zimmerman Center for Heritage, 1706 Long Level Road, Wrightsville, PA.

1.Taste a famous Washington Boro Jet Star tomato! You can find them at the Funks Riverview Greenhouse and Produce Stand or attend the annual Washington Boro Tomato Festival, a celebration hosted by Blue Rock Heritage Center.
2.  Pick your own: peaches, sunflowers, apples, and pumpkins at Flinchbaugh’s Orchard and Farn Market!
3. Learn more about the region’s iron furnace history at the Codorus Furnace or the Musselman-Vesta Iron Furnace Center.
4. Cross the Safe Harbor Trestle or Martic Forge Trestle on the Enola Low Grade Rail Trail.
5. Learn about the power of wind turbines at Turkey Hill Trail Overlook.
6. Discover the exhibit on display at Columbia Crossing River Trails Center.
7. Have some old-fashioned family fun at the York State Fair, Americas first fair, started in 1765!
8. Snap a photo of the Norman Wood Bridge on the Susquehanna River, just south of the Holtwood Dam on the Conestoga Trail.
9. Take a River Discovery Boat Tour with SNHA or capture a photo of the  Chief Uncas on the Susquehanna River!
10. Drive through a covered bridge in Lancaster County.
11. Step back in time to learn about the Conestoga wagon at the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum  or the Conestoga Area Historical Society.
12. Enjoy an educational program at a county or state park in our region.
13. Step off the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail to enjoy the view from the sculpted rocks and potholes just north of Fisherman’s Wharf Trail Access.
14. Be in two places at once when you straddle the PA-MD Border on the Mason Dixon Trail., a National Recreation Trail that departs from the Appalachian Trail and stretches over 200 miles through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.
15. Attend a show at one of America’s oldest operating theater, the Fulton Theater in historic downtown Lancaster, or the Appell Center for the Performing Arts, a hotspot in downtown York.
16. Fall on the Farm! Join in on the fun with an Amish Farm and House 1805 farm house tour.
17. All aboard! Explore the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, or take a train ride at Strasburg Railroad, Northern Central Railway, or Ma & Pa Railroad Heritage Village.
18. Chase waterfalls! Look for Manns Run Waterfall at Muddy Run Park, or find Mill Creek Falls.
19. Birdwatch at the Conejohela Flats, an Audubon Important Bird Area on Lake Clarke, or on the York Audubon Society’s York County Birding Trail.
20. View the Lancaster Longhouse on the grounds of the 1719 Museum to earn about Native American history, or take a tour with Susquehanna NHA, Blue Rock Heritage Center, or Indian Steps Museum.
21. Bring your camera to capture a phenomenal view of Shocks Mill Bridge at Susquehanna Riverlands State Park.
22. Grab a cold one at Northern York Historical Preservation Society’s working distillery, Eichelberger Distillery, in the 200-year-old Dill’s Tavern and share a toast to the taste, feel, and history of 18th-century American grit.
23. Gone Fishing! Fish the day away at William H. Kain County Park. Choose to drop a line in Lake Williams or Lake Redman.
24. Discover the history of early science and medicine at the Lancaster Medical Heritage Museum, or Historic Rock Ford.
25.Climb a 100-foot silo observation tower for a birds-eye-view of the farm and spectacular views of Lancaster County farmland on a Kreider Farms Farm Tour!
26. Visit the farthest point east in Pennoccupied by Confederate forces in the Civil War in Wrightsville during Riverfest, or visit the Burning of the Bridge Diorama at Historic Wrightsville Inc.
27. Shop at some of the oldest markets in the region: Lancaster Central Market, Columbia Market House, Root’s Country Market, York Central Market, or Penn Market.
28. War of the Roses! Catch a baseball game at Wellspan Park or Clipper Magazine Stadium.
29.  Use the Susquehanna NHA Trails App to explore exceptional recreational opportunities in the Susquehanna River region and learn historical, geological, and natural facts along the way!
30. Follow the route Captain John Smith explored on the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail at PA’s Visitor Contact Station, the Zimmerman Center for Heritage. Take a house tour and become a Junior Ranger while you’re there!
31. Float or boat a section of the historic Conestoga River Water Trail or the Lower Susquehanna River Water Trail with a tube or kayak from a local outfitter.
32. See a place where rails & trails collide at Point Rock Tunnel on the NW Lancaster County River Trail or Howard Tunnel on the York Heritage Rail Trail.
33. Howl at the moon at the Wolf Sanctuary pf Pennsylvania, a sanctuary and educational facility that offers refuge to gray wolves and wolfdogs.
34. Explore the murals at Royal Square District, York City’s most vibrant arts and shopping district, located at the intersections of King, Queen, and Duke Streets.
35. Stroll through a variety of exhibits in the heart of Lancaster’s downtown art district, Gallery Row, on the 100 & 200 blocks of North Prince Street.
36. Visit Wheatland, home of 15th President James Buchanan, to take a tour with Lancaster History.
37. Have it made here! Embrace the makers spirit that makes York County special at Explore York’s annual county-wide Makers Spirit Event in June.
38. Discover the region’s African American history at the Goodridge Freedom Center and Underground Railroad Museum, Christiana Underground Railroad Center at the Historic Zercher’s Hotel, or an African American Historical Society of South-Central Pennsylvania walking tour.
39. Spend the day doing hands-on exploration at the Hands-on House, Children’s Museum of Lancaster!
40. Tasty Travels! Explore Pennsylvania Dutch-style cuisine of Susquehanna NHA or gaze with the taste of York County Box at Browns Orchard and Farm Market or the taste of Lancaster County Gift Box from Kitchen Kettle Village.
41. Find a light blue blaze on the Mason Dixon Trail, a National Recreation Trail that departs from the Appalachian Trail and stretches over 200 miles through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.
42. Try a delicious York Imperial Apple, developed by Jonathan Jessop in the 1820’s. Look for them at a local orchard or farmers’ market.
43.  Time flies when you’re having fun! Lose track of time enjoying more than 12,000 horological items at the National Watch and Clock Museum.
44. Take a guided tour with York History Center. Make sure to selfie in front of the York Colonial Courthouse, which commemorates the Continental Congress’s meeting in York County. This made York the nation’s first capital.
45. Swing by Discover Lancaster’s visitors center to watch A Patchwork of Neighbors, and learn the story of the Amish and Lancaster County’s countryside.
46. Celebrate outdoor recreation by participating in a public program with Lancaster Conservancy or Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education.
47. Discover roadside America! Can you find a house that looks like a shoe, a barefoot giant named Amos, a pretzel on the sidewalk, or a rotating weightlifter on a roof?
48. Visit Perrydell Farms or Pine View Dairy, where you can get ice cream and meet the cows at the same time, or learn about Lancaster County dairy farming and all things ice cream at the Turkey Hill Experience.
49.Go for a cruise across the Susquehanna River on America’s first transcontinental highway, the Lincoln Highway. Look for the marvelous memorial markers along the way!
50. Take a ride in an Amish horse and buggy, or spot one on the road in Lancaster
51. While on the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail, cross the steel bridge over the Cocalico Creek or visit the trailside Veterans Plaza in Ephrata.
52. Selfie standing in Penn Square where the Continental Congress met in the Lancaster County Courthouse, making Lancaster the capital of the nation for just one day in 1777.
53. Unearth local legends and strange histories with SNHA’s haunted heritage map or a Spooky York walking tour with York County History Center in October.
54. Find your favorite rivertown brewery! Try a craft beer at Columbia Kettle Works, Lancaster Distilleries, River Trail Brewing, Hell in a Bucket Brewing, or Starview Brews.
55. Get stamped! Bring your passport to collect official NPS Passport Cancellation Stamps from both Susquehanna National Heritage Area visitor centers for a total of 7 unique stamps.