Clark Nature Preserve, near Pequea in Lancaster County, opens with trails for everyone

Lancaster Conservancy has completed the installation of a new universal access trail at Clark Nature Preserve near Pequea in Lancaster County. This trail will provide opportunities for community members with mobility concerns and those using wheelchairs, walkers, strollers or other mobility devices to explore the meadow and woods and look out over a quintessential river hills vista.

On Sept. 19 the trail system officially opened with a press event, speakers and an interpretive tour.

The trials, with two loops, parallels the Conestoga Trail with an overlook of the Susquehanna River. Assessable by taking River Road south from Columbia, the hour ride from York is roughly across the Susquehanna River from Indian Steps Museum in York County.

The Lloyd Clark Trail is approximately 1 mile long. The easy-grade, specifically designed for people with mobile disabilities encircles a 20-acre meadow slated for additional restoration. The trail also dips into the forest edge with winter views of the Susquehanna River gorge. At the entrance to the trail, visitors can enjoy a vista overlooking the river hills of both Lancaster and York counties, according to a press release from the Conservancy.

Clark Nature Preserve encompasses over 350 acres of meadow and forest in the Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape, a state-designated landscape that includes the municipalities that border the Susquehanna River in Lancaster and York counties and is a priority for conservation.

The Lloyd Clark Trail is named in memory of the Clark Associates’ founder, Lloyd Clark, and in recognition of the Clark Associates Charitable Foundation’s historic investments in the Conservancy’s land protection and stewardship work through the Conservancy’s Protect & Restore Campaign.

More photos: Tour 1,000 acres on private land before it became Hellam Hills Conservations Area

The Conservancy partnered with MJHeller LLC, C.S. Davidson, Inc., Kinsley Construction, and Penn Trails to complete the planning and installation of this trail.

Visitors can access the Lloyd Clark Trail, as well as the rest of Clark Nature Preserve, from the parking area at 400 House Rock Road in Pequea. The preserve is open every day from dawn to dusk.

Lancaster Conservancy is a nonprofit land trust that has protected over 10,000 acres of natural lands and manages 50 nature preserves in Lancaster and York counties. Learn more at lancasterconservancy.org.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Lancaster Conservancy opens Clark Nature Preserve