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Trail Notes: The Conestoga Trail is blazed orange. A slanted double blaze denotes a change in direction. In rocky areas, the rocks themselves may be blazed.

Re-cross the bridge and turn right onto River Rd. Telephone poles carry the blazes. Near the end of a split rail fence will be double blazes directing you down to a wide trail. This used to be part of a trolley line that ran from Lancaster to Pequea. Turn left onto the trail and follow scenic Pequea Creek. At 1.34 arrive at a paved road and a covered bridge to the right. Continue straight on the road following the orange blazes.

At 0.4 miles from the covered bridge, walk through Pequea Campground. Ice Cream can be purchased at the camp store in season. The trail continues on the other side of the campground. You will walk along a gravel road with summer homes (many of them derelict and ready to come down) high up on the hill to the left.

At 1.7 miles from the campground pass Pequea Boat Club on the right. The blazes and this map direct you to turn left onto Ridge Road. I prefer to stay on the lower road and follow the lake. Pass the volunteer fire dept. on the right. The road will bear left, uphill and away from the lake. Watch for orange blazes on the right. Descend through the woods passing a spring house and crossing a woods road. The trail continues on the opposite side of the woods road. Climb steeply up a footpath to the Wind Cave (0.94 miles from the Ridge Rd intersection).

From the wind cave proceed to climb, sometimes through the rocks to the top of the ridge. In 0.42 miles you will descend through an area called Fat Pack Squeeze, cross House Rock Run and climb to House Rock Overlook.

Over the next 1.4 miles you will descend and climb through two small coves, crossing small streams as you go, and visit another overlook before descending towards Tucquan Creek. If you are prepared for a stream crossing you can cross an unmarked trail and follow the orange

blazes across and down Tucquan Creek to the railroad tracks. Since I usually lead this hike in the cold months I turn right on the unmarked trail. At it’s crest it becomes a woods road. Follow this down towards the tracks. Towards the bottom turn left onto a footpath and follow it down to the tracks.Turn left and cross a culvert over Tucquan Creek. On the other side of the culvert the trail resumes. To visit Tucquan Creek follow the trail through the rocks and Rhododendrons. A 0.25 miles round trip of the creek is include in the mileage as described. In this case the turn around point is a wooden bridge that traverses a blowout of the trail.

To complete the hike return to the tracks and turn left. Climb back up to the ridge. Shortly after reaching the top you will turn left onto a woods road. In a short distance you will turn right onto another footpath and slowly descend to the base of the Pinnacle ( about 0.7 miles from Tucquan Creek).

Begin a steep climb up to a prominent rock out crop on the right and at 0.25 miles from the start of the climb arrive at the Pinnacle Overlook parking area.

Printable/Downloadable Directions and Trail Notes

Critique this outing!

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Name: Ken Fillo Hike: Conestoga trail
Date: None Rating: 5

Critique: If you notice something on the trail that needs attention, blow downs, etc, you can contact me directly and we will get to it as soon as possible. Ken Fillo (kenfil@ptd.net) trail care coordinator for the Lancaster Hiking club, maintainers for the Conestoga Trail System.

Try the Northern end, not as strenuous, but you can connect with the Horse-shoe trail for steeper climbs if you like.
The northern end follows along the Hammer creek, and speedwell forge lake, along the edges of pastoral farm land.

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Name: Bob Hike: Conestoga Trail Shuttle

Date: 5/18/07 Rating: 3.5

I did the Conestoga Trail shuttle recently and truly enjoyed the hike. Due to transportation limitations, I hiked this trail in the opposite direction of the guide above. I parked at the north end and got dropped off at Holtwood Park, starting at the trailhead for Kelly's Run. As for the north end, the old Martic Forge Hotel is no longer there, and parking was simple alongside the foundation. By starting at Kelly's Run, I added a few extra miles, albeit scenic ones, to my trip.

The rock outcrop just a few hundred yards north of the official overlook parking provides beautiful scenery and a great place to stop for photos. The descent from the Pinnacle has some large trees down, and it's relatively steep, but it's clearly marked and has stable footing. The trail emptied out at the railroad tracks, cut right, and followed along Tucquan Glen for a short distance beyond the above mentioned wooden bridge. The water at the crossing was higher than my boots, but about 20 yards downstream was large tree that made for an easy, and dry, crossing. The climb up the other side was straight up, with several very large downed trees.

Eventually you get to an un-named overlook, which was actually my favorite of the hike. There are several rock formations to climb up, and around, at various locations on this hike. House Rock overlook was trashed. I was carrying a full/heavy pack as an extra challenge, and had no room for all the trash there. Next time I'll bring a rubber glove and trash bag.

Once I descended from Wind Cave, I got to service road and the orange blazes ended. Downhill was the railroad that would have taken me into Pequea and to the marina and around, but to save time off my trip I turned uphill for about 1/2 mile and cut through to the campground under the power lines. I picked up the markers again in the campground, and the walk back to car was a flat, easy straight walk, and a nice chance to reflect on a great day hiking.

Generally speaking, I concur with the strenuous rating, mostly due to the hills. This was my first time on this trail, and I was carrying a pack for the additional challenge. With all the hills, I was definitely presented with a challenge. Some of the trail is right alongside private property. The owner has clearly, and frequently, posted signs to keep out, so please honor that. The trail was generally easy to follow in amongst the trees, but many of the trees with markers were down along the side of the trail. Up in the rocky regions it wasn't quite so simple. Some markers were sparse, or too low and you couldn't see them when looking uphill.

Overall, I'd say this trail is a hidden gem, even if it's "in the rough." Plenty of elevation changes, several scenic overlooks, creek crossings, and a variety of ground conditions. This is a great hike to try and develop a variety of techniques. All in all, I like the more rugged portion of the hike. Next time, I'll probably go just from Kelly's Run to the marina in Pequea.

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Name: Dan D Hike: Conestoga Shuttle
Date: 10/7/06 Rating: 2-3

Critique: Even though trail conditions were poor with a lot of downed trees lying across the trail, the views overlooking the river were great. In comparison to the AT, this trail needs work ! I'm assuming that since we did not see a lot of trash along the trail that it gets little use.

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