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Swatara Water Trail

Enjoy the outdoors.  Fish, hike, camp, picnic, or participate in the extreme sport of canoeing. 

RIVER MILE 14: Along Black's Bridge Road you will find the Swatara Watershed Association's public park (12/19/09), which is open from Sunrise to Sunset.  The park operates by donations for canoes, primitive camping, and picnicking.  Available also is a public access for boats, hiking trails, and 3,341 feet of fishable banks. 

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bullet30 primitive camp sites are available for a donation of $425 per site per season;
bullet29 canoes are available for a donation of @ $30 each per day, which includes two life vests and two paddles (delivery charges are extra);
  1. May through October, the Canoe livery operates 9AM-5PM weekends and other days by appointment.  Groups welcome.  48 hour pre-registrations using PayPal above are given priority (July 4 is the peak time).
  1. Launch no later than noon from Jonestown; 1PM from Water Works or 3PM from Harper’s to get in by 5PM.
  1. Canoe delivery donation/trailer for the first canoe:  $9 to Harper’s; $15 to Waterworks; and $15 to Jonestown; plus $1 per additional canoe on a trailer.
    1. You will be asked to stack your canoe on a rack at the end of your trip.
    2. Canoes will not be available during times of drought when the water is too low or floods when the water is dangerously high.
    3. Canoeing is at your own risk.  A release must be signed prior to your trip.
bullet1 pavilion is available for company picnics, reunions, birthday parties...for a $50 donation.

For real hospitality, call (717) 838-9580, and ask for Denise Donmoyer or Jo Ellen Litz at 644-4698.

The Union Canal Canoe Rentals is a 33.69-acre parcel along the Swatara Creek at 1929 Blacks Bridge Road, Annville (East Hanover Township, Lebanon County PA).  In addition to a boat access, the site contains a 960 square foot pavilion; a 240 square foot stilted office with both a 200 Amp electrical service and a 120 square foot porch anchored on 3’6” concrete pilings below the frost line; an approved public water source with a flow rate of 25 gallons per minute at the pump house; camping; and a riparian buffer that shades and cools the Swatara, slows evaporation, and limits runoff and erosion.  Because we start or end our sojourn and River cleanup at this site each year, SWA considers this site an essential hub in the wheel of the Water Trail, important to Lebanon and Dauphin Counties, the State of Pennsylvania, and the nation.  A long-term goal is to become part of an inter-county trail system that could link to the proposed north-south rail-trail and east-west rail-trail linking Berks, Dauphin, Lebanon, and Schuylkill counties.

For the complete DCNR Trail Guide, click here: http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/watertrails/swatara/trailguide.htm

For the official DCNR Trail Map, click here: http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/watertrails/swatara/trailmap.htm 

Our rules:

 * No alcohol consumption, no drugs, or other illegal activity.

 * Campfires in fire rings only.

 * This Park is open from sunrise to sunset.

 * We have a carry-in carry-out trash policy.

 * This property is under surveillance, and violators will be prosecuted.

You may remember this article that appeared in the Lebanon Daily News:

Commissioners deny Swatara Creek grant

Author:    JOHN LATIMER Staff Writer
Date: August 13, 2009

The Swatara Watershed Association's plan to purchase a boat landing in East Hanover Township hit a snag Thursday when the Lebanon County commissioners refused to approve the association's $25,000 grant request. The association was asking for the county money as part of its local match to a $192,000 grant that has been (awarded by DCNR)….

Funds would have come from money set aside from a bond issue specifically to implement the new Comprehensive Plan and from tourism dollars. We are happy for and supportive of other groups who successfully applied for and received similar funding. People + Projects = Progress

For your information, the previous owner of the property SWA sought to preserve as a public park has left a $30,000 equity donation in the site. While we were successful in writing two grants from PA DCNR and the PA Fish and Boat Commission, for your Christmas giving, SWA respectfully requests your consideration by making a donation to the Swatara Watershed Association. We need your help to retire a $60,000 debt for required appraisals, a survey, and other costs. This isn’t a fancy mailing, but we hope that you’ll see the need and appreciate our thrift. We especially encourage members to make a special donation. It’s great to say to funders that each of us has made a contribution to the cause. PS: We will not operate the golf course.

　

While funded in part by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation from the Keystone Recreation, Park and

Conservation Fund; the PA Fish and Boat Commission; Bill and Ruth Wise; the Hershey Company; Lebanon County Conservation District; and private donors, a line of credit was established at Jonestown Bank, and we need to pay off the loan. Free will offerings will help us to accomplish this goal. Please make checks payable to SWA and mail to 2302 Guilford St., Lebanon PA 17046. If you already made a contribution, we want to thank and acknowledge your generosity. Of course if you can make another donation or influence another person to make a donation, we would be most grateful.

Thank you, and God bless!

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