It could have continued as an old sealed-off dump, closed to public access.
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From dump to trail
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Instead, thousands in Lancaster city and its suburbs soon will be only minutes away from a multi-use network of trail loops that pass through woods, a wildflower meadow, a picnic area long Little Conestoga Creek, an arboretum — even a field that will slowly be allowed to revert back into a forest.
The 2.5 miles of public hard-surface trails on both sides of Farmingdale Road in East Hempfield Township will be suitable for strolling, biking, jogging, even parents with baby strollers.
VIDEO: From dump to trail
Depending on how things work out, the three loop trails may eventually be connected to trails Franklin & Marshall College could build on its Baker Campus on the east side of the Little Conestoga.
There's even a possibility of a continuous trail system extending all the way to Harrisburg Pike and Long's Park if the Crossings at Conestoga Creek shopping center gets built.
For now, though, the first significant step is opening up the open space that is just a stone's throw from Route 30 and Park City.
"We just decided this would be a terrific thing for the community and a great way to turn otherwise unusable land into something for everybody's enjoyment," says James Warner, executive director of the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority.
The authority bought the 75 acres of open and forested land in 2002 because it wanted to protect itself from liability and control the use of the property, which until 1955 served as an unlined dump for the authority's predecessor.
Before that, the property was part of the Lancaster Brickyard complex that manufactured bricks for many city buildings, including the former Armstrong plant.
The authority hired the Lancaster County Conservancy for advice on how to best use the property's natural features and how to get rid of invasive species. Since April, John Nieves of Lancaster and Justin Cummings of Paradise have been using heavy equipment, rakes and chainsaws to carve 8-foot-wide trails through the property.
The two recent graduates of Lancaster County Career and Technology Center's Mount Joy campus are now authority employees until the work is done.
The Farmingdale Trail complex, as it is called, will be ready for public use later this summer with a grand opening and hoopla. Until then, the property remains off-limits.
The trail surface will be a flat, fine stone dust similar to what's found on the county's Lancaster Junction and Conewago rail-trails. The lone trailhead will be located off Good Drive, next to the undeveloped Noel Dorwart Park and Nature Area. Residents in the Barrcrest neighborhood will be able to walk directly to the trails.
The authority will build the trailhead parking on land provided by East Hempfield Township officials, who are excited about the project.
"It's a nice way to preserve some open space and it's a piece of recreation for the township and other people," says Robert Krimmel, township manager.
The trail goes through an open field on the west side of Farmingdale Road that once was considered for the county's new forensics center. But Warner said the county is no longer interested in the site.
Unlike local arrow-straight rail-trails, the trails in the Farmingdale natural area curve and meander through the woods. You don't know what's around the next bend until you get there.
"What I'm trying to do is create little points of interest all along the trail," says David Wilhelm, the authority's senior manager of capital projects.
Thus, there are groves of trees, creek views, a wildflower meadow and an open field that will be allowed to go through a series of successional changes as it slowly changes into a forest.
Additional trees may be planted in the future to flesh out an arboretum area. A wetlands may be improved. Wilhelm would like to involve community groups for projects such as bluebird box trails, stream improvements and more.
"I can't wait for the public to use it," says Wilhelm. "I'm really excited."
Outdoors editor Ad Crable can be reached at acrable@LNPnews.com or 481-6029.
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