Climbers Run Nature Center
Creek stomp at Climbers Run Nature Center
Photo by Jane Smith of Kellys Run Nature Preserve, courtesy of Lancaster Conservancy
Climbers Run Nature Center has served as Lancaster Conservancy's hub for conservation education and volunteerism for more than a decade. Located on a 113-acre preserve in Pequea, the site has introduced thousands of local schoolchildren to the outdoors and trained hundreds of community volunteers in preserve stewardship. Lancaster Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust, has protected more than 11,000 acres of natural land across Lancaster and York counties and manages more than 50 nature preserves open to the public.
In 2026, the Conservancy embarked on a major renovation of Climbers Run as part of its Protect & Restore Campaign, a fundraising effort that has run for six years and helped the organization protect more than 2,500 acres of land and expand its trail network. The Climbers Run project will add a new universal access trail winding through native plant gardens, renovate the property's education building with updated systems and a new community science lab, and improve access with a widened entrance drive and expanded parking. The work also includes rain gardens and other stormwater improvements meant to protect the preserve's spring-fed pond and Climbers Run stream, which supports a native, reproducing population of brook trout.
The Conservancy marked the start of construction with a groundbreaking on May 7, joined by funders who have supported the project through the Protect & Restore Campaign. Briar Hill Foundation named Lancaster Conservancy a 2026 Impact Grant recipient. The grant reflects our interest in supporting projects that connect Lancaster County residents, especially young people, with the natural world around them. Climbers Run's history as an education hub, and this renovation's focus on accessibility and habitat restoration, made it a project we wanted to help see through.
We look forward to Climbers Run reopening in 2027 and to seeing the preserve continue its work introducing new generations to conservation and the outdoors.
Artists Rendering of the new Climbers Run Nature Center
Photo by Jane Smith of Kellys Run Nature Preserve, courtesy of Lancaster Conservancy
To learn more about the Climbers Run renovation and Lancaster Conservancy's work, visit lancasterconservancy.org.