Colerain State Park

🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Pennsylvania — Small park in southern Lancaster County — features hiking trails through mixed hardwood forest along Octoraro Creek. The area was historically Quaker country and part of the Mason-Dixon Line survey route.

Visitor Information

About Colerain

Colerain State Park in Bedford County offers picnicking and day-use recreation in the Appalachian ridges of south-central Pennsylvania. The park sits in the Ridge and Valley Province — where parallel mountain ridges run like waves across the landscape, formed by 300-million-year-old folded rock layers. Bedford County’s covered bridges, historic inns, and mountain scenery make it one of Pennsylvania’s most charming rural destinations.

Things to Do

Picnicking in the mountain setting, hiking, fishing in nearby streams, exploring Bedford County’s 14 historic covered bridges, and visiting the historic Bedford Springs Resort — where James Buchanan spent summers as president.

Getting There

Located on Route 472 near Christiana in Lancaster County — the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country. The park provides hiking, fishing, and nature study in the Piedmont landscape. Nearby Christiana was the site of the 1851 Christiana Riot — a violent confrontation between escaped slaves and Maryland slaveholders that presaged the Civil War. Lancaster County’s Amish farms and covered bridges surround the park.

History & Ecology

The Christiana Riot of 1851 — which occurred near this park — was a pivotal moment in the abolition movement. When a Maryland slaveholder tried to recapture escaped slaves under the Fugitive Slave Act, local African Americans and Quakers fought back, killing the slaveholder. The trial that followed helped galvanize anti-slavery sentiment across the North.

Insider Tips

Northern tier nature: Colerain sits in Bradford County — Pennsylvania’s northern tier along the New York border. Pro tip: The Endless Mountains region is one of the most rural areas in the eastern US — rolling forested hills with few people. Marcellus Shale: This region sits atop the Marcellus Shale formation — the largest natural gas field in the US, which has transformed the region’s economy since 2008.

Best Time to Visit

Fall: Endless Mountains foliage. Summer: Quiet recreation. Spring: Wildflowers and stream fishing. Winter: Snowmobiling — reliable snow cover.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Marcellus Shale?

The Marcellus Shale is a 400-million-year-old rock formation beneath Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia — containing the largest natural gas deposit in the US. Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) technology unlocked the resource starting around 2008. The gas boom brought jobs and revenue to rural communities but also raised environmental concerns about water quality and industrialization of rural landscapes.