Planning Your Hike
Difficult to moderate. Multiple loops. The total trail length is estimated at 2.2 miles.
Ecology and Management
Trout Run is managed for its passive recreation as being of highest and best use.
This beautiful and heavily wooded ravine is well-known to nature-lovers and biologists. Clear water tumbles along a fairly steep gradient forming riffles and pools, with a glade and boggy area near an old railroad tunnel at the north end. Outcrops of schist bedrock protrude from the landscape, making traversing the Preserve by hiking trail that much more strenuous. Hemlocks and towering tulip poplars dominate the riparian buffer while mixed-hardwoods, such as an array of oak and hickories, define the drier hilltops. The deep forest of this Preserve lends itself to an array of habitat types and, thus, diverse flora and fauna.
Watershed
Trout Run flows into Climbers Run before joining the Pequea Creek and ultimately emptying into the Susquehanna River at the village of Pequea.
Hunting Information
Trout Run is open to Mixed-Use Hunting with areas of Archery-Only. Respect property boundaries and safety zones. All Pennsylvania Game Commission Rules and Regulations apply. See ‘Where to Hunt’ for more details.
Report Hunting Violations: PA Game Commission Centralized Dispatch Center at 1-833-PGC-HUNT (1-833-742-4868) or 1-833-PGC-WILD (1-833-742-9453)
Acquisition History
The first tract in Trout Run Nature Preserve was donated to the Conservancy by the Hauer family in 1976. The remaining lands were acquired from 2000-2016 with funding from the Natural Lands Preservation Fund of Lancaster County and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA DCNR). Land donated by Talen Energy as part of a nationally recognized landscape protection project known as the PPL Project was used as a match to a 2016 PA DCNR grant to acquire the final tract in Trout Run Nature Preserve. Funds for the PPL Project were provided by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, The Conservation Fund, Lancaster County, York County, PPL, Talen Energy, and Brookfield Renewable.
Amenities
Parking (shared parking with Steinman Run). Preserve sign. Kiosk. Trails.