Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve is part of the Hellam Hills Conservation Area, which in 2021-2022 underwent a master planning process (learn more). The resulting plan for the area offers ecological restoration and recreation recommendations which are being developed and implemented over time. Your support of the Conservancy as a donor or a volunteer will allow us to bring this plan to life for the benefit of the community and nature.
Planning Your Hike
Orange Trail
The orange-blazed trail is a 0.8-mile loop that starts and ends at the parking lot. It is intersected by a maintenance road that provides for a shortened hike if desired. The orange trail traverses both meadow and woodland and travels along wetlands and a stream corridor.
White Trail
The white-blazed trail is a lollipop trail that begins off the maintenance road west of the orange trail. It’s about a mile long. The white trail traverses both meadow and woodlands. The woodlands of the white trail provide a robust forest experience with older trees, deeper shade, and a sparse understory of native species. This is a likely place to spot a flock of turkey. The peak of the white trail provides a view toward Roundtop Nature Preserve and the Susquehanna River; this is a likely place to spot a red-tailed hawk or distant bald eagle.
Red Trail
The red-blazed trail has become the most popular trail at Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve since it opened in 2024. At 2.1 miles, the red trail traverses some of the most distant reaches of the preserve including the preserve’s lowest and highest elevation, with a meadow vista being the highest point and providing a view across the preserve, down into Kreutz Creek valley and up toward Highpoint Scenic Vista and Samuel S. Lewis State Park. Representative of the Wizard Ranch history, landscape, and the Conservancy’s multiple restoration projects, the red trail travels through meadow, forest, and riparian habitats.
Looking for a slightly shorter hike? The yellow trail and the maintenance road provide shortcuts from the red trail back to the interior of the preserve as well as the parking lot. While hiking the yellow trail, see if you can spot the reemerging forest of black locust and pawpaw at the site of the Conservancy’s first-ever prescribed burn.
Geology
Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve is part of the Upland Section of the Pennsylvania Piedmont and overlooks the Piedmont Lowlands located in Lancaster County across the river. Along this boundary the river runs from west to east with dramatic bluffs along the Hellam Hills Ridge Line. The north facing slope along the northern ridge line and a portion of the southwest corner of Wizard Ranch are comprised of the Chickies Formation, developed during the Cambrian Period (541-485 million years ago) of predominantly quartzite bedrock. Metarhyolite, moderate bluish gray to grayish red in color, developed in the Precambrian Period (4,600-541 million years ago) dominates the central portion of Wizard Ranch. The last geological area of Wizard Ranch is located along the stream valley running parallel to Accomac Road and is Metabasalt. Also developed in the Precambrian Period (4,600-541 million years ago), Metabasalt is characteristically green, greenish gray, and dark gray, and is fine to medium grained with medium to coarse color banding along with veins and masses of quartz.
Ecology
Plants
Of the total of 182 plant species observed over five research site visits when the Conservancy first acquired Wizard Ranch, 49 of the species were considered invasive and dominated much of the landscape. Active restoration efforts, including the use of prescribed fire, are being used to restore the meadow and forests of the preserve.
In 2023, Lancaster Conservancy conducted a prescribed burn at Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve to manage the rampant invasive plant species here. Native species like black locust and pawpaw are now beginning to grow at the controlled burn site. The Conservancy continues to support restoration of healthy, biodiverse ecosystems at Wizard Ranch through additional invasive species removal as well as native tree plantings.
Birds
97 bird species were observed during a 2021 study of fall migration, spring migration, and breeding season. The most frequently observed birds were indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), red‐bellied woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinianus), red‐eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus), and American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis).
Herps
Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve’s wetlands, streams, and uplands are critical habitats for regional herpetofauna, and a 2021 study observed 12 species including two turtle, five anuran, three salamander, and two snake species.
Mammals
Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve is home to a variety of mammals such as gray squirrel, groundhogs, red fox, opossum, eastern coyote, and an overpopulation of white-tailed deer.
Watershed
Central to Wizard Ranch is an unnamed tributary to the Susquehanna River that flows west to east across the site. Two smaller branches of the site’s stream originate to the west of the nature preserve in neighboring farmland. They converge in the central portion of Wizard Ranch to form the main stream. Wizard Ranch has several springs, vernal pools, and wetlands, which are in the process of being restored.
Site History
The land was donated to the Boy Scouts in 1960 by Mahlon N. Haines, nicknamed the “Shoe Wizard”. Haines’ extensive land holdings throughout York County included the Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve lands. He operated the land as a farm and had plans to build an estate home near the farm along Accomac Road. Haines was an avid supporter of scouting and starting in 1941, he hosted the “Haines Safari” for local scouts on his farmland in celebration of his birthday.
Haines passed away at the age of 87 in 1962. The New Birth of Freedom Council, Inc., started up the modern era of the “Wizard Safari” in 1987 and they have continued to hold the event quadrennially. The Boy Scouts hosted their most recent safari in the fall of 2019 and will continue to do so every few years now that the preserve is owned by the Conservancy.
Hunting Information
Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve is open to Archery Only Hunting. Respect property boundaries and safety zones. All Pennsylvania Game Commission Rules and Regulations apply. See Where to Hunt for more details.
Please note, no parking or hunting access is permitted from River Drive.
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
After several years of discussions with the Boy Scouts, this former Boy Scout camp was acquired in 2019. Funding for the acquisition was provided by Pennsylvania DCNR, a grant from The Conservation Fund funded by Williams in connection with construction and operation of the company’s Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline project, and the Pine Tree Conservation Society.
Amenities
Trails. Preserve sign. Kiosk. Port-a-john. A parking area is located down the access road into the preserve off of Accomac Road.