Leafy Retreat

When the local swimming hole wasn’t enough, there were cabins in the woods or grand hotels with various amenities for resting, relaxing, taking a load off. The curative powers of the water from the magnesia spring at Ephrata’s Mountain Springs Hotel brought guests from far and wide.

State Senator Joseph Konigmacher built a mansion on the Ephrata Ridge in 1848 that became the 400-room resort known as the Mountain Springs Hotel. In its long history, the hotel has seen everything from presidential visits to spiritualist séances!

The Peach Bottom Hotel was a stop on both the Columbia & Port Deposit Railroad and the Susquehanna River. It served locals and lumberman alike until the construction of the Conewingo Dam in 1928 left it a distant, underwater memory.

Established in 1869, the Tucquan Club revolved around fishing and recreation in the River Hills, particularly in its namesake Tucquan Glen. Pictured here around 1910, the gentlemen relax on the porch of the York Furnace Hotel.

The Algonquin Club gathered at the Tucquan Club’s pavilion near York Furnace in 1887 for a little adventure and maybe some piscatorial pursuit along the Susquehanna River.

The easiest route for Lancastrians going to Wildcat Falls was a short ferry ride from Marietta. Located in a glen just up river in York County, the Wildcat Falls Hotel provided a shady summertime retreat and some of the best chicken and waffles around.

For those seeking more of a spa retreat, there was the Grandview Hotel. Just over the hilly Berks County line in Wernersville, the hotel had many relaxing amenities including a solarium on its sixth floor that provided scenic views of the Lebanon Valley.

Mt. Gretna was a quiet, shady retreat for many Lancastrians. What could be more relaxing than a cozy cabin in the woods? Pine View, pictured here in 1930, was most likely part of the town’s camp-meeting section.

The Conewago Hotel opened at Mt. Gretna in 1909, and took its name from the lake it overlooked. It boasted 125 rooms, uniformed servants, and chefs from New York City. Despite its glamour, the hotel was short-lived. It fell victim to the Great Depression and was torn down in 1940.

Benton Hollow, a small ravine along Barnes Run in Drumore Township, is one of Lancaster County’s lesser-known retreats. Today the area is known as Ferncliff Wildflower and Wildlife Preserve. Ferncliffe Cottage, pictured here in 1910, provided its visitors with a little leafy sanctuary.

The River View Hotel near Pequea boasted 75 rooms, a ballroom, and “The Summer Garden” – a shady dining area under its large porch. The hotel, rumored to have the purest spring water, had its heyday during the 1920s, but locals continued to visit until it was destroyed by fire in 1973.

When it’s too hot in the city, nothing beats a little leafy retreat, a woodsy weekend getaway. As John Muir once said, “Spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”