Celebrate with us at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve!

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a “Celebration of the Letort” Weekend, April 11 – 12, 2025 where we are hosting two days of FREE events.  Join us on two guided walks, hear from experts on barn restoration and local history, and give back to the preserve by participating in a volunteer session.

---

Event details and registration for each event can be found on our events page.  

> Click here to learn more about each “Celebration of the Letort” Weekend events <<

April 11th events:

10:00 – 11:00am:  Historic Uses of the Bonny Brook

2:00 – 3:00pm: Our Agricultural Heritage: The Melester Barn & Springhouse

7:30 – 9:00pm:  Friday Full Moon Walk

April 12th events:

8:00 – 9:30am:  Saturday Morning Walk

1:00 – 4:00pm:  Letort Spring Garden Preserve Volunteer Day

Don’t wait! Reserve your FREE spot today.  Limited tickets available for each event.

---

Our most recent success at the Preserve is the completion of our multi-year accessibility and enhancement project. The parking area and trailhead is located at 1110 South Spring Garden Street, Carlisle. The newly improved accessible trail runs approximately 400 feet, connecting the ADA parking lot to the Nationally Registered Melester Barn. Another trail, known as an Outdoor Recreational Access Route (ORAR) connects the Melester Barn to the Letort Nature Trail, approximately 350 feet beyond the barn. Community volunteers and Conservancy staff have undertaken native plant landscaping and re-establishment of native plant communities along the new trail.

Accessible bird feeders, an ADA-compliant picnic table, and  benches have been installed near the Barn and along the improved path.  Former farm infrastructure has been repurposed into two new observation platforms that were installed along the trail, offering an accessible view to the meadows and wetlands.  Additional enhancements to the Preserve will continue throughout 2025 and include more native plantings, trail maps, picnic tables and benches, bird feeders and viewing amenities, and educational and interpretive signage.    

This project, including the new parking area, accessible trails, ORAR Trail, native plantings, bird and observation areas/platforms was funded through grants and donations of money and time by the following:  DCNR Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Cumberland County Land Partnerships Grant Program, Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation, the South Mountain Partnership, Partnership for Better Health, PPL Foundation, the Stabler Foundation, York Building Products, Kinsley Construction, Blue Engineering, McKinney Traditional Builders, community volunteers, and many private donors.  We are eternally grateful for the support we have received from our partner agencies, organizations, businesses, and community volunteers and private citizens.  

We would also like to recognize the Pennsylvania Historic Museum Commission for playing a critical role in funding and support for the 2022 restoration of the Melester Barn and springhouse.

In addition to the completion of our accessibility project, our Land steward, Jesse Price, coordinates volunteer sessions with local businesses and groups to encourage outdoor education and promote proper land stewardship. We had 179 volunteers who worked over 1,600 hours in 2024 alone! Their efforts help in maintaining our public preserves and ensure continued improvements for safe, educational and pleasant experiences for our visitors.

The Letort Spring Garden was purchased by Central Pennsylvania Conservancy in 2018 for the purpose of protecting the headwaters of the Letort Spring Run and establishing a public nature preserve for inclusive recreational pursuits. Thanks to funding from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and a number of other private donors, agencies, and foundations, the preserve is available for the public to enjoy in perpetuity.  More information can be found at centralpaconservancy.org/letort-spring-garden-preserve.

---

> Click here to view all “Celebration of the Letort” Weekend events <<

---

Thank you to our generous sponsors:

Interested in being an event sponsor?  Contact us at info@centralpaconservancy.org to learn more.