The enhanced parking area at the Letort Spring Garden Preserve is now open! 1110 S. Spring Garden Road, Carlisle, PA 17013
Brady L. Bryner Sr. purchased 257 acres for recreation, and the property was donated to CPC in 1993 as a fee simple gift by his five daughters and their spouses. Formerly a homestead and a farm, the mountainous forest tract is now entirely wooded.
The Bryner Preserve is substantial at 250-acres and part of a much larger and intact forest block. It provides public benefit, including scenic beauty, wildlife habitat, and water quality. The Preserve recharges aquifers used by Port Royal and contributes clean, cold water directly to Tuscarora Creek close to its confluence with the Juniata River. The property’s proximity to towns and highways would have lent especial desirability for subdivision and development were the property not preserved.
The Bryner Preserve is situated in the Ridge and Valley Province. Herringbone Ridge is a series of forested hills surrounded by fertile bottomlands which in turn are broken up by Appalachian Mountain ridges running SW to NE. The adjacent Juniata River bisects the landscape NW to SE. The Juniata has always served as a conduit for transportation – originally by water, then by rail, and today by US-322.
Currently, public use of the property is limited to CPC-organized events. Hunting is not permitted. Motorized vehicles are allowed only on access roads.
From Harrisburg or State College, exit US-22/322 for PA-75 South. After 2.7 miles, turn right onto PA-333/W Licking Street. In 1.9 miles, make a slight left onto State Route 3011 for 0.3 miles. Turn left onto Herringbone Ridge Road and proceed 0.7 miles to a locked gate at Leon Zimmerman’s home. Having opened the gate*, proceed the final 0.5 miles down the Herringbone Ridge Road extension, which was formally vacated by the Township. A wooden sign and granite monument mark where the lane enters the Preserve.
*At this time, public use of the property is limited to CPC-organized events.
