Chickies Rock County Park

Literally within visual sight…

of La Casa de Da-Vid, Chickies Rock County Park is the county's second largest regional park. The county commissioners began acquiring this park property in 1977; as of 1997, the park exceeded 422 acres. Chickies Rock County Park's name is derived from the American Indian word Chiquesalunga meaning "place of the crayfish." The park includes Chiques Creek, Donegal Creek, and selected points to the Susquehanna River. With its numerous vistas, varied natural and geological features, and rich industrial heritage, Chickies Rock County Park is a wonderful place to visit.

The most notable feature in the park is Chickies Rock, a massive outcropping of quartzite rock towering 100 feet above the river. The vista offers impressive views of York county, the borough of Marietta, and
farmlands of northwestern Lancaster County. Chickies Rock County Park is also a collection of historical treasures. The area once boasted seven iron furnaces and rolling mills, a canal and a local trolley line. Remnants of several furnaces, canal walls, and trolley-line grades are still visible.

Chickies Rock is without a doubt the premier natural rock climbing location in the state. You can go there any day of the year and there will be at any one time at least 5-10 climbers heading up the steep precipice. It has history, history, and even more history. It is now part of the Chickies Rock County Park which contains more than 422 acres of preservation land. Much of this land along the river was part of the old Pennsylvania Canal. Prior to that it was one of the largest Indian villages discovered in Lancaster County. Even more than that, it ran lines for the PA Railroad and still is active in shipping by rail.