2009 is well underway and York County Parks is waiting for you! The Friends of Wallace-Cross Mill, Friends of the Heritage Rail Trail Corridor and Friends of Canine of Canine Meadows are open for the season with their special events and activities planned for you and your family. A brand new year-round restroom is open at Rocky Ridge Park in the Oak Timbers Picnic Area, and the 6th annual Balloon Festival is bigger and better yet.

      York County Parks has grown through development grants that funded major capital improvements over the years. The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources developed the Commonwealth’s next Outdoor Recreation Plan for 2009–2013. DCNR has supported and acknowledged York County Parks as a prime agency that identified its mission of providing quality recreational opportunities to the residents of PA. Today, their primary focus is the growing priority of trails through public input. Though the Commonwealth is reducing funding due to national and local economic downturn, DCNR needs to determine how to maintain hundreds of miles of trails already in use, how to fill the gaps in existing trails, and how to ensure the connection to communities and public lands.

      On another note, when it comes to improving public health, one might think of doctors and other health care professionals. According to a recent report, recreation and park systems represent a key player in the fight against childhood obesity, sedentary lifestyles and chronic disease. Community recreation and parks is the health provider that you do not know about. Today, York County Parks is actively involved in several partnerships that advance health, as well as promoting physical activity and quality of life. In that capacity, York County Parks plays an integral part in supplying low-cost and close-to-home opportunities for physical activity. York County Parks awaits you and your family!

      Thomas Jefferson stated, “Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.”