York County Parks is dedicated to continuing our history of growth, of protecting York County’s special places. Our mission statement binds us to this: " The York County Department of Parks and Recreation is dedicated to preserving, managing, protecting and acquiring park lands so we may offer a wide variety of leisure and recreational opportunities to our community."

We encourage everyone to visit the Parks and to share the good things York County and its Parks system has to offer. Please plan on joining us.

     Thomas Brant, Director of York County Department of Parks and Recreation, retired on July 3, 2009. Tom’s period of leadership was marked by many accomplishments. Early in his career he reorganized the department and later centralized the maintenance operation. He worked to instill a sense of good timing, creating opportunities and taking advantage of them to improve the parks.

     Tom led an expansion of the parks system from eight parks to a total of 11 county parks today. While expanding, the system continued to offer quality services. With an eye always on the practical, his ability to collaborate and form partnerships was largely unseen by the public. These partnerships helped the department to meet the ever-greater recreational needs of York County residents.

     Tom invested tremendous time, effort and energy in the parks system. He also served to fulfill other county duties, serving on many boards and committees. One example is the organization of a fleet management department for York County government, which led to considerable savings of tax dollars.

     The legacy of Tom’s accomplishments will not be measured in buildings, bricks or mortar. Rather, it will be measured in the opportunities and leisure time residents will be able to spend in the York County Parks.