Top Things the Anderson Family Loves About York County

York County, Pennsylvania is a great place to raise a family. The landscape is beautiful, there is a great diversity of rural activities, abundant parks, and a growing list of local activities in York City. In addition, York is only a couple of hours from larger destinations like Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia, and the Atlantic Ocean. Add local destinations like Gettysburg, Baltimore, the Amish country in Lancaster, Harrisburg, and Hershey and you have a huge variety of things to do with a family.

My love for York County has taken time to develop. In fact, we tried to move from York County to different parts of the United States at least three times. We can now truly say that we are glad God kept us here.

York County has become home to the Anderson family. The people that live here in York City, Dover, Red Lion, and elsewhere throughout the County are “our people.”

My wife, Gail, and I moved to York in 2004 from Raleigh, North Carolina with three little kids in tow. Our oldest son, Ellis, was four, our oldest daughter Emily was two, and Luke was seven months old.

I can still recall our first drive on 83 North as we exited onto Route 30 in our 2000 Ford Windstar minivan. We were not initially enamored by this old, seemingly outdated town in South Central PA. Our first visit to the West Manchester Mall did not help with its garden hoses draining into garbage cans to deal with leaky ceilings.

Fast forward almost 20 years and so much has changed. We added three kids to the family: Amelia, David, and Wesley. We call these additions our Yorkies.

Our family initially lived for our first two years in a rental in the Shiloh neighborhood of West York. In 2006, we moved into the Avenues neighborhood in York City, renovated a 100-year-old home, and have lived here since. It was here that our family expanded to six children. Our two oldest kids are now married, so our brood has grown to 10!

What is so great about York County?

Yorkers have a tendency to be negative about York County. There are a lot of great things to do and places to go that make for a great quality of life and a great place to raise a family. Our family has a number of things we love to do, places to go, and activities we make sure out-of-town guests don’t miss.

I thought I would take the time to highlight *the* ***Top Things the Anderson Family Loves About York County***.

York City. Anyone who knows me could have guessed I would start here. 17+ years of living in one place will change you. Where do I begin?

Central Market York is an absolute must. Every visitor to our home will be taken there. The historic building bustling with a variety of vendors has something for everyone. Just the mention of it to my kids has them bursting about pretzels, Korean BBQ, a burrito from Roburritos, fries and peanut butter fudge from JRs Fries, and a strawberry-banana crepe with Nutella for me:) Our favorite time to visit is usually a Saturday morning. Other markets worthy of mention are Penn Market in the City as well as Eastern Market on the east end of town.

First Friday is an opportunity to walk downtown, enjoy a meal together, and run into friends we have not seen in a while. At the most recent event, we enjoyed brick-oven pizzas at Fig & Barrel which has become a family favorite. Archetype Pizza is also a great downtown pizza spot for a First Friday. The lighting of the Christmas tree downtown is often on a First Friday if I’m not mistaken and is super nostalgic.

Coffee meetings. I love my coffee meetings downtown. Prince Street Cafe has become a buzzing meeting location. Green Bean Roasting Co. is also a more cozy spot to meet.

Catching a York Revolution baseball game at Wellspan Park. We regularly watch fireworks on the 4th of July here. Also very nostalgic.

Grabbing some pub food and a brew at Collusion or Holy Hound.

Other places that hold a special place in our hearts that you should see and know in the City: Logos Academy is the organization I lead and where my kids have been educated. It’s an amazing place! For years, our family held a membership at the York County YMCA where we exercised, swam, played sports, and made friends. We also enjoyed being a part of the CrossFit York community. Anyone with kids should also know about the unique learning opportunities at Keystone Kidspace and the York County History Center, specifically the Ag Museum, as well as the important work at Crispus Attucks. I am glad to see my friend Joanne Wilmore, owner of Grace Manor B&B, promoting Black tourism in York through Sojourn Noir and creating a welcoming environment for visitors to experience York County.

York County Parks. The parks in York County are big, beautiful, and a great destination for kids and adults. We regularly walk (a theme you will hear often going forward) through Farquar Park in York City, with its amazing bandstand and adjacent Kiwanis Lake, with its abundant birds and geese. We also regularly visit Cousler Park and Springettsbury Park for their outstanding playground equipment. Other favorite parks include John C. Rudy Park, Rocky Ridge Park, Reservoir Park, and an honorable mention has to go to the Wellness Trail at UPMC Hospital. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the spectacular views overlooking the Susquehanna River and the gentle rock structures for climbing at Samuel S. Lewis State Park. This is also a great park to fly a kite!

York County Water Activities. There are numerous bodies of water, many of which include parks, where we hike, take in views, and where some of us like to fish on the shore or in a boat. These include the lake at Gifford Pinchot Park, Long Level Marina on the Susquehanna River (we rent a pontoon boat here!), William Kain Park at Lake Redman, or Codorus State Park at Lake Marburg (we also rent a pontoon here as well).

*York County Rail Trail-southern section*

The Heritage Rail Trail. Our family has logged substantial miles biking, jogging, and walking the Rail Trail. The northern sections that wind along Codorus Creek are scenic. Those same sections wind through York City providing easy access to worthwhile stops in York City. The southern sections that meander through the pastures of southern York County are breathtaking. A bike trip on the Rail Trail is a must for adults and kids alike.

York County Churches. If you know me this is not a number five but really a number one priority for my family. There are tons of great churches in York County with loving people and faithful ministers. I probably should not bother to list them because an omission will make someone think they didn’t make the “list.” If I’m not mistaken, there are about 500 houses of worship in the County. Our family currently attends and loves Living Word Community Church. We previously attended Providence Presbyterian, New Life Presbyterian, and First Presbyterian. We have visited, attended events at, I have preached at, or ministered alongside pastors from Shiloh Baptist, Bible Tabernacle Christian Center, Covenant Family Ministries, Cornerstone Baptist, Church of the Open Door, New Covenant Community, Temple of Grace, York Alliance, Aldersgate, St. John’s Episcopal, Noble City, Eastminster Presbyterian, Thrive, Zeal, St. Matthew Lutheran, St. Paul Lutheran, Stillmeadow Nazarene and their City campus, St. Paul EC, and the list could go on. Again, this list is only a selection and not exhaustive. There is a congregation and a pastor in York County for you.

The York Fairgrounds. We can walk to it from our house and regularly walk around the grounds. The York Fair is an annual must in our household. Funnel cakes, stacked ham sandwiches, waffles with ice cream, petting the animals, rides, and concerts are something we look forward to every year. After every Thanksgiving celebration, we also drive to the Fairgrounds to get a Christmas tree from Strathmeyer Trees. Another annual highlight is the annual Hot Rod show at the Fairgrounds. Yorkers love to line Route 30 and watch the cars zoom up and down. We are officially Yorkers because our family now participates in this tradition.

York County Factory Tours. Over the years we enjoyed tours of Martins Potato Chips, Utz Chips/Snyders, Wolfgang Chocolate, and Harley Davidson. It has been a few years since we took those tours and COVID changed operations so you should check to see who is still offering tours.

York County Restaurants. There are plenty of places that will fit a family’s budget. You won’t find fine dining selections in this post due to the budgetary implications of feeding up to 10 people:). I carved out a special section for pizza. I’ve already mentioned a number of York City spots. I will add other favorites we regularly frequent, including Hamir’s Indian Fusion, Shakey Jake’s for cheesesteaks, and Round the Clock for all-American diner grub.

Pizza. I grew up in Chicago, so I’m kind of a pizza snob. That said, there are a number of solid pizza joints in York County. Our favorite spot is currently Genovas. We also frequent Crazy Tomato, Fig & Barrel, Archetype, Marcellos, Marcos, Jim & Nenas, Vitos, and Caesars.

Ice Cream. You must visit Perrydell Farms for their delicious ice cream. Gail raves over their chocolate ice cream. You won’t be disappointed. Honorable mention for other favorite ice cream spots we frequent goes to Sweet Willow, Handel’s, Sarah’s Creamery, and Bill Mack’s.

York County Orchards. The orchards in the County are amazing and quite the experience. We love Honeycrisp apples from Brown’s Orchards. There are numerous orchards in the County to visit.

Honorable mentions. Other favorite events and locations in the County include tractor pulls in Dover, Saturday morning visits to Morning Sun Marketplace in Thomasville, and as my friend Gary Sutton and my father-in-law remind me, York County has a significant number of beautiful golf courses.

**A walk in Greenmount Cemetary.** Accessible through our neighborhood, Greenmount Cemetary was the site of our frequent family walks during COVID. We would worship together as we strolled through the tombstones, noticing the York County names, the religious symbols, and pondering the meaning of life. I would remind Gail and the kids that I want that phrase from the Book of Common Prayer engraved on my little stone: *Even at the grave we make our song, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!* I wanted my kids to learn not to fear death because Christ is risen. I would remind them on those Sunday walks that “*every Sunday is an Easter Sunday*,” a celebration of the new life in Jesus. The walks in Greenmount Cemetary with my family will likely be one of those York County memories I will cherish for the remainder of my days.

The Anderson family loves York County. It took a little time but with all of these experiences and memories, York County has earned a place in our hearts we now call “home.”