Great Picnic Spots in Hanover, Pennsylvania

With spring just around the corner, residents of Hanover are looking forward to treks to some very pleasant picnic areas. Small enclosed playgrounds with picnic tables can be found every few blocks throughout the residential sections of town, with some offering basketball or tennis courts along with swing sets for young children. These areas do not allow grills, but picnics of sandwiches, salads, snacks and drinks are allowed.

In the southern section of Hanover, there are two larger parks that are governed by Penn Township. One park, Young’s Woods, on Blooming Grove Road, with four large pavilions, is open from dawn to dusk. Entrance is free but residents must file an application for use of one or more of the pavilions. Young’s Woods offers a large modern jungle gym set for children, and gas or charcoal grills are allowed in designated areas.

The second park in Penn Township is Kids Kingdom Creative Playground, which is larger than Young’s Woods and is located on Grandview Road. This park is open year round from dawn to dusk at no cost, and boasts a huge wooden jungle gym ensemble with monkey bars, wooden swings, castle-like towers and tire swings. The park has fields for baseball, softball and soccer, and several pavilions and picnic tables. Charcoal and gas grills are allowed in designated areas, though pets are not allowed. Even when school is in session, the park can be filled with children when teachers bring their pre-school or kindergarten children on field trips.

Codorus State Park is 3,452 acres of rolling hills surrounding Lake Marburg, a beautiful, clean lake with 26 miles of shoreline. There is no swimming allowed in the lake, but residents enjoy warm-water fishing, sail boating and motor boating. The Marina Day Use Area rents pontoons, motorboats, canoes, kayaks and paddle boats, and will rent out mooring spaces from 4/1-10/31 each year. Boat enthusiasts will find seven boat launches around the lake, and one launch site for registered campers. A large in-ground pool, open from 11 a.m. – 6:45 p.m., sits on a bluff overlooking the lake and is wheelchair accessible. Admission is charged for swimming, with prices between $2 and $8. Seasonal passes are available at prices dependent on residency and age.

Codorus has two hiking trails and trails for mountain biking and horseback riding. Scuba diving is allowed in one area called Sinshein Cove due to the volume of boat traffic on any given day. Hunting for deer, pheasant, rabbit, squirrel and water fowl is allowed to licensed hunters during authorized hunting seasons. Codorus is the site of the 2005 and 2010 state championships for Disc Golf, having 54 holes spread over fields and forests, plus a small 9- hole course for children near the Marina. There are three main picnic areas, many with pavilions, restrooms and grills. The park has sites for tents and campers with restrooms and showers; modern cabins, rustic cabins and Yurts (Mongolian type cabins) can be rented.

If you like crowds, then weekends are the best time to go to Codorus. Even in summer, weekdays find residents at the pool more than at the picnic sites. The busiest day of the year is July 4th. If you don’t get to the park by noon, you probably won’t find a table for your picnic. Codorus is such a pretty, well-kept park that it draws many people from as far away as Baltimore. There is something for everyone to enjoy. My favorite times to go are early mornings, spring and fall, when I can take my dog for peaceful walks along the marina.