At the little-known P. Joseph Raab Park you can see the strange rock formations, explore abandoned mines from the late 1800s, and find a bat cave.
P. Joseph Raab Park located in rural York County, PA is the site of the former York Iron Company mines which were in operation from 1854 to 1888. Today, you can explore several trails that lead to abandoned trench mines and underground mines. One of the mines is now a bat cave, home to four species of bats.
Park in the lot located off of Hoff Rd at 39.84848, -76.81220. Maps marking points of interest are available at the trailhead or you can download a PDF from York County Department of Parks and Recreation. Follow the wide mowed trail past the farm fields and into the woods. Be on the lookout for wildlife. We encountered two turkeys within minutes of arriving.
None of the trails are blazed, but they are marked at intersections with numbers on green posts. There are three trails that form essentially two loops. Trail 1 forms a loop east of the stream and is bisected by Trail 2. Trail 3 forms a loop west of the stream. See the map at the bottom of this post. At the first fork, we took Trail 1 south (left) into the woods and up a small hill. We encountered a small exploratory mine in a field of mayapples followed by a trench mine shown above.
We continued on Trail 1 until we encountered the largest and deepest trench mine at Raab Park, shown as “C” on the map. We explored several of a network of unmarked side trails that run on the southern rim of the trench mine. The terrain became rocky and exciting, and we encountered the fascinating teeth-like formations on the narrow ledge above the mine.
We followed a series of steep dirt paths and earthen bridges running along the pit mine and eventually traversing a cliff side. At the bottom of the cliff, we found the bat cave at 39.84253, -76.81530.
Unfortunately, the bat cave is blocked by a gate, so you cannot venture inside. We would like to make a return trip at dusk; however, to watch the bats emerge. Below is a view inside the cave from the gate.
From the bat cave, we followed a trail to the stream that runs through Raab Park. According to the park brochure, a railway ran through the ravine along the stream. There are metal grates over the stream at 39.84232, -76.81560, affording a dry crossing, when the water is not high. We followed some trails south along the stream, but they quickly became overgrown and fizzled out. We turned away from the stream and began heading uphill to explore the western half of Raab Park. We noticed a large rocky excavated cliff and depression in the hill and decided to investigate. Our curiosity paid off with another cave. And we could go inside this one!
There is a depression just before the cave so that it is not visible until you come right up on it. The coordinates of the cave are 39.84216, -76.81623. We entered the cave by carefully walking down a slope of rocks at the mouth. Thankfully, the rocks were stable. Below is a view from inside the cave facing the mouth.
The cave is not particularly deep, but daylight fades fast, so bring a flashlight. There is a rock slope at the back of the cave that you can climb via the rope someone left in place. Ascending the slope leads to a loft area and a dead end. Shining light on the cave ceiling and back wall reveals shimmering residual hematite. After exploring the small loft area, we returned to the bottom of the cave using the same rope. Be very careful in the cave, especially if you choose to explore the loft. If you don’t know what you are doing, we recommend you enjoy the view from outside the cave.
The cave and the loft made up for our small disappointment at the restricted access to the bat cave. We embarked on an exploration of the western loop, Trail 3, in high spirits. Per the Raab Park map we found the house ruins at 39.84273, -76.81663. All that remains is part of a stone foundation; nothing to write home about.
We followed the loop of Trail 3 up the hill in search of a point of interest marked “G” on the Raab Park map, the “Observation Deck”. However, after several passes, all we found was a small clearing at the top of the hill. There was nothing to observe except the foliage and brush. Maybe the “Observation Deck” was something at one time, but if this this was the right spot, there is nothing remarkable there now. On the north side of the Trail 3 loop, there is an almost hypnotic fern field, shown below. Other than that, it was just a nice walk in the woods with nothing to report. We returned to the eastern side of Raab park by a wet crossing at 39.84306, -76.81628. There is a fallen log nearby that could be a dry crossing if you have good balance. But by this time, we were already soaked from the rain. We followed the trail along the stream then looped back to Trail 1 back to the trailhead.
Overall, the walk was a little over 2 miles, not counting side excursions and exploring dead ends.
There is one parking lot, located at 39.84848, -76.81220.
The map below is taken from the York County Department of Parks and Recreation.
P. Joseph Raab Park is noteworthy as a monument to the historic York County iron industry. It is also remarkable for the tooth-like rock formations, and of course an accessible underground mine. The park is relatively small, 73 acres, in rural York County; the kind of place only locals would know about. So, get out there before it’s put on the map, so to speak. A few things to know before you go:
- The terrain around the trench mine is narrow, rocky, and steep in some places. Wear appropriate footwear. Be careful and use good sense.
- Exercise extreme caution if you choose to explore the mine and bring a flashlight.
- We thought that the gate to the bat cave was only in place during the bat hibernation, but the bat cave is permanently inaccessible to the general public.
- There is prolific poison ivy along the trails and growing into the trails, so long pants are strongly recommended.
Be sure to check out our other adventures.
