As a monument of industrial waste to the ghost town of Billmeyer, the White Cliffs of Conoy is one of Lancaster County’s strangest outdoor destinations.
The White Cliffs of Conoy in northwestern Lancaster County are an oddity with an other-worldly landscape. As such, it is a popular destination for sightseers and adventures of all sorts. It lunar-like landscape is also in demand as backdrop for professional portraits. It is strange to think that such a well-loved destination is actually a pile of industrial waste!
The White Cliffs of Conoy are located along the Northwest River Trial, one of Lancaster County’s most popular rail trails. The closest trailhead to the cliffs is Koser Park at Bainbridge. The cliffs are an easy 1.6 miles to the south.
The story of the White Cliffs begins with the Haldemanan family who settled the area in the 1790s. In the 1840s John Haldeman quarried limestone here and built two kilns to process the limestone into lime. Lime was produced by heating limestone with coal to approximately 2000 degrees F, decomposing the Calcium carbonate to Calcium oxide (lime) and Carbon dioxide. Lime was in great demand for use in fertilizer, plaster, and whitewash. Lime production was big business in this region due to the abundance of high quality limestone.
In 1896 John E. Baker and his brother-in-law George S. Billmeyer of the Wrightsville Lime Company acquired and expanded the Haldeman property in Conoy Township. The name was changed to the J.E. Baker Company. A company town grew around the operations and Baker named it Billmeyer after his wife’s family name.
The town of Billmeyer experienced a boom during World War I. Italy was the United States’ primary source of raw materials for making refractory brick needed for steel furnaces. Trade of these materials was cut off by the war. The J.E. Baker Company was the first to supply a substitute from the high quality dolomite of the Billmeyer Quarry, which became known as Donegal Dolomite.
However, by the 1940s the demand for dolomite declined. Production waned and the town of Billmyer dwindled along with it. The last of the mining operations ceased in 1957. In 1961 the quarry pumps were shut off and the quarry filled with approximately 70 feet of water. Billmeyer was abandoned and the remaining dilapidated buildings were demolished in 2007. The lime and dolomite waste that was dumped here over the decades are what we know today as the White Cliffs of Conoy.
At the White Cliffs, the Northwest River Trail runs along the bygone Mian Street of Billmeyer. There are Conspicuous ruins of the Billmyer Lime Plan are across railroad track. However, the ruins and the quarry behind them are on private property. You can find a few foundations from the abandoned town in the woods near the White Cliffs.
The Northwest River Trail trailhead at Bainbridge’s Koser Park is at 40.08990, -76.67051.
The White Cliffs of Conoy are at 40.07223, -76.65309.
The out-and-back trip is 3.2 miles total.
The Northwest Rail Trail is largely flat, paved, and easy, making the White Cliffs a perfect excursion for families. There is also a boat launch at the Bainbridge trailhead, so you can paddle to the White Cliffs via the Susquehanna River. Because the White Cliffs are a premier oddity, expect company when you visit. The Northwest River Trail is heavily trafficked, so be aware of fellow adventures on bike and on foot. When exploring the top of the White Cliffs exercise good sense on the slopes and around the edges because the material of the cliffs can be loose.
Be sure to check out our other adventures.
