Whiskey Springs Uplands
Marks the northern end of South Mountain in Cumberland County.
Whiskey Springs Uplands Conservation Area within the Pennsylvania Highlands
The Whiskey Springs Uplands of Cumberland County mark the northern end of the South Mountain. Center Point Knob and White Rocks summits rise more than 1,000 feet in elevation and provide panoramic views across the Great Valley to the north.
Natural Resources
Wooded slopes and high-quality streams characterize the area and support many sensitive and important natural resources. The Cumberland County Natural Areas Inventory identifies Camp Tuckahoe and White Rocks as high-priority natural areas in the Whiskey Springs Uplands. Camp Tuckahoe is an area of acidic seeps near the headwaters of the Dogwood run and supports two plant species of concern, the rough-leaved aster and the netted chainfern. Other species include maple, black gum, highbush blueberry, cinnamon fern, mountain laurel, and marsh fern. White Rocks natural area is an outstanding geologic feature of Pennsylvania. It is a quartzite outcrop of the Antietam Formation dating from the Cambrian (540-490 million years ago).
Just north of Whiskey Springs Uplands is the Yellow Breeches Creek, one of the high-quality waterways, is named for the water's amber appearance and is well known for trout fishing. This creek is a designated High-Quality stream and a Pennsylvania Scenic River, which draws anglers to its banks for fly fishing. Old Town Run a High-Quality waterway in the Whiskey Springs Uplands flows north from Whiskey Spring to feed the Yellow Breeches Creek. All the area’s streams drain to the Susquehanna River to the east and ultimately to Chesapeake Bay.
Whiskey Springs Uplands conservation area overlaps with a High Protection Priority area designated by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Priorities for Climate Change Connectivity in Pennsylvania. This project focuses attention on overall high priority portions of the Climate Change Connectivity network which are currently unprotected.
Historical / Cultural Resources
Abundant historic and cultural resources contribute to the bucolic setting of the Whiskey Springs Uplands. Among the sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places are the Boiling Springs Historic District. The furnaces of the former Carlisle Iron Works in Boiling Springs date to the 1760’s. The Whiskey Springs Uplands provided the large, high-quality deposits of iron ore and the limestone necessary for the iron industry. The timber on the rolling hills and low mountains provided fuel for the furnaces.
Recreational Resources
The Whiskey Springs Uplands offer many significant recreation areas including State Game Lands 305, the Appalachian Trail and the Mason-Dixon Trail. This is where those two trails meet and connected over 230 miles of hiking trails west of the Susquehanna River in the Pennsylvania Highlands.
Interactive Map
The Whiskey Springs Uplands conservation area is located in Cumberland and York counties. It has a total acreage of roughly 12,742 acres with approximately 2,688 acres of protected open space that the public can access, plus 11 miles of hiking trails. This region is known for the Appalachian Trail , Mason-Dixon Trail , and State Game Lands 305 .
Whiskey Springs Uplands
Local Organizations
Follow the links below to learn more about some organizations in the region that focus on conservation and land protection.
Call to Action
Join us in advocating for the protection of the mountains, rivers, forests, and trails of our region.
Programs and people dedicated to conservation in Pennsylvania ensure the region’s outdoor resources are managed responsibly. Click below to speak up and urge your state legislators to increase conservation funding.
Increase State Conservation Funding
Return to The Pennsylvania Highlands Conservation Atlas main StoryMap where you can discover and continue to learn about the other Pennsylvania Highlands Conservation Areas in the Next Steps section.
