The Susquehanna National Heritage Area conducted a pilot season of free pontoon boat river discovery tours at Susquehanna River on July 13-14. Each tour was guided by experienced onboard guides and ended at the dock at the Zimmerman Center for Heritage which is four miles away to Wrightsville. Adventurers rode for about an hour and a quarter in the Lake Clarke area of the river. The onboard guides shared tales of the river’s natural and cultural history and wildlife sights.
The river discovery tours run on all weekends through the summer at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. each day. It was carried on pontoon boats which were owned and operated by Long Level Marina. The tours have become the first new initiative of the Susquehanna National Heritage area since Congressional designation of Lancaster and York countries.
This 2019 pilot season of tours offered free of charge services for all participants after the grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources‘ Heritage Area Program and National Park Service’s Chesapeake Bay Gateway Program.
National Park Service Visitor Contact and Passport station of Zimmerman Center developed the tours. They offered special themed tours and round trip cruises between the Zimmerman Center and the Columbia Crossing River Trails Center on the Columbia riverfront. Each tour had a limited number of seats which were reserved online.
