Lancaster County has 28 surviving covered bridges, more than any other county in Pennsylvania. They span everything from the Conestoga to the Pequea to small creeks you've never heard of, and most are still open to traffic. This is a guide to driving them, including the half-day loop most photographers actually take.
Why so many bridges?
Pennsylvania built more than 1,500 covered bridges in the 1800s. The roofs were structural: the trusses underneath did the load-bearing, and the cover kept the wooden joints dry. A covered bridge in the rain lasts 80 to 100 years. An uncovered one rots out in 20.
Lancaster County's bridges survive because the rural roads through Amish country never got widened. The townships keep them painted, the local historical societies fund the major repairs, and the buggies and pickup trucks that cross them every day are not heavy enough to break the trusses. Most are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The half-day loop
This is the route most photographers and tourists actually drive. It hits seven of the most photogenic bridges in three to four hours, ending in Strasburg or Bird-in-Hand for lunch.
Start: Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge
Just east of Lancaster proper, off Hunsecker Road. At 180 feet, it's the longest single-span covered bridge in Pennsylvania. The Conestoga Creek runs underneath. Best light: early morning, looking east.
Stop 2: Pinetown Covered Bridge
Less than two miles north of Hunsecker's. Crosses the Conestoga in Bird-in-Hand. Lost the original in a 1972 flood; the current bridge is a 1980 rebuild on the original abutments. Often the busiest with photographers.
Stop 3: Leaman's Place Covered Bridge
Off Belmont Road, near Paradise. The Pequea Creek runs under it. The setting is the picture: open farmland on both ends, no power lines in the frame. Quiet enough to hear horse traffic.
Stop 4: Herr's Mill Covered Bridge
Ronks, on a private farm. Foot traffic only, and you'll want to check the seasonal access at the farm gate. A double-span Burr truss design, rare in the county.
Stop 5: Eshelman's Mill Covered Bridge
Gordonville, off Lower Vintage Road. Quieter than the headline bridges. Mill ruins on the upstream bank.
Stop 6: Jackson's Sawmill Covered Bridge
Quarryville, the southern leg of the loop. Spans the Octoraro Creek. A long single-span bridge with original wooden trusses still load-bearing.
End: Colemanville Covered Bridge
Pequea, in Martic Forge. Crosses Pequea Creek inside the Pequea Creek Campground. The setting is woods rather than farmland, a change of scenery from the rest of the loop.
The full list of 28 bridges
If you want to drive them all, plan a full weekend. The list below is alphabetized; addresses and directions are on each bridge page.
- Baumgardener's Covered Bridge (Pequea)
- Bitzer's Mill Covered Bridge (Ephrata)
- Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge (Stevens)
- Buck Hill Farm Covered Bridge (Lancaster)
- Colemanville Covered Bridge (Pequea)
- Eichelberger's Covered Bridge (Lititz)
- Erb's Covered Bridge (Lititz)
- Eshelman's Mill Covered Bridge (Gordonville)
- Forry's Mill Covered Bridge (Columbia)
- Glen Hope Covered Bridge (Lancaster)
- Herr's Mill Covered Bridge (Ronks)
- Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge (Lancaster)
- Jackson's Sawmill Covered Bridge (Quarryville)
- Kauffman's Distillery Covered Bridge (Manheim)
- Keller's Mill Covered Bridge (Ephrata)
- Kurtz's Mill Covered Bridge (Lancaster)
- Landis Mill Covered Bridge (Lancaster)
- Leaman's Place Covered Bridge (Paradise)
- Lime Valley Covered Bridge (Willow Street)
- Mercer's Mill Covered Bridge (Atglen)
- Neff's Mill Covered Bridge (Lancaster)
- Pine Grove Covered Bridge (Oxford)
- Pinetown Covered Bridge (Bird-in-Hand)
- Pool Forge Covered Bridge (Churchtown)
- Red Run Covered Bridge (Reinholds)
- Shearer's Covered Bridge (Manheim)
- Weaver's Mill Covered Bridge (East Earl)
- Zook's Mill Covered Bridge (Warwick)
When to go
Mid-October is the cliché answer because foliage. The cliché is right; the bridges photograph beautifully against red and orange. But the bridges look almost as good in late April with apple blossoms in the orchards behind them, and in February with snow on the roof. Avoid mid-summer if you can; the foliage is the same uniform green everywhere and the heat haze is hard on photos.
Time of day matters more than season. The bridges are oriented across creeks running roughly east to west, so most are best lit at sunrise or sunset. Pinetown and Hunsecker's specifically shine at first light. The drive from Lancaster proper to either is fifteen minutes; if you start at 6 AM in October you'll be home for breakfast.
Driving etiquette
Most of these bridges are working infrastructure. Pickup trucks, farm equipment, school buses, and Amish buggies all cross them every day. The county tolerates photographers; it does not tolerate parking on the bridge or blocking the entrance.
Pull off well before or after the bridge, on the shoulder. Walk in. Stand off to the side when a vehicle crosses. Buggies in particular are quiet and faster than they look. Listen for the hoofbeats, step aside.
Drone use is permitted at most of the bridges but check the signage; a few are inside privately owned mill or campground properties where airspace rules are tighter.
If you have more time
The bridges pair well with two other Lancaster County drives. The Strasburg Railroad runs through farmland that includes views of Leaman's Place and a glimpse of Herr's Mill. And the 73-item Lancaster County bucket list includes a half-dozen other rural sites you can knit into the same loop: covered bridges plus the Amish Farm and House, plus a stop at the Bird in Hand Bakeshop, plus an early-evening pretzel twist at Julius Sturgis in Lititz. The full day rounds out the bridges with food and history.
Find more places to explore in Lancaster County, or read about pretzel tours in Lancaster for another half-day.
