As we step into a new year, 2026 marks an important moment for the Blue Green Connector: a year of visible progress, deeper learning, and momentum toward a shared long-term vision. With construction, restoration, and community engagement moving forward together, this is a year when many of the ideas behind the project become more tangible for the community.
Here’s what to expect in the year ahead, and how 2026 fits into our path toward full completion in 2028.
Major Milestones: The Opening of the Noel Dorwart & Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Trailheads
Two significant trailhead openings in 2026 will mark a major step forward in making the Blue Green Connector more accessible, visible, and experiential for the community.
The Noel Dorwart Trailhead, opening in Spring 2026, will serve as a welcoming gateway to the Blue Green Connector, offering the public a new way to experience the project firsthand. More than just an access point, this trailhead represents years of planning and partnership coming together; connecting neighborhoods, nature, and learning through an ADA-accessible greenway designed for people of all ages and abilities. Its opening signals a shift from “coming soon” to “come see.”
The Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health trailhead will also open in Summer 2026, expanding both access and opportunity along the Connector. This trailhead will feature education and biking amenities, and connect directly to the Trillium Place restoration area, where a stunning covered amphitheater will welcome guests and offer space for gathering, learning, and reflection as the ecosystem continues to recover. The trail will continue across Harrisburg Pike, past Woodcrest Villa, to the historic Landis Mill Covered Bridge, providing easy access to Park City Center and nearby residential areas.
Together, these trailheads transform the Blue Green Connector from a linear trail into a network of welcoming entry points, each offering its own way to experience restoration, learning, and community along the Little Conestoga Creek.
Rendering by Gecko Group
Making Creek Health Visible: Water Quality Dashboard Launch
In 2026, we’ll also be launching the Blue Green Connector Water Quality Dashboard, a new public tool designed to share real-time and long-term data about the health of the Little Conestoga Creek.
This dashboard will help translate complex monitoring data into something accessible and meaningful, showing how restoration efforts are improving water quality over time and why those changes matter for both the ecosystem and the community. It’s one more way the project connects restoration with education, transparency, and accountability.
Learning in the Landscape: Teaching With Muddy Boots Returns
Education continues to be a core pillar of the Blue Green Connector, and in Spring 2026 we’ll host our second Teaching With Muddy Boots experience, in partnership with the Lancaster County STEM Alliance.
This immersive professional learning opportunity invites educators to step into the landscape, literally, using the creek corridor as a living classroom. Participants explore how environmental restoration, STEM learning, and place-based education intersect, and how those lessons can be brought back to students across Lancaster County.
Restoration in Motion: Seeing Progress and Starting New Sites
By 2026, several areas along the corridor will be one to three years into their restoration, offering a powerful opportunity to see how the landscape is responding. Native plantings are maturing, streambanks are stabilizing, and habitat is beginning to rebound, visible signs that long-term investment yields long-term benefit.At the same time, new restoration sites will break ground, continuing the phased approach that allows the project to learn, adapt, and build on earlier successes. Together, these efforts reflect a balance of patience and progress—honoring the time nature needs while keeping momentum strong.
Art Along the Trail: Call for Art Submissions Under Review
Creativity is an essential part of the Blue Green Connector experience, and in 2026 that vision continues to take shape through art along the trail.
Following an enthusiastic response to our previous Call for Art, the Blue Green Connector’s Trail Arts Committee is currently reviewing a wide range of inspiring submissions from local and regional artists. These proposals explore themes of water, ecology, community, and place, bringing new perspectives to the landscape and helping tell the story of the Little Conestoga Creek in meaningful and unexpected ways.
Throughout the year, the committee will be working thoughtfully to evaluate submissions, align projects with trail locations, and plan for future installations. As selections are finalized, we’ll begin sharing more about the artists and concepts that will become part of the corridor, adding creativity, reflection, and moments of discovery to the trail experience.
Art along the Blue Green Connector isn’t an add-on; it’s a vital way we connect people to the landscape and to one another.
On Track for 2028: Why 2026 Matters
All of these milestones—trail access, data transparency, education, art, and restoration—are critical steps toward a shared goal: completing the Blue Green Connector by 2028.
2026 is a year of meaningful leaps forward. It’s a year when progress becomes more visible, engagement deepens, and the corridor increasingly functions as the connected system it was designed to be: linking environmental health, public access, and community learning.
Stay Connected This Year
Throughout 2026, we’ll be sharing updates, stories, data, and opportunities to experience the Blue Green Connector as it grows.
Whether you’re walking the trail, exploring the data, joining an educational experience, or simply following along, this is a year to watch the vision take shape—step by step, mile by mile, and creek bend by creek bend.
