StoryWalks are the latest family-friendly trend. They combine exercise and fresh air, learning and creative fun!
Here’s how they work: Weatherproof story boards, each featuring a page of a book, are tucked into parks, along trails, and other unexpected locations, throughout the Susquehanna Valley. As families walk, run, skip, or bike
along the path, they stop to read the story along the way. It’s a meandering, outdoor story time adventure. And local experts agree—the combination of activities adds up to summer fun that can spark a life-long love of the outdoors, reading, and art.
It was a case of perfect timing.
“We always had a StoryWalk on our wish list,” says Karin Rezendes, assistant director, Manheim Township Public Library.
Unexpected funding came through, during pandemic closures—allowing Manheim Township’s StoryWalk to be born, along its winding walkway, within Overlook Park.
“It allows people to experience the library, outside,” says Karyn Beltle, Manheim Township’s youth services manager. She adds creative touches to every StoryWalk page for added fun—activities, motions, questions, and fun facts.
“There have been studies that incorporating physical movement with reading helps cement learning in a child’s mind,” says Rezendes.
Stories and activities are changed seasonally, inviting new family adventures. Even though they’re geared toward beginning and early readers, visiting families often include babies, as well as teens. “Every time I look out the window, I see families outside, doing the StoryWalk—even in the winter,” Beltle says.
Manheim Township Public Library
595 Granite Run Dr, Lancaster | mtpl.info
“StoryWalks offer a lot of conversation within the community,” says Tynan Edwards, programming and outreach administrator, Dauphin County Library System. “We like to put StoryWalks in new, exciting places—we want to engage with people and meet them wherever they are.”
That includes StoryWalks along the Capital Area Greenbelt and at the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art.
“I have two young children, and halfway through a hike they become bored,” Edwards says. “But StoryWalks provide a topic of conversation for parents and kids and help people see the library as a living, breathing thing.”
The Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art,
176 Water Company Rd, Millersburg | nedsmithcenter.org
The Capital Area Greenbelt, Cameron Parkway
The Capital Area Greenbelt, Paxtang Parkway | dcls.org
Family walks, combined with stories, get the creative juices flowing. But there’s another option at Harrisburg’s Wildwood Park.
“Art in the Wild” is an annual sculpture and art exhibit created by local artists who use all-natural materials such as rocks, sticks, and logs. Families, many with strollers and bikes, complete the 3.1-mile loop while taking advantage of the park’s picnic areas, too.
“If you have littles, it helps to have those benchmarks along the way—there’s one more around the curve,” says Richelle Corty, Wildwood’s environmental educator. “I think just being outside in nature, off phones and devices with your family, is a huge health benefit—and seeing art engages a whole different part of your brain.”
Wildwood Park,
100 Wildwood Way, Harrisburg | explorewildwoodpark.org
Community partnerships are at play—literally—for a Cumberland County StoryWalk.
“I can’t think of a better place than a park—that’s where families flock,” says Jess Woolridge, Fredericksen Library’s youth services director. “Parks were magical places for my children when they were young.”
Grandon StoryWalk is located in Creekview Park North, thanks to generous library patrons and a partnership with Hampden Township.
Fredricksen’s development director Megan Roby calls the public park project “an innovative way for people to share the love of reading and enjoy the outdoors at the same time.”
Creekview Park North,
4630 Creekview Rd, Mechanicsburg | cumberlandcountylibraries.org
York County’s Red Land Community Library partnered with small businesses to put their StoryWalk on display in storefront windows.
“It’s a new community trend,” says Ellen Helfrick, York County Libraries’ director of library relations. “And I think StoryWalks have great potential to convert reluctant readers into enthusiastic readers.”
Paul Smith Library of Southern York County integrates reading with an obstacle course called the Ocean Adventure Trail. And York County’s Collinsville Community Library offers a Sensory Walk and Mural created as an Eagle Scout project.
Many of York County’s StoryWalks feature ocean-themed books, tying into their summer reading program.
“These are vibrant stories that have family appeal, that also lend themselves to movement,” says Jaclyn Cassidy, York County Libraries’ youth services director. “Think of that child who can’t sit still. With StoryWalks, they get to enjoy the stories and enjoy that movement.”
Red Land Community Library,
70 Newsberry Commons, Goldsboro
Paul Smith Library of Southern York County,
80 Constitution Ave, Shrewsbury
Collinsville Community Library,
2632 Delta Rd, Brogue | yorklibraries.org
