Florin Park
This 1 acre Florin Park dates back to 1887 when it was a part of the Florin Hall and Park Association. The group held festivals here but interest waned and the property was eventually razed and the Florin Fire Company was built on the grounds. In later years, a baseball diamond was developed for Pee Wee / Little League. Then in 2000, Florin Fire Company and Fire Department Mount Joy merged and this Park was subdivided and is now its own parcel.For Rules and Regulations please visit General Park Rules
Grandview Park
This 12.3 acre property was purchased by Mount Joy Borough in February 2006. This property was previously owned by Donegal School District and was known as Grandview Elementary School. The School was constructed in 1959 followed by a rear addition in 1964. This school operated until December 2003. Donegal School District approved building Donegal Springs Elementary, located on Koser Road, to educate the students that went to Grandview and Seiler Elementary Schools.When Mount Joy Borough became aware that Donegal School District was to sell this property, it was the perfect opportunity to preserve this land for our community. The purchase was made through grants and developer contributions. The Borough then took action to have a Feasibility Study done and asked community members to participate by filling out a “Community Needs Assessment Survey”. Later a Feasibility Report was prepared outlining the results. During the study it was determined that the existing school building was not worthy of either total or partial preservation for adaptive reuse. The building was removed in 2007-2008. This location still holds a baseball diamond where peewee baseball and softball games are played as well as a soccer field.A new ball field was built in the Summer of 2015. The Mount Joy Athletic Association paid for all the materials required to complete the project. All ball field scheduling is handled by the Mount Joy Athletic Association. For more information about the Mount Joy Athletic Association please visit the Mount Joy Athletic Association WebsiteFor Rules and Regulations about the park please visit General Park Rules
Rotary Park
Located between Fairview Street and Old Market Street, this 13 acre park, developed by the Rotary Club of Mount Joy, has a regulation soccer field, junior midget size baseball / girls’ softball field overlapped with an under 10 soccer field and a Pee Wee baseball / girls’ softball field. A hiking/biking trail traverses the park from east to west, with hopes that it will someday connect to the pathway to Mount Joy Township’s Cove Outlook Park. Rotary Park is owned by the Lancaster County Career and Technology Center, leased by Mount Joy Borough and facilitated by the Rotary Club of Mount Joy.
Borough Park & Kunkle Field
The 5.28 acre Borough Park has been at its present location since 1935. The former Borough Park was at the “little” post office on the corner of North Market and East Main Street. When the new post office was built, the park had to be moved. The U.S. Government paid Mount Joy Borough $10,000.00 for the land and with this money, the town purchased ten acres bounded by North Market Street, Manheim Road and North Barbara Street. Tennis courts and a baseball diamond came within the first year. Unfortunately, the tennis courts had to be removed in 2015 because of severe deterioration. In later years, Bob Kunkle gave several thousands to improve the baseball field by adding new fences, bleachers and a refreshment house. In the 1980’s the field was dedicated. Now known as Kunkle Field, it has become home for many baseball and softball games.If you would like to know more about athletic’s, please visit the website Mount Joy Athletic AssociationFor rules and regulations for Borough Park please visit General Park Rules
Kids Joyland
The Mount Joy Borough Park also has a Joy Land play area. This was a “Community Built” playground originally in October 1993. Unfortunately, this park was destroyed by a fire and was again rebuilt by the community, Rotary and many volunteers in 2015. All the funds for the design and materials were raised by volunteers in the community by doing fundraisers and by donations.If you are looking to have a family reunion, birthday party, company picnic, etc., you may call the Borough Office to check the availability of dates or you can check the calendar below for availability and complete a web form to book your desired date. When calling the municipal office, you will be required to leave your name, address and telephone number, so the Borough Staff will know how to contact you. It will also be required that you choose a pavilion(s) you wish to reserve. You will be entitled to that pavilion(s) for the whole day. You may not change pavilion(s) on your specific day as there may be others that reserved pavilions for the same date.Effective January 1, 2011, Mount Joy Borough has established a fee of $25.00 for use of a pavilion. Mount Joy Borough has established this fee to help with maintenance and the up keeping to preserve this park and its great condition. This fee is required one month prior to the date of reservation(s) or the reservation(s) will be withdrawn. Also note, rental fees are subject to change at anytime. Operational fees are carefully observed by Mount Joy Borough’s Staff and Council, and may change from year to year.For Rules and Regulations please visit General Park Rules
Little Chiques Park
A gentleman name Clarence Schock gave the Little Chiques School Playground to the Mount Joy School Board in 1947. Mr. Clarence had just developed Park Avenue. It is said that no one actually called the park Little Chiques School Playground. Before that time, it was simply a corn field and to get to the area one walked through the field.Little Chiques Park plaque announces that the bolder on which the plaque is located came from Governor Dick, Mount Gretna, which he also gave to the Mount Joy School Board. The School Board then gave it back at sometime and the SICO Company maintained this park. It was then named SICO Park. Finally in April 2002, Mount Joy Borough took over the park and a few years later the name was changed to Little Chiques Park.Little Chiques Park is located on Park Avenue off of East Main Street of Mount Joy. This 32-acre park includes a tot lot and nine (9) pavilions. Most pavilions have ten (10) picnic tables. The pavilions do not have electric but they do have charcoal grills. Surrounding the park is a creek known as Little Chiques Creek.For Rules and Regulations about Little Chiques Park please visit General Park RulesFor more information on Pavilion rentals please visit Little Chiques Park Reservation Guidelines
Little Chiques Creek
Originally known as Little Chiquesalunga Creek which derives its name from the Native American word Chiquesalunga, or crayfish, the creek runs some 20 miles in a southerly direction to join Chiques Creek a mile before it empties out into the Susquehanna River in Marietta. Little Chiques Creek is part of the Chiques Creek Watershed.The Chiques Creek Watershed covers approximately 126 square miles of area, nearly all of which is within Lancaster County. Six townships (East Hempfield, Mount Joy, Penn, Rapho, West Cornwall & West Hempfield) and two boroughs (Manheim & Mount Joy) have areas contained within Chiques Creek Watershed. The Chiques Creek Watershed Alliance was founded in 2001 with a mission to “promote good stewardship of the land within the Chiques Watershed in order to protect and preserve the Chiques Creek for our present community and for future generations.” They are a non-profit organization driven by local volunteers and community leaders with a vision to accomplish these and other similar goals:Promote good stewardship of the land within the Chiques Watershed in order to protect and preserve the Chiques Creek for our present community and for future generationsProvide opportunities for restoring and improving the streams within the watershed by sponsoring conservation projectsProvide information on watershed protection through written materials and educational projects and to oversee the ongoing scientific evaluation of the Chiques Creek Watershed.Mount Joy Borough is seeks to improve the quality water and habitats that are in the Little Chiques Creek. By utilizing modern day advancements to improve stormwater runoff, we can add our contribution to continue help heal our ecosystem whether it be locally with our creeks or nationwide with the Chesapeake Bay. Organizations like the Chiques Creek Watershed, provide education and insight on how to improve our environment and our community. For more information about the Chiques Creek Watershed please visit their HomepageFor more information about how you can help improve the Little Chiques Creek at your own home, questions about stormwater, and our stormwater ordinance please visit Mount Joy Borough's Stormwater Page
Memorial Park
A 1.32 acre Memorial Park was established on the Marietta Avenue lot where the first all-Borough School was built in 1873. The building had housed both elementary and high school students until 1925 when a separate high school was built on Poplar Street. The Marietta Avenue lot was condemned and was scheduled for removal in 1954 but the contractor hired to take down the school decided to burn what he didn’t want in the basement and the school went up in smoke and flames since it consisted of all oiled wooded floors.With the opening of the Donegal Joint High School, the Poplar Street High School was turned into an elementary school. When the debris was removed from the Marietta Avenue plot, several organizations decided that it should be turned into a passive park (not a playground) and be dedicated to all veterans of all wars. In later years a gazebo was added to the park and Sunday evening programs are held there every summer.In 2009, thanks to a partnership between Mount Joy Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5752 and the Mount Joy Walter S. Ebersole American Legion Post 185, in cooperation with Mount Joy Borough, several war memorial monuments, which had previously been interspersed at various locations throughout Mount Joy, were consolidated into a newly refurbished Veterans’ Memorial Plaza, within Memorial Park, for the entire community to enjoy. Designed by Borough resident and landscape architect David Christian, the Memorial Plaza is now home to various monuments commemorating those from the Mount Joy area who served in World War I, World War II, as well as in Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon, Grenada, the Persian Gulf, Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan. A new monument honoring all Donegal High School Vietnam, War veterans was most recently installed at the plaza in 2010. The center of the plaza is the proud home of our American flag, which is securely guarded by the flags of the five United States Military branches: The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marines, and the Coast Guard. The Circular path around the flags has purposefully been left unbroken and incomplete, symbolizing the lives of our brave Mount Joy area servicemen and women who proudly served our country and endured the ultimate sacrifice, never being able to complete their path back home to Mount Joy.
Donegal Springs Road Park
This .08 acre park dates back to 1931 where the Waterworks, which is now Mount Joy Borough Authority, built a station that incorporated Mount Joy’s first filtration system and an enclosed water storage tower. The tower was constructed on Donegal Springs Road and was named the Donegal reservoir. In 1952, this reservoir was abandon due to water system upgrades to benefit the water system and Mount Joy Community.Today as you can see, this park is a sitting park with benches, a planting bed and shade trees. Anyone is welcome to come and relax at the small sitting park. Please no littering and keep pets on a leash at all times and clean up after such animal.For Rules and Regulations please visit General Park Rules
Westview Park
In the Summer of 2015 a new basketball court was built by using the funds donated by Mount Joy Country Homes. As part of this project, additional lighting was also added to the parking lot and pavilion. Additional play equipment will be installed in 2016.
The Lakes Park
This 7 acre park was established the summer of 2006. George Desmond, the developer of the Lakes Development, fully funded the project. The park consists of a play structure, pavilion, tennis and basketball courts and a ball field. This is another location where the community will use this park to play baseball / softball games. October 2008 this park was then dedicated to Mount Joy Borough.
Old Stand By Park
A historic manufactured gas plant (MGP), locally known as "Old Standby", was located at 225 West Main Street, Mount Joy. The MGP manufactured gas and conveyed it to the local community for lighting, heating, and industrial purposes. The facility earned the nickname "Old Standby" from local residents for its reliability in keeping the lights on during severe weather conditions. The Mount Joy MGP was constructed around 1879 and operated until about 1951. PPL Electric Utilities' predecessor, the former Pennsylvania Power and Light Company (PP&L), owned the site at 225 West Main Street, Mount Joy, PA from around 1930 through 1948, when it was sold to United Gas Improvements Company (UGI). UGI Utilities, Inc., a subsidiary of UGI and the previous owner of the property, currently operates natural gas regulation and distribution facilities on a portion of the property.Before natural gas was available, MGPs produced gas for public, commercial, and industrial use. These MGPs typically made gas by heating coal or oil, and the gas was used for lighting, heating, and various industrial uses.UGI Utilities (UGI) and PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (PPL) have jointly conducted an environmental investigation from 2012 through 2017, and an Interim Remedial Action (IRA) at the site in 2015, under the oversight of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). The assessment activities included, in part, the collection of soil and groundwater samples for chemical analysis to identify whether constituents from the former MGP operations may be present in soil and/or groundwater. The results of investigations were used to develop the IRA Work Plan, which was submitted to PADEP in March 2015. The IRA included the excavation and off-site treatment/disposal of MGP source areas and readily recoverable contaminants at the site. In order to remove the soils, an adjacent property (223 W. Main Street) with a single- family home located adjacent to the site was purchased by UGI, and the home was demolished due to its close proximity to the excavation area. Approximately 4,095 tons of soils were then excavated and removed from the site during the IRA, and a Certification Report was submitted to PADEP documenting the completion of the work in accordance with the IRA Work Plan. Prior to completing the IRA, UGI installed planned improvements to the local gas distribution system in the Borough. The improvements included the installation of new gas regulating equipment on the UGI property, and the installation of upgraded gas conveyance piping on West Main Street and Fairview Street.UGI and PPL previously indicated to Mount Joy Borough that they were interested in identifying beneficial public reuse alternatives that Mount Joy Borough may deem appropriate for the property. Mount Joy Borough identified a public benefit for creating a public park at this location. Parks provide a great benefit to citizens, both those who live nearby and tourists. In addition to their many environmental benefits, including preserving plant and animal habitat, decreasing air pollution, and water filtration, parks create an economic benefit for municipalities, residents, and businesses. UGI and PPL subsequently provided two conceptual development plans to the Borough depicting the layout of a potential driveway to connect to Hopewell Street, and the creation of a public park. The park contains improved handicap ramps, stamped asphalt throughout, park benches, park lighting, trash and dog receptacles and landscaping to create an inviting environment. Upon completion of the project, Mount Joy Borough accepted Deed of Dedication from UGI, on October 2, 2017, and granted a Utility Easement to UGI for access to their utilities. This park is a commemoration of this important community milestone, and celebrates the early industrial growth of Mount Joy Borough and the rich, native flora of southeastern Pennsylvania.
