The Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve includes overlooks with sweeping views of the Susquehanna River (Photo by Greg Smolin)
Hellam Township, Pa. – In honor of late York entrepreneurial business leader Robert A. Kinsley, the Lancaster Conservancy Board has named a 797-acre nature preserve in the Hellam Hills Conservation Area the Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve. The preserve dedication honors Kinsley’s passion for history and conservation, his integrity, his charitable commitments, and his love of nature and animals.
Robert A. Kinsley, known as Bob Kinsley, was a renowned York business leader who founded Kinsley Construction in 1963. Today Kinsley Construction is among the top 10 employers in York County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. The company grew and expanded dramatically over the years into the Kinsley Enterprises. Bob Kinsley and the Kinsley Enterprises have had a huge positive impact on York County.
In his youth, Bob Kinsley lived in Wrightsville. He loved to tell the story of riding his horse along the Susquehanna up to Wildcat Falls, into the area that will now bear his name. He married Anne Whalen Kinsley, and they raised a strong family with a remarkable reputation for integrity, entrepreneurship, and conservation. In permanently naming a nature preserve after Robert A. Kinsley, the Conservancy recognizes his enduring contribution to York County and the broader community. Bob Kinsley always claimed his success was because of the partnership with his employees and the York community.
“In 2018 I called Bob Kinsley to ask if he could help us buy a 103-acre forested tract adjacent to our newly acquired 587-acre Hellam Hills Nature Preserve. An auction was announced with only two weeks’ notice, and we had no time to raise money,” said Phil Wenger, the Conservancy’s former President and CEO. “Bob attended the auction incognito, staying out of sight, and he bought the property on behalf of the Conservancy, as we texted back and forth during the bidding. He then donated a large percentage of the purchase back to the Conservancy. He was delighted we were protecting one of the last truly wild areas of York County.”
Fritz Schroder and Anne W. Kinsley celebrate the ribbon cutting for the Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve (Photo by Greg Smolin)
“Some of Bob’s happiest moments were when he was out in nature. Whether it was riding a horse across the farm, hiking in nature with his dogs even when it was raining, or walking along a trout stream, he was a happy man. He was completely committed to land preservation, and I believe he would be especially proud that by preserving this land, it will be available to anyone who, like him, treasures the opportunities to experience it,” said Anne W. Kinsley.
“My grandpa faithfully sought to improve the quality of life for his employees and his community. He believed that people find inspiration and happiness while in nature, just as he did, so he always strived to preserve nature for the benefit of others. These attributes are what I have learned to respect most about my grandpa, and I hope to help continue his mission throughout my life,” said Robert (Bobby) M. Kinsley, a Conservancy board member.
Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve, formerly called Hellam Hills Nature Preserve, includes dramatic bluffs, streams, wetlands, and forests that provide habitat for a variety of wildlife. The preserve includes Buzzards Roost, an overlook that offers spectacular views of the Susquehanna River, as well as Wildcat Bluff, a towering rock outcropping. The regional Mason-Dixon Trail winds its way through this preserve and provides opportunities for hikers to expand their excursion through the area.
This nature preserve is part of the Hellam Hills Conservation Area, which stretches from just north of Wrightsville to the Codorus Creek and encompasses over 1,000 acres of contiguous forests including Wizard Ranch Nature Preserve and Roundtop, which the Conservancy announced plans to acquire in 2023. Since 2015, the Conservancy has acquired and protected over 3,000 acres in York County along the Susquehanna River, which includes nine of its 50 nature preserves.
Wildcat Bluff in the Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve (Photo by Simone Collins)
“Hellam Hills Conservation Area is a remarkable landscape. Our stewardship team has worked tirelessly over the last 18 months to build and restore trails in the area with a particular focus on the Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve. Access to nature is one of the Conservancy’s priorities, and this location offers several beautiful trails and two vistas of the Susquehanna River. This is a preserve you must visit!” said the Conservancy’s President and CEO Fritz Schroeder. “We are incredibly grateful for the Kinsley family’s passion for conservation and leadership in York County.”
Over the next two years, the Conservancy will be building additional parking and trails while also taking steps to restore the ecological health of the preserve.
For those who would like to visit the newly renamed Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve, limited shoulder parking is available at the intersection of Furnace Road and Chimney Rock Road, and the Mason-Dixon Trail can be accessed by parking along the shoulder at the intersection of Furnace Road and River Drive. Please respect the preserve’s neighbors and do not block the road.
