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About York County Star Party
Your friendly local Star Party
Note the New Location: Susquehannock State Park, 1880 Park Dr, Drumore, PA 17518
REGISTRATION IS NOW LIVE!
CAMPING FEES INCLUDED
PLEASE NOTE: THE PARK SUPERVISORS PUT A TRIAL LIMIT OF 100 REGISTRATIONS INTO FORCE, IN ORDER TO PROTECT THIS BEAUTIFUL PARK. ONCE FULL, THAT'S IT. PLEASE DON'T PROCRASTINATE. IT'S NOT IN MY HANDS.
CAUTION!
This is Amish Country. Beware of buggies while driving on these roads
FOR UPDATES, PLEASE JOIN THE GIO GROUP: https://groups.io/g/YCSP
The Event
The York County Star Party (YCSP) is an annual dark-sky amateur astronomy observing event. Held every year, and it lasts four fun filled days and nights,
2020 dates
Our first star party will be for the Memorial Day weekend - Friday May 22 to Monday May 25
This will be a no frills star party, you may want to bring your food with you. Starts Friday noon and ends Monday 2 pm.
YCSP Main Star Party begins Wednesday, Sep 16 at noon and ends Sunday, Sep 20 at 2 pm.
This will be with speakers and food available from Busybee.
PLEASE NOTE: If weather is less than optimal for observing for Saturday night, we may complete talks and activities by dinnertime Saturday, and people may choose to head home.
PLEASE join YCSP GIO group where you can meet most participants, and stay up-to-date on current info. To join YCSP GIO Group click here or copy paste this link into your browser: https://groups.io/g/YCSP
The York County Star Party (YCSP) is an annual dark-sky amateur astronomy observing event. Held every year, and it lasts four fun filled days and nights,
2020 dates
Our first star party will be for the Memorial Day weekend - Friday May 22 to Monday May 25
This will be a no frills star party, you may want to bring your food with you. Starts Friday noon and ends Monday 2 pm.
YCSP Main Star Party begins Wednesday, Sep 16 at noon and ends Sunday, Sep 20 at 2 pm.
This will be with speakers and food available from Busybee.
PLEASE NOTE: If weather is less than optimal for observing for Saturday night, we may complete talks and activities by dinnertime Saturday, and people may choose to head home.
PLEASE join YCSP GIO group where you can meet most participants, and stay up-to-date on current info. To join YCSP GIO Group click here or copy paste this link into your browser: https://groups.io/g/YCSP
2019 Star Party photo above.
Location:
New location - Susquehannock State Park
(use 1880 Park Dr, Drumore, PA 17518 for your GPS or the coordinates given below) and a Bortle Class 4 darksky location as per Lightpollutionmap.info. The location is on the bank of Susquehanna River, off US 1, North of MD border in Lancaster County PA. It is, a convenient site with easy access to many mid-Atlantic cities including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Delaware, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, NOVA and Washington DC. Seeing is better than all the previous YCSP sites and sometimes excellent. Light pollution is not a serious issue. You can see the majestic Milky-way quite well.
Click here to open in Google Maps
GPS: Latitude: 39.805026 Longitude: -76.282828
Star Party contact: 717-891-8380 or email starpartyphil@comcast.net.
Directions
You can also Google "Susquehannock State Park PA"
Facilities
This is probably the best site we’ve ever had. It is dark. It has toilets, electric and water. And there is a large pavilion.
This site is flat and has a decent horizon. Situated at an elevation about 500 feet above above the river, any lighting is hidden by the trees.
Cell phone coverage is good, depending on your carrier.
THE BUSY BEE has been the catering vendor, and offers an excellent menu at reasonable prices. They will be at the SEPTEMBER party the entire time this year! Hooray Andrea and crew!
NOTE: THE BUSY BEE WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR THE SEPTEMBER PARTY
I AM ACTIVELY SEARCHING FOR A FOOD VENDOR FOR THE MAY PARTY
BBQ grills are available, charcoal dump stations are provided, campstoves are permitted. No ground fires permitted. I have some other alternatives I am considering offering.
There are also numerous eateries a few miles away.
(Considering I put a party together in about 3 months last year, and in 3 WEEKS the year before, this should be easy...)
Please also read "Rules and FAQ's" Page for more details.
Location:
New location - Susquehannock State Park
(use 1880 Park Dr, Drumore, PA 17518 for your GPS or the coordinates given below) and a Bortle Class 4 darksky location as per Lightpollutionmap.info. The location is on the bank of Susquehanna River, off US 1, North of MD border in Lancaster County PA. It is, a convenient site with easy access to many mid-Atlantic cities including Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Delaware, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, NOVA and Washington DC. Seeing is better than all the previous YCSP sites and sometimes excellent. Light pollution is not a serious issue. You can see the majestic Milky-way quite well.
Click here to open in Google Maps
GPS: Latitude: 39.805026 Longitude: -76.282828
Star Party contact: 717-891-8380 or email starpartyphil@comcast.net.
Directions
You can also Google "Susquehannock State Park PA"
Facilities
This is probably the best site we’ve ever had. It is dark. It has toilets, electric and water. And there is a large pavilion.
This site is flat and has a decent horizon. Situated at an elevation about 500 feet above above the river, any lighting is hidden by the trees.
Cell phone coverage is good, depending on your carrier.
THE BUSY BEE has been the catering vendor, and offers an excellent menu at reasonable prices. They will be at the SEPTEMBER party the entire time this year! Hooray Andrea and crew!
NOTE: THE BUSY BEE WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR THE SEPTEMBER PARTY
I AM ACTIVELY SEARCHING FOR A FOOD VENDOR FOR THE MAY PARTY
BBQ grills are available, charcoal dump stations are provided, campstoves are permitted. No ground fires permitted. I have some other alternatives I am considering offering.
There are also numerous eateries a few miles away.
(Considering I put a party together in about 3 months last year, and in 3 WEEKS the year before, this should be easy...)
Please also read "Rules and FAQ's" Page for more details.