Have you ever wondered how tall Chickies Rock is? Or what the White Cliffs of Conoy are made of? Wonder no more. If you're out on a local trail, the answers to these questions and many more are right at your fingertips. The Susquehanna National Heritage Area (NHA) recently partnered with students at Franklin & Marshall College to create an interactive mobile app that helps visitors explore historical, geological and natural facts along area trails.

"When the pandemic shut down our facilities, outdoor recreation was still incredibly popular," said Hope Byers, director of Columbia Crossing River Trails Center, which is managed by Susquehanna NHA. "We were figuring out a way to direct people to what was available to them, but we couldn't talk to them in person. Normally, we give out a lot of paper guides, but we couldn't do that." Instead, Byers and Megan Salvatore, visitor services representative, created a custom map of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail on the Google Maps platform. In early 2021, they were contacted by Franklin & Marshall College about developing a mobile app.

Professor Ed Novak led a computer science course that taught students how to create fully functional Android app prototypes for community partners, Byers stated. Susquehanna NHA applied to participate and was chosen as one of four projects. "Our goal was to take the popular Google Map and expand it beyond a single trail so visitors and residents would have a single-source trail information app," she said.

Byers and Salvatore worked on expanding information to include in the app while the F&M students - Rafael Silva, Waleed Kamal Butt, Molly Sproul, Quang Anh Tran and Thu Do - developed the code. "It was obvious that these were passionate, dedicated students," said Byers. "They managed the project so professionally and really treated it as if I was their client. They taught me how to use tools to keep the app functioning, send notifications and walked me through the app launch. Susquehanna NHA is so grateful for their dedication to create not just a prototype but a live application."

Features of the app include trail information such as access areas, parking, restroom facilities and heritage sites. Notifications about trail updates, construction or trail conditions can be sent out to users as well. "You can also interact with us," said Byers. "If you're on a trail and you notice that a tree is down, or you see an invasive species, you can report a problem to us directly through the app."

The app is currently only available for Android phones, but Byers said she hopes to be able to add it for Apple users in the future. For now, Apple users can access the custom Google Map by clicking on "Explore" and then "SNHA Maps & Guides" at http://www.susquehannaheritage.org. Android users can access the app by searching for "Susquehanna NHA Trails" in the Google Play store.