There's a conversation that comes up again and again in Ephrata: the downtown we remember, and the downtown we want back. The energy was real. But it's worth asking honestly: Does the lifestyle that made it vibrant exist today?
The answer is: not entirely. The way people shop, socialize, and gather has changed fundamentally. But that’s not cause for despair — it’s cause for a different kind of thinking. Today’s most successful shops and restaurants understand this shift intuitively. They don’t just sell things; they transport you the moment you walk through the door. Experiences matter, whether that’s a perfectly curated boutique, a restaurant that feels like nowhere else, or a trail through the woods on a quiet Tuesday morning. Building the conditions for those kinds of experiences — in storefronts, on trails, and everywhere in between — is exactly what revitalization looks like today.
That’s why the Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve is worth exploring. It represents the kind of thinking that makes a community more attractive to residents, investors, and business owners alike. But before the economic conversation, there’s a more fundamental one: the mountain itself, and our responsibility to care for it.
The Ephrata Mountain has been part of our identity for as long as anyone can remember. Our school district adopted the Ephrata Mountaineer as its mascot. The Borough placed hundreds of its acres in a conservation district. And the natural springs that run deeply under its roots feed the town below, speaking to our rich history of healing waters. Yet as Mainspring noted in its 2023 vision document, available at mainspringofephrata.org, “While we hold this mountain in the highest esteem, little is being done to care for it. It will not stay as it is forever unless we make decisions today to secure this vital asset for tomorrow.”
Mainspring is joined in this effort by the Ephrata Borough Shade Tree Commission, whose mission centers on the conservation and stewardship of shade trees and community open spaces. Together we are working to protect one of our most iconic and valuable resources.
And the mountain needs that protection. Just as lifestyles have evolved, so has its ecology. Tree blights and invasive insects have devastated major species, opening the understory to aggressive invaders. Bush honeysuckle has moved in quickly, outcompeting native vegetation, contributing to soil erosion, driving stormwater runoff problems, and producing berries that offer little nutritional value to native songbirds. The mountain will not remain what it is without intentional, sustained stewardship. That is conservation responding to a real and growing ecological threat.
Conservation and economic development are not competing priorities — they compound each other. The Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve is planned as a passive recreational destination. Not a venue designed to bring hundreds of people rushing in at once, but one that generates a steady, consistent flow of hikers and nature lovers — residents and visitors alike — who find their way downtown for coffee before the trail and lunch after. That steady flow, day after day, is how recreation economies are built.
Meanwhile, Mainspring’s Façade Improvement Grant program has already helped transform seven downtown building fronts in its first round — and a second round, backed by an additional $100,000 in state funding, is now open. Physical improvements and destination strategy work best together. One brings people here. The other gives them something worth coming to Ephrata for.
The mountain has always been ours to steward. This is how we start. Mainspring is currently in the Draft Master Plan stage of the Mountain Springs Recreational Preserve — a process expected to take another four to five months. We invite you to follow along as this exciting project takes shape. Follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter at mainspringofephrata.org to stay up to date.