I trekked out to the White Cliffs of Canoy for an adventure engagement session with Erica and Forrest last month! We were expecting some killer views. I don’t know that I was expecting it to be quite THIS beautiful.

If you’re not familiar with this beautiful place, The White Cliffs of Canoy in Lancaster, PA are rock formations that jut out over the Susquehanna River. The hilly landscape provides incredible opportunities to explore. A short hike via a paved path along the river makes it just enough adventure for any newly engaged couples looking to enjoy an epic sunset… with a third wheel (me!)

I’ve become obsessed with the strange history of the White Cliffs of Canoy. The White Cliffs are not true cliffs, but byproducts of a once booming limestone plant. The quarry hit its peak during WWI and is now abandoned. Along the trail leading to the crumbly white remnants, you can see the ruins of Billmyer, the ghost town built up (and brought down) around the limestone industry. Now, nature is reclaiming what was once stolen away from it. From fish to bald eagles, the Susquehanna delivers.

Even with the wildlife and the views pining for most epic thing to appear in a photo (that’s an award, right?), what makes this area so special for me is the irony. Despite the name and the romantic light, the cliffs are manmade accidents. Industrial waste, but make it gorgeous. No matter how many times I made Forrest lean against the walls, I kept being surprised at how dusty and crumbly the land is. Eventually, these beautiful cliffs will be gone, and the river will be just as it was before we tinkered with it. Call me weird but that seems like a beautiful, unusual juxtaposition— something I’d love to photograph again and again.