Gravity Hill

Pleasant View Road at Wyndamere Road (PA Route 177)
Lewisberry, PA 17339

Gravity hills exist all over the world, with one right in York County just off Interstate 83 near the town of Lewisberry. At the end of Pleasant View Road at the stop sign, with the front of your vehicle facing Wyndamere Road (PA Route 177), put it in neutral, take your foot off the break, and you'll coast backwards - seemingly up the hill.

Two theories explain this strange reaction. The first is supernatural - a bus full of school children supposedly went through the stop sign and over the embankment across the road, killing everyone on board. The spirits of the school children are said to roam the area near the intersection and push cars back up the hill when they are placed in neutral, so they don't roll through the intersection and off the embankment like their bus did. Some visitors to the gravity hill dust the front bumper and edge of the hood with baby powder, and then look for the little handprints after their car rolls backwards up the hill.

The second explanation is a little more science based. All gravity hills are really an optical illusion. You only think you are rolling up hill. Because of the surrounding landscape and angle of Wyndamere Road, it looks as though Pleasant View Road near the intersection goes uphill, when in fact it is on a downward slope.

Note: These are public roads with regular traffic. Be sure to obey all posted signs and use caution when putting your vehicle in neutral and letting it roll.

Recommended Ages: Kids, Teens, Adults, Seniors