The source is at an elevation of 1,100 feet (340 m) near Mount Gretna Heights in Lebanon County.

The mouth is the confluence with the Susquehanna River at an elevation of 230 feet (70 m) at Marietta in Lancaster County.

[2] The name of the creek comes from the Lenape Chiquesalunga, meaning "place of crayfish".

The Chickies Creek watershed has a total area of 126 square miles (330 km2) and is part of the larger Chesapeake Bay drainage basin.

[5] Five covered bridges cross the creek in Lancaster County: