Saturday, July 26, 2008

#11 Ride a Rail Trail

It only took over half the summer but we finally tackled one of the items on the "101 Things to do in Central Pennsylvania" list. We packed up the bikes and kids and headed to York to ride the Heritage Rail Trail. The trail starts in York and runs 21 miles south to the Maryland border.

There are three historic structures located on the trail; this is Howard Tunnel, the oldest operating railroad tunnel in the United States.

The trail runs through several quaint towns like New Freedom, Glen Rock, Hanover Junction and Seven Valleys where we ran across these larger-than -life bikes.

Next stop: The Serenity Station in Seven Valleys. Great place to grab some lunch or do a little boutique shopping.

We turned around at Hanover Junction where you are greeted by this funky artwork.


In total, we rode 15 miles on crushed stone paths that were packed and flat. The trail is well-maintained and well-marked. In a slight twist of rail trails, this trail actually runs beside a working railroad track. It's a short drive from the Harrisburg area to this little slice of heaven.

1 comment:

CampHillGirl said...

Thanks for this tip. I think we might try it this weekend--bike trips are great. Our old neighborhood had a trail at the end of our road, which was so easy, so we have to be more intentional and creative now.