We only did 16 miles from York to Serenity Station - great condition, fantastic scenery, lovely weather.

My wife and I took a short ride on the York County Heritage Rail Trail, from the Brillhart Station parking area to Glatfelters Station (about 7.5 miles round-trip). The trail is in excellent condition, and it is among the best trails we've been on. We look forward to returning to enjoy the entire trail.

I only peddled a 10 mile round trip on Saturday after Bible College class with my grand-son. I would have gone for more but he was tired due to him riding a 20 inch trick bike with only single speed. The trail was clear even though the week before, we had TS Irene come through. A very nice ride and lots of friendly people on the trail. I will rode this trail again as the season changes to view all of God's glorious colors of Fall.

I live in York County and have biked this trail at least 100 times. The grading on the trail is relatively flat, however, I suggest starting in Seven Valleys, PA and traveling south to New Freedom and then turning around and heading back. There is a slight grade of about 1 to 1.5% heading south. With a heavy mountain bike and the crushed limestone for resistance, you can definitely tell you are you going up hill. If you start in Seven Valleys and head south, it is flat until you get to Glen Rock when you get that slight grade. That grade continues until New Freedom. When you turn around it is downhill.

I much prefer to ride uphill to start and then downhill at the end of the ride. If you start at SEven
Valleys and go to the last exit on the trail you will do 10 miles and then it is 10 miles back - so that is a nice 20 mile ride.

North of Seven Valleys is pretty much flat and you can ride north all the way into the city of York. The city is a great place to visit on the weekends - the trail takes you right into downtown, with restaurants like the White Rose, and on Saturday mornings Central Market.

Mile marker 20/21 takes you through an area of the city between Kings Mill and W. Market Street where you should not stray off the trail - as that is not the greatest neighborhood. Penn Park which is a few streets over on West College avenue is NOT the kind of park you want to walk through no matter how nice it looks from above on Google Maps.

There is a cool restaurant in Seven Valleys called Serenity Station - but they have limited hours now that they are trying to sell the place so I would call ahead and make sure they are open.

There is a bathroom at Serenity Station in Seven Valleys (if they are open), a bathroom at Hanover Junction, a port-a-potty in Railroad and a bathroom in New Freedom (along with a little restaurant as well).

You can ride the trail into Maryland - but New Freedom is kind of the top of the trail - it is all downhill into Maryland - probably 2% or 3% grade - so remember you have to come back up!

I did this trail last week and had a great ride. About a month ago I did the Torrey C. Brown Trail and even though the two trails and connected they a so different, both are very good rides. I road from Freedom MD. all the way to York PA. This trail is family friendly and I saw quite a few Road bikes. There is a canape most of the way so it is a great ride on a hot sunny day. On the way back from York there is a very step grade from Glen Rock to New Freedom about five miles, back in the day they needed a helper to push the trains up the grade. This trail is a gem and is really well maintained no standing water at all. From New Freedom all the way to York there is a working rail line and they have done a great job a all the crossing points. I did this on a Friday after noon and there was a fair amount of traffic on the trail. The high point of the ride for me was the Howard tunnel, it is the oldest RR tunnel in continues use in the United States. There a lot of historical markers along the trail and if your a history buff you will love them.

My eleven year old son and I have completed the York Heritage Rail Trail in three rides over the last two weekends, and the experience has been just grand. This trail has it all...a wonderful surface for cyclists and walkers, many concrete bridges with great views, a wide horse trail, great signage, historical makers, and so much more. It has frequent covered picnic tables and benches, as well as parking areas with the necessary amenities. The YHRT has museums, murals in almost every town along the trail, restored train stations complete with old train cars, a wonderful 100M tunnel, many restaurants within site of the trail, and even a cafe virtually ON the trail at Serenity Station. In York city the trail runs along the Codorus Creek, and is paved and lined with trees. If I squint my eyes it reminds me of Rome along the Tiber river with its many bridges and tree lined path. OK, I had to squint really hard, but still, it is a beautiful rail trail end to end, with many, many great photo opportunities. The trail is convenient to Philadelphia, Baltimore, Harrisburg, and Lancaster because of its proximity to the major interstate highways of 81, 83, 15, 30, and 76 (PA Turnpike). One note...the guide literature says that the elevation only changes about 450 feet from New Freedom to York, but be aware that MOST of that elevation change takes place between Glen Rock and New Freedom. Not that it is a tough climb (it is a rail trail after all), but it is continuous and may put you in the bottom half of your middle sprocket. On the other hand, the climb is very picturesque, towering over the surrounding landscape in places, and wonderfully quiet - except for your own, heavy breathing.

Stretching through picturesque southern York County, the Heritage Rail Trail County Park is one of the best greenways in this part of the country. After starting in downtown York, the trail follows the Codorus Creek to the city limits, then passes several industrial areas, which, while not aesthetically pleasing, nonetheless highlight the city's heritage as a manufacturing hub. Factories quickly give way to serene woodlands, bucolic farms and small towns a little further south, and dominate the trail's landscape for the remainder of the distance to the Mason Dixon Line and beyond. Highlights include the pictureqsue viaduct over Twin Arch Road, historical Howard Tunnel and the restored train stations in Hanover Junction, and New Freedom, and the beautiful, aptly named village of Railroad, which is nestled deep in a wooded hollow and features numerous old buildings. Although the rail line that parallels the trail is currently inactive, a company is currently purusing the possibility of opening a tourist train in the next couple years, and there have also been proposals to revive freight service. These plans, if successful, should not affect trail use, and, to the contrary, will be another great addition and tribute to the corridor's railroad heritage.

We took a ride on this trail, the Friday, over the 4th of July weekend. We started out in York so the scenery does not start to get nice until the first stop on the trail, although it was still a nice way to start the ride. This is pretty much a mountain bike trail as it is crushed stone all the way to the Maryland border. The trail itself was well taken care of, clean and well marked. Most of the trail is tree covered with sections that open up to completely no cover at all. It was really nice to ride past the little towns the trail crosses and to hit up the one rest area with food/water, as we ran out of water on our return trip. If you have the time as we did drive to the Railroad or New Freedom parking lots and ride the trail into Maryland. Its packed dirt but you get to ride downhill and the trail is narrow with shrubs on both sides before it opens up about a mile or so. The ride back is up hill and seemed to take forever so be prepared.

I use the trail 4 or 5 times a week to jog or bike. Everyday I see more and more people enjoying the lovely scenery and peacefulness of the trail and at the same time doing something good for their health. I have a question because on this site it says there is an active rail line and there have been no trains on this trail for over 7 years and the last train was a dinner train that ran only on weekends. This went out of business.
This is of concern because if they started to try and revive the rail line, this would greatly impact the trails safety and quality.

This trail is well maintained (at least the PA portion, I've not yet gone below the MD line); and the railroad museum and cafe in New Freedom is a welcome and comfortable rest stop. Like all railroad lines, the trail is flat, so I think it can get a little ho-hum for long bike rides, but for walking or running it's great - partly shaded, interesting scenery, and used by both locals and visitors.

"This trail is one of the best maintained in the state. I started at Railroad and biked up to York. What I enjoyed about the trail was the scenery that wound through several hamlets and crossed several creeks. I especially enjoy the cafe that is about half way between the state line and York. I saw little in the way of four-legged wildlife, but did see a few orioles nd blue jays.
South into Maryland, it is still a decent trail, but one can tell that it is not as well maintained as the northern part of the trail."

"I agree with all the previous reviewers. The Serenity Station was a wonderful stop. Unfortunatly, we did make it to New Freedom. We didn't have time to go down and back, so we went from York to Hanover Junction and back again. Kicking myself for forgetting the camera. It was a great ride."

"We rode this trail on 4/28/07 from York to New Freedom and back. The trail was in excellent condition, and the scenery and history were great. We stopped for lunch at Serenity Station in Seven Valleys (about half way between York and New Freedom), and as several reviewers have already said, this is a wonderful lunch spot. It is in a historic general store with some interesting Civil War history that you can read about inside. It also includes a bike repair shop and bike rentals. It is exactly the kind of business that really enhances a Rail-to-Trail, so we wanted to support it. In fact, we enjoyed our lunch there so much that after we bicycled back to York, we returned to Seven Valleys by car to eat dinner there! (They have a top-notch chef and it was very good -- high cuisine.)

There also is a cafe at the old train station in New Freedom that looks nice, but we did not eat there since we had already eaten at Serenity Station."

Oh yes what a very nice trail. I rode this trail around 4 years ago. I rode the whole distance. Me and my friend are from south Jersey. We drove to york pa. and parked. Then we got our road bikes ready and the rode to Marayland we rode on a Saturday and back ona sunday. it was a nice summer weekend. not to hot and not to cold just perfect for a weekend ride.

"I've ridden this trail 3 times so far, once in 1999, once in 2001, and again last week on 8/23/2006. They've done a lot of work on the trail since the last time I was there...the Brillhart Station parking lot was just dirt and gravel last time I parked there in '01. Here's an review of the trail:

Overall the trail itself is in great shape, nice and smooth with no ruts or potholes...the trail gets used alot and the surface is really hardpacked and ""fast""..it'd be OK to use a roadbike on it. The three most distinguishing features about the trail are the Howard Tunnel at around mile 15, the railroad tracks running beside the trail for it's entire length, and the sheer number of road and railroad track crossings along the trail. I didn't count the number of roads the trail crossed, but according to their map it looks like around 11-12 at least. They are mostly 2-lane ""country"" roads, not that heavily traveled, but some have very limited sightlines. They recommend walking across the road crossings, and in some places this would be a good idea...especially the Indian Rock Dam Road crossing, I think the speed limit there is around 35-40mph and with limited sightlines it could be pretty dangerous.

At it's north end (Mile 21.1)in downtown York the trail starts near the waterfront and some historic structures such as the colonial courthouse. For the first 1 1/2-2 miles it goes through an industrial section of town, until it goes past a golf course....after the golf course the trail gets more secluded. The Brillhart Station parking lot at mile 17 was the most popular place to park along the trail that I saw, lots of space to park there and it was only 2 miles away from the tunnel. This lot had a portajohn at it, and had maps of the trail available too.

The Howard Tunnel at around mile 15 was fun to ride through, it's a short 300 foot tunnel so you don't need a light to ride through it. There is a National Register Of Historic Places plaque on the inside wall of it, and stones above each keystone marking it as built in 1840 and rebuilt 1866. They have an historical sign describing the tunnel just to the south of it; they also have historical signs along the length of trail in other places describing the history of the railroad.

After the tunnel the trail goes through the woodlands and past farms. At Mile 11 there is the Seven Valleys trail parking lot, and right next to the trail here they have 3-4 giant sized metal bicycle sculptures. Just past Seven Valleys further south there is a really nice trailside bicycle rental/deli cafe/wellness center called Serenity Station, a good place to get something to eat or drink. At Mile 10.5 there is the Hanover Junction Station parking lot, the station building has a ""real"" bathroom here, and some tables outside too. There is also a man and horse sculpture here made out of metal tubing and bicycle parts, next to the station.

At Mile 6.25 in Glen Rock there's a gravel parking lot near the Glen Rock Mill Inn, and a bicycle shop right next to the trail. Further south in Railroad at Mile 3 there is a paved trail parking across the street from the Jackson House Bed & Breakfast.

New Freedom at Mile 1.5 was somewhat of a disapointment from the last time I visited it. Last time I was there they still had the tourist railroad (that ran to York and back) operating and you could ride past the railroad cars in town. Now, the tourist railroad is no longer in business, and the tracks are empty. There is however the station there which has been converted into a nice cafe, and there are two restaurants right next to the trail in town. There is also a restored caboose next to the station, and three old dilapidated cabooses near the trail.

Heading south out of New Freedom the trail goes downhill at around 1-2% grade until it reaches the Mason-Dixon Line. Here, they have a small pavillion setup with maps of both the Heritage Rail Trail heading north, and the Northern Central Railroad Trail heading south into Maryland.

The Heritage Rail Trail has a very slight uphill grade heading from York south towards New Freedom. I barely noticed it starting out at Brillhart Station and going down to New Freedom, but could feel it was easier pedaling on the way back and heading north on the trail. "

"Fabulous scenery through woods and old farmland, great B&B at halfway point in Railroad,PA (Jackson House)."

"Opened Serenity-Station on 5/6/05 between mile marker 11 & 12 in Seven Valleys. Great place to break for a drink, food, or snack [formerly Elmer's Grocery]. Also have a bike shop for rentals, sales, or repairs; and a Wellness Center for chair or full massages. Check us out when riding the Heritage Rail Trail!"

"In Seven Valleys PA there is a small rest stop that caters to trail users. It is called Serenity-Station. The owners are very nice and the food is great. They have everything from meals to ice cream, again they were great."

I found this trail to be just what the doctor ordered. It's easy enough for the family and yet demanding enough if you set a pace that causes you to work up a real sweat. I would ride the trail in good weather 3 times a week and put on about 100 miles a week. I have also done the Maryland side and it is also a great place to ride.

"From York, PA to Ashton, MD, I found the entire trail to be delightful. Lots of variety was what pleased me most. Woods, farms, streams, towns, backyards, frontyards, wildlife, solitude, hustle and bustle, historic buildings, etc. The scene and scenery keep changing. The trail surface is excellent and the gentle grade up to New Freedom from north or south is easy for beginners. I rate this trail A-1."

"I rode from Freeland, Maryland, to Hanover Junction and back this past weekend. This is a great trail. It's uphill to New Freedom and then generally downhill to Hanover Junction.

The surface is pretty good throughout and there are nicely restored stations at Hanover Junction and New Freedom (with a small restaurant).

Be careful at the several busy road crossings, some of which have limited lines of sight."

"This is a great trail. All beautifully maintained and a lovely crushed stone, all-weather surface. Great scenery all the way and right into the heart of York. I parked at Hanover Junction for a wonderful 20-mile round trip north to York."

"We road this trail on May 25, 2003 and had a great time. This was our first trail ride. The trail was in good shape and wide enough to ride side by side in most areas.

We started at the second lot south of the MD/PA line on the Northern Central Railroad Trail and road to York, PA (about 27 miles). There was plenty of scenery and seclusion. The trail has plenty of access to restaurants, food stores and even a bike shop.

To our surprise, we enjoyed riding all the way to the end of the trail in York. The ride through town was very picturesque. I would ride this again if there weren't many others we want to try. The trail surface and grade are great for beginners."

"This is an easy, flat ride (to Railroad, at least) with beautiful scenery. Mountain and hybrid bikes are recommended although we saw all kinds of two-wheelers. Bring your own food as places to buy snacks are not numerous."

"We took a family ride from York to Elmer's store & back. It was lovely, well maintained trail. Next time I would park at the first lot south of York because the first couple of miles going south out of York are urban & not very nice. Don't miss the tunnel. Elmer's is a great place to stop for food & a cool drink. It's right on the trail & mostly populated with other bikers. Can't wait to do the southern end!"

this trail i do recommend. did the whole ride. good place to stay is THE JACKSON HOUSE in RAILROAD PA very friendly looking for lunch try PAESANO'S in NEW FREEDOM. The ride has a small tunnel. I didn't see any water to drink on the trail
FRED

"Ian Fortier & friend, Jeremy stopped in today and told of this website. It was nice to see our shop mentioned. We are happy to answer any questions or help in any way to assist trail users to make it a memorable day. Happy Trails!"

Here is a quick tip for this trail. New Freedom is the high point of the trail. From there you can go south for a few miles with very little effort! I have not tried going north of New Freedom yet but was told there is a slight downgrade in that direction too. ENJOY!

"This trail connects with the North Central Railroad trail mentioned in the Maryland listing. We did that part last year and picked up where we left off at New Freedom, PA. Last year, we had stopped at the Trail Mix restaurant. While it's listed on this page, sadly, the restaurant is being replaces by an Italian one. Too bad, because Trail Mix catered to cyclists. Anyway, New Freedom is 1.5 miles north along the Heritage Trail. A dinner excursion train is based there and the tracks run all the way to York. There's a bike shop not too far away from the old train station in New Freedom if you're in need of something before starting out. Also, there's a few places to pick up something to eat along the way. There's adequate parking at the old train station off of Franklin street. We proceeded north and first came to Railroad, PA. There's a good parking lot here as well if the New Freedom one is full. There are adequate restroom facilities along the trail and plenty of places to either rest and pull out a snack or drink that you've brought along. But, there aren't as many places to fill up water, so bring plenty. The trail is 10 feet wide and although it was a bit crowded the day we rode, there's plenty of room to manuever. As far as food goes, at Glen Rock, there's Mama's Pizza. While we didn't stop there, we did see folks who had grabbed some Italian Ice and were taking a rest from the trail. Then at around Mile 12 (Seven Valleys), there's Elmers store. This place was a welcome sight on the way back because it was in the 80s and we definitely needed to cool down. Located right by the trail, Elmers has shaded tables, a portable restroom, and plenty of food/drink. About mile 15, you go through the Howard Tunnel - very cool. As with much of the trail, it continues though the scenic PA country side. Long straight stretches run through a good portion as well. We did have to cross the tracks back and forth fairly often, though. Believe the Codorus Creek follows alongside the trail and makes for some nice scenery as well. As we got close to the end, the trail becomes paved for the last mile and we entered into an area of arching trees as we came into York, PA. At the end is a decent-sizd parking lot and has a map of York with a list and location of facilities. We were looking for a bike shop called Kickstands which also had food. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and much of the town was closed. But we did find the White Rose Bar and Grill open with good deli sandwiches. The trail surface is fine gravel and dirt, no rocks and not bumpy. So most any type of bike will do. Families will find the trail enjoyable as well. So, overall a nice trail, especially if it's the first one of the year."