Heritage Rail Trail County Park:
Pennsylvania
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Description:
The York County Heritage Rail Trail is one of eight parks within the York County Department of Parks and Recreation. Winding through the very heart of York County. The trail extends over twenty miles, connecting Maryland's Northern Central Railroad Trail with the historic district of York, PA.

The trail is a 10 foot wide compacted stone surface designed for hiking, bicycling, running, horseback riding as well as winter sports such as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Adjacent to the trail is an active rail line, the Northern Central Railway.
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Parking & Trail Access:
Parking is available in city of York on Pershing Avenue between Market and Philadelphia. The Trailhead is at Colonial Courthouse. Parking is available in the vicinty of the Colonial Courthouse.

Hanover Junction: Interstate 83 to the Loganville Exit #3. Follow signs to 214. Take 214 West. Continue on 214 West for approximately 5 miles to 616 South. Follow 616 South. Rail/Trail parking lot is approximately 1 mile on the left. Alternate Route: Take 30 to 616 S. Hanover Junction is approx. 6 1/2 miles on the left.

Glen Rock: Interstate 83 to Glen Rock Exit #2. Follow 216 West for approx. 4 1/2 miles to Glen Rock. Right on to Water St. Cross railroad tracks and turn right to follow tracks for approx. 1/10 mile to Rial/Trail parking lot.

Railroad: Interstate 83 to Shrewsbury Exit #1. West on 851. Rail/Trail parking lot is about 2 miles on the right.

New Freedom: Interstate 83 to Shrewsbury Exit #1. West on 851 to Railroad Borough. Left onto West 851. 1 1/2 mile to New Freedom Borough. Rail/Trail parking lot at Front and Franklin Streets (at the old train station).
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Seasonal Restrictions:
The trail is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to dusk.
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Reviews: [2 trail ratings]
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One of the best
By jmcginnis11 on February 05, 2010
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.
Very nice trail
By cmefix on September 14, 2009
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.
This trail is the best thing to happen to York County
By pagrunner on August 21, 2008
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.