Find the top rated trails in Elizabethtown, whether you're looking an easy walking path or a long bike trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Note: Per the York County website, "A section of the Heritage Rail Trail County Park will be closed starting March 21, 2016. The closure will begin at the Colonial Courthouse in York, south to...
Swatara Creek runs through the vast woodlands of Swatara State Park in eastern Pennsylvania. Bear Hole Trail traces the eastern side of the waterway, while the Swatara Rail-Trail runs along the other...
Currently a 1.75-mile section of the trail is open from 8:00 am to dusk. The trail runs parallel to Rosedale Avenue in Laureldale Borough on the former corridor of the East Penn Branch Railroad. The...
The Chester County Parks & Recreation Department opened this trail in 1979 on part of a former Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way. Today the 2.6-mile trail attracts more than 125,000 visitors each...
The discovery of anthracite coal in the Tremont area of Pennsylvania shaped commerce and development well into the 1800s. The Union Canal was constructed in the 1820s to connect the Schuylkill and...
Originally the Reading & Columbia Railroad, this branch of the Reading Railroad was built to haul anthracite coal to Columbia where it was loaded into barges on the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal for...
The Enola Low-Grade Trail (formerly the Atglen-Susquehanna Trail) is open for nearly 29 miles in disconnected segments between the Susquehanna River and Atglen in southeastern Pennsylvania. It follows...
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Just short of a mile in length, the Mill Creek Trail follows the south bank of the stream for which it is named in the suburbs east of Lancaster. Paved with a surface of compact woodchips, the...
Two small sections of the Schuylkill River Trail have been constructed in Ontelaunee Township immediately north and south of Leesport in southeastern Pennsylvania. Both portions of the trail have a...
Maryland's Susquehanna State Park is recognized for challenging hiking and biking trails, camping facilities, rock outcroppings, boating, a museum and restored historical sites. But none of these...
The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail is one of the best hiking and biking trails in the Mid-Atlantic region. It allows for nearly 20 miles of flat travel, punctuated by a number of access points and an...
This is a pleasant one mile community trail which begins right at the center of Red Lion, PA. The main trailhead is on Main St. at the restored MA&PA train station, which now is home to the Red Lion...
The first section of the Elizabethtown Connector Trail officially opened in May 2015. Although just shy of a mile this trail provides such beautiful scenery that you'll feel like you could stay...
The Angelica Creek Trail, in Reading's suburbs, begins at a scenic stretch of the Schuylkill River Trail, then goes south along the river a short distance before heading northwest toward Angelica...
This gently winding trail in Pine Grove Furnace State Park passes along the shores of two lakes and through the woodlands of Michaux State Forest. Pine Grove Furnace began operating in 1764 to take...
Part of Manheim Township's growing network of multi-use greenways, the Manheim Township Bikeway begins off Kissel Hill Road, immediately north of the intersection with Landis Valley Road. Heading...
This lovely, relatively flat dirt path runs through the Roaring Creek Tract of the Weiser State Forest. Here, the south tributary of Roaring Creek cuts through the forest, pooling into three large...
This trail is not offically part of the Lancaster County Park system. It runs next to the Conestoga River at Sunnyside. The one end of the trail is at Lancaster County Central Park. Although there is...
The Jonathan Eshenour Memorial Trail, named for a local resident who died in a bicycling accident, offers a safe paved route through Derry and nearby communities. It begins in a rural area just south...
The Thun Trail (pronounced "tune") is part of the Schuylkill River Trail System. Large railroad bridges, built in 1918, provide impressive views of the Schuylkill River and the surrounding hills....
Less than an hour west of Philadelphia, the East Branch Brandywine Trail begins south of Downingtown and continues south along its namesake river. The paved trail passes through meadows and wooded...
Just short of a mile in length, the Mill Creek Trail follows the south bank of the stream for which it is named in the suburbs east of Lancaster. Paved with a surface of compact woodchips, the...
The Cumberland Valley Rail Trail runs down the middle of its namesake: the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, between the South Mountain and Blue Mountain ridges on the eastern flank of the...
Part of Manheim Township's growing network of multi-use greenways, the Manheim Township Bikeway begins off Kissel Hill Road, immediately north of the intersection with Landis Valley Road. Heading...
The Hollow Creek Greenway follows its namesake waterway through scenic woodlands and valleys, offering a quiet oasis in the suburbs. The trail provides an important link between neighborhoods, schools...
The JFK Walking Trail is a hidden gem created to be part of the Pottsville Community flagship recreation complex. The paved trail is located behind the tennis courts and pool. A stylish sign complete...
The Union Canal Trail parallels Tulpehocken Creek between Stonecliffe Action Park northwest of downtown Reading and Blue Marsh Lake. The original Union Canal ran 79.5 miles from the Schuylkill River...
This trail is not offically part of the Lancaster County Park system. It runs next to the Conestoga River at Sunnyside. The one end of the trail is at Lancaster County Central Park. Although there is...
The short, tranquil LeTort Spring Run Nature Trail follows its namesake creek closely, LeTort Spring Run, through a mix of deciduous trees and lowland marshes bristling with tall grasses and cattails....
Originally named St. Anthony's Wilderness by Moravian missionaries who arrived in the colony in 1742 to convert Native tribes, the Stony Creek Valley became the site of five bustling towns after...
The Hanover Trolley Trail is being built along the 16-mile corridor of the York-Hanover Trolley Line that ran between the two cities in the early 1900s. Currently, about a quarter of that distance is...
The discovery of anthracite coal in the Tremont area of Pennsylvania shaped commerce and development well into the 1800s. The Union Canal was constructed in the 1820s to connect the Schuylkill and...
The Blue Marsh Lake Multi-Use Trail loops around a manmade reservoir just outside of Reading in southeastern Pennsylvania. The trail has a mixture of surfaces (hard-packed dirt, grass, gravel and...
Maryland's Susquehanna State Park is recognized for challenging hiking and biking trails, camping facilities, rock outcroppings, boating, a museum and restored historical sites. But none of these...
This is a pleasant one mile community trail which begins right at the center of Red Lion, PA. The main trailhead is on Main St. at the restored MA&PA train station, which now is home to the Red Lion...
The Wyomissing Creek Trail offers a pleasant tree-lined route along its namesake waterway in West Reading. At its eastern end, you can connect to an 18-mile segment of the Schuylkill River Trail that...
The Chester County Parks & Recreation Department opened this trail in 1979 on part of a former Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way. Today the 2.6-mile trail attracts more than 125,000 visitors each...
This lovely, relatively flat dirt path runs through the Roaring Creek Tract of the Weiser State Forest. Here, the south tributary of Roaring Creek cuts through the forest, pooling into three large...
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Part of the township's ongoing efforts to create a network of multi-use greenways, Manheim Twp.'s Heritage Trail begins at Valley Road and extends south, along the eastern boundary of Landis Woods to...
The Schuylkill Valley Heritage Trail passes through the rolling green hills of the Schuylkill River Valley, from just outside of Tamaqua to Middleport. The trail runs immediately adjacent to US...
The Exeter Scenic River Trail follows the north shore of the Schuylkill River. The tree-lined route provides views of the river and runs to the Klapperthal Trail at the base of Neversink Mountain.
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Included in the seven-mile network of trails in Little Buffalo State Park are two small sections of rail-trail. Together they are called the Newport and Sherman's Valley Railroad Trace. The...
The MA & PA Heritage Trail is found in two segments (about 2 miles apart) through the wooded parks of Maryland's Bel Air and Forest Hill communities. The folksy sounding name actually stands for the...
A joint project of Warwick Township and Lititz borough, the Warwick Township. Linear Park extends from Market Street north, following the Santo Domingo Creek, to Newport Road. Although the asphalt...
Currently a 1.75-mile section of the trail is open from 8:00 am to dusk. The trail runs parallel to Rosedale Avenue in Laureldale Borough on the former corridor of the East Penn Branch Railroad. The...
The Hollow Creek Greenway follows its namesake waterway through scenic woodlands and valleys, offering a quiet oasis in the suburbs. The trail provides an important link between neighborhoods, schools...
The Schuylkill Valley Heritage Trail passes through the rolling green hills of the Schuylkill River Valley, from just outside of Tamaqua to Middleport. The trail runs immediately adjacent to US...
The Angelica Creek Trail, in Reading's suburbs, begins at a scenic stretch of the Schuylkill River Trail, then goes south along the river a short distance before heading northwest toward Angelica...
The Thun Trail (pronounced "tune") is part of the Schuylkill River Trail System. Large railroad bridges, built in 1918, provide impressive views of the Schuylkill River and the surrounding hills....
This gently winding trail in Pine Grove Furnace State Park passes along the shores of two lakes and through the woodlands of Michaux State Forest. Pine Grove Furnace began operating in 1764 to take...
The Chester County Parks & Recreation Department opened this trail in 1979 on part of a former Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way. Today the 2.6-mile trail attracts more than 125,000 visitors each...
Maryland's Susquehanna State Park is recognized for challenging hiking and biking trails, camping facilities, rock outcroppings, boating, a museum and restored historical sites. But none of these...
The Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail-Trail, first envisioned in the 1990s, is a developing pathway being built along the former Reading Railroad. The 7-mile route is hoped to be completed in 2018 and will...
Lykens Valley Rail Trail is nearly half-way complete with 9 miles of trail open out of 20 miles planned. Those 9 miles are available in three disconnected segments. In Millersburg, a 0.4-mile segment...
Less than an hour west of Philadelphia, the East Branch Brandywine Trail begins south of Downingtown and continues south along its namesake river. The paved trail passes through meadows and wooded...
Reading's Neversink Connector Trail is a short paved pathway that branches off the Thun Trail, a 18-mile section of the Schuylkill River Trail. It begins near the Reading Area Community College and...
Originally the Reading & Columbia Railroad, this branch of the Reading Railroad was built to haul anthracite coal to Columbia where it was loaded into barges on the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal for...
The Springlawn Trail travels on what was once Springlawn Road, connecting Chesterville Road (Rt. 841) and Strickersville Road. The 2-mile trail is comprised of dirt and gravel and makes for a good...
The Cumberland Valley Rail Trail runs down the middle of its namesake: the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, between the South Mountain and Blue Mountain ridges on the eastern flank of the...
The Wyomissing Creek Trail offers a pleasant tree-lined route along its namesake waterway in West Reading. At its eastern end, you can connect to an 18-mile segment of the Schuylkill River Trail that...
Started at Mt. Gretna then rode towards Middletown. Was on this trail, then another for a total of 20 miles (full trip)-Just can't remember the name of the other trail but it connected right into this one. It was a wonderful ride. The trail was in very good condition and was very enjoyable. A few places to stop and have a lunch if you wanted to.
While I agree that the scenery along this trail is wonderful, the section of trail through the Reading Museum grounds is a bumpy ride on a narrow path. By the looks of the people we passed, I got the feeling that bikes were not expected or welcome. Next time we will stay on the roads.
Rode this popular trial on a sunny Sunday afternoon...walkers, kids, and dogs. Paved trail is tree lined and curvy. Good and bad. My road bike liked the pavement. There were so many trees, I did not even miss sun tan lotion. But, some of the curves were tight/blind. Due to the curves and people traffic, I rarely got the bike over 20 mph. Several places to stop and eat/drink along the trial. With it's nice views, take a slow bike and a friend.
Nice, flat, well maintained trail. Once you get into the trail (first mile is kind of industrial) it is lovely. Unless you are walking/running for fitness this is not a nice place to walk with others though. The printed rule on the map is: stay to the right and announce when passing. Out of the 300+ bikers that passed us, one announced his group, and one screamed at us to get over to the right. No others made their presence known as they came up behind us and whizzed past. A majority buzzed us by at a foot or less. You can't hear bikers coming, so you have to constantly have your head on a swivel and walk only in single file. Quite a few bikers would come up right behind and then quickly swerve out right behind you, as if to make it known that you are an inconvenience to them. If there were bikers coming the other way, the bikers going our way would squeeze in between and force us off the trail. As stated before, when we switched sides for our safety so we could at least see the bikers coming, we were screamed at that "get over to the right- the RULE is stay right..." by a biker. You know, the rule that has in the same sentence "announce when passing".
So, if you are a biker, don't be a jerk and share the 'road' and this is a very nice trail. If you are looking for a nice place to stroll and get some exercise, find somewhere else because the prevailing attitude here is that you are an inconvenient roadblock that needs to be taught a lesson, and it's not worth it to have to be insanely vigilant for your own safety the entire time you're walking - that just makes for a terrible walk.
A great ride for the fourth of July. I appreciated all the other reviews and took their advice. I thought I would add a combination of the reviews that helped me, along with some of my own additional notes.
I took the advice of dcar777 and started our ride in Bainbridge and headed towards Marietta. The entire ride was paved and smooth for my entire family to enjoy.
I would agree with jerandvic about the psedo-Tour De France riders. They fly on the trail, which would be okay if they used bike riding etiquette to let people know they were going to pass. Nonetheless, there were far more family riders than those club riders who used appropriate etiquette, but its still something to keep an eye out for.
This was the first big ride that my 7 year old son completed and he did an outstanding job on our 15 mile ride. To help keep his interest we did a little geocaching (https://youtu.be/1YTqitVK-Ts). I've attached a short youtube video that explains what geocaching is in the most basic form. I highly recommend doing something like this to keep the kids interest (or the kids at heart interest; it's an adult friendly activity too). There are several geocache along the trail to be found.
The last bit of information that I would add is a nice pizza shop that we stop at for lunch along the way. Parma Pizza and Grill has outstanding pie's, friendly service and is just off the trail in Marietta (http://places.singleplatform.com/parma-pizza-11/menu?ref=google).
Our family likes to try different trails, but we would have no problem going back to this trail again. Hope this information helps, happy riding!
This was our first trip to New Freedom, PA and our first ride on the Brown. The scenery is wonderful and the natural canopy was wonderful on this 90 degree day. I'm not sure why the trail guide has you go to a entry point without parking while there is plenty of parking at the train station less than a mile away. Plus you have the opportunity to see or ride the train which is a fun draw to the area. As for my wish list, I wish the surface was wider and more developed. The guide says crushed stone but it is mostly packed dirt with two tracks---one in each direction. Every now and then we had the typical crazies acting like they were in a race. With the uncertain surface and its narrow access, it was dangerous from time to time. There is no food along the trail except for ice cream bars at Monkton station and a few miles down trail from New Freedom where a homeowner has a little stand with snacks and wa Yer. Lastly, there is a tube float place in Monkton and 100s of people were walking 2 miles up the trail with the tubes. They spanned the trail and wouldn't move for cyclist. Scary and dangerous. While we saw deer, turtles, a snake and a crane, our overall enjoyment was somewhat dampened by the floaters and the lack of food on the trail.
Nice asphalt which is always a pleasure. Some spots a little grown over but not anything to affect the rating. Do your homework before you go as where to park. The link for directions on TrailLink took me to the wrong spot-there are other points of entrance as well, but anyone is nice-except the one I went to first. Not nearly as much river view as I thought. A few places to take a look, but mostly farm and "woods". Nice. I would do it again.
Road a seven mile section of the Heritage Rail Trail (miles 15-8) today and was really impressed. It was my first time on this level and scenic trail. Lots to see and the trees provided great shade throughout the trip. It was a little busy in sections but overall it was an easy ride (ideal for my 10 year old). Definitely recommend this for people with kids who want a trail that is well-kept and thoroughly marked.
The former crosswalk across RT743 was paved over last fall.
Now difficult to cross highway. Larger stones on approach sort of force a dismount. Then trail users have lost the 'protection' of a painted crosswalk across the busy (fast) highway.
Overall the trails great. There are a few sections that need repair and there is a lack of facilities along the trail,
June 6th 2017 - In the past couple of weeks some serious trail maintenance has been taking place.
Last week went from Lawn to Lancaster County end. Most of trail surface had been scraped off and was being resurfaced. Temporarily very rough.
Today I went from Cornwall toward Mt Gretna. This portion of the trail had also been scraped for resurfacing. Again very rough at this time.
So I turned North toward Lebanon. I was on this section a couple of weeks ago. Since I was last there, the gravel surface has been resurfaced and was mostly very smooth and fast. A short section was paved with asphalt.
A PIPELINE is being across this section of trail. Digging has started but trail is open... for now.
Returning, I found the fresh gravel to be rough. It looks like a tractor tire made divots in the surface. I suspect the surface wasn't packed hard enough before the tractor was out mowing.
Went to the Lebanon end and took streets to UNION CANAL TUNNEL PARK and a bit further North onto Tunnel Hill Road and the Northern section of the park. The abandoned rail bed Goes under Tunnel Hill Road. There are plans to connect to the trail sections near Jonestown using the old railroad alignment.
Sunday June 4th, I visited Jonestown trail sections. North end is currently under Highway bridge for Route 22. South end is at a bridge across Swatara Creek. Bridge will be used to connect trail to Lebanon in the south.
The trail has now been extended another mile or so into Shippensburg past the park, crosses a new bridge (the old hillside shortcut to Ship is still visible) and continues as a paved pathway adjacent to the university campus. The trail currently dead ends on a side street with no apparent signage, but it appears that restrooms and a parking area are under construction there. At the other end in Newville, a metal bridge was added and the trail continues to Rt 233, although there is no access there. Hopefully this is the start of the planned extension to Carlisle.
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