Find the top rated mountain biking trails in Carlisle, whether you're looking for an easy short mountain biking trail or a long mountain biking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a mountain biking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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I rode this trail for the first time in awhile . Resurfaced since last time I rode it . Rode 11 miles out and back . Nice that they resurfaced but stones are too BIG . And it’s crowned in the middle slightly . I noticed a lot of drain culverts along the way . Should help with washouts . The surface isn’t great but it is rideable with a hybrid or gravel bike . Peaceful ride . Didn’t see another human the whole time . Don’t ride in warm weather since I encountered a few rattle snakes previously . If you like hiking you can ride about 3.5 miles in from Goldmine Rd. And pick up the Appalachian trail . Although the signs are incorrect as far as direction . The one marked north goes south and vice versa .
Ran the Trail today in a light rain. Enjoyable and easy run through farmland and woods.
The portion of the trail in Lancaster County the Conewago trail is in horrible condition. The trail surface is repeatedly filled in with 2A aggregates. The surface of the trail is not suitable for bicycles or even for jogging I recommend you skip the section entirely and proceed to the portion as a Trail in Lebanon County, call the Lebanon valley rail trail, which is far superior & surface is lime, stone dust, very Smith.
Just finished 40 miles today. Great trail for riding bike on. I started in Ashland and rode just into PA. line, then turned around and back to Ashland. I have completed the whole trail at different times over the past 30 years.
My wife and I parked at designated parking 3 miles east of Quarreyville and road to the end of the trail at Turkey Hill preserve. The trail is maintained and in excellent condition. I will note that when parking at this spot as of 11/01/2024 there are trail closed signs and there is still some paving work to be completed. However, the section being worked on is only 2 miles long and is easily rideable. If you want to park at the next location a bit west of this spot you will miss this. Note there are several areas to park along the trail and all have excellent parking and there are many benches, picnic tables, and port-a-johns along the length of the trail. There is no access to water, so, bring it with you. From where we parked to Turkey Hill preserve parking is 22 miles one way. This entire length of trail is in excellent condition and very enjoyable. Heading east from where we parked we were told (as we did not ride east) work is still being done on the trail and it is not in the same pristine condition. We have ridden many rail trails across the United States and highly recommend this one.
I used to ride this trail often a couple decades ago on my hybrid bike - it wasn't too bad back then. I revisited the trail10/2024, entering from the Goldmine Rd end. First, I already knew where the parking was for this trail from years ago, but if I was a first-timer trying to find it, I did not see ANY signs or anything at the location of the Goldmine Rd entrance, saying this was the Stony Valley Rail Trail. Matter of fact, having ridden this trail (end-to-end) dozens of times about 20 yrs ago, even though I knew I was at the right place, I kept questioning myself whether I was. I unloaded my bike which has mountain bike width tires on it & started off on the trail. After about a quarter mile I turned around - NO WAY am I riding 35 miles on this rough surface. I am not an expert on grades of stone, but I think the stones making up the trail are what is known as 2B. That is, they were larger gray limestones about 1.5" or more in diameter. I was looking for a quiet, pleasurable ride to enjoy the changing foliage, not a BONE RATTLING ride that required me to hold on to prevent taking a tumble from every stone I was hitting. In addition to the larger/rough stone surface, the sides of the trail were sloped (I don't know the correct term but I think one reviewer referred to it as camber), to the point that I was afraid of sliding off the side of the trail into the water-filled ditch that made up the shoulder of the trial, if I hit a stone the wrong way. I used to love this trail years ago, now, unfortunately, this trail is off my biking list. As I think another reviewer titled their review - this trail is in the NEVER AGAIN category for me. I loaded up my bike & drove into Lebanon (having just a week earlier ridden the nearby Swatara Rail Trail), & rode the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail from Lebanon to Colebrook (a MUCH MORE pleasurable trail with paved surfaces and hard-packed crushed limestone. Geez, I can't help wondering, did someone (non-profit/volunteer or government organizations that are "hunter-friendly") intentionally RUIN the Stony Creek Trail, by surfacing it with larger stones to keep bikes off ???
Mostly gravel, some large gravel. North 1/3 is not maintained, large ruts. OK for gravel bikes, not OK for a road bikes. North end just ends in a field. Bear Hole trail or Tomstown Road in FIG is a much better choice
Enjoyable trail with plenty of shade, river views, communities, points of interest, parks, and services along the way.
As someone else noted, this basically seems like a fairly well maintained access road for the company that owns the utility poles that line the entire route--on both sides of the trail for the first several miles, accompanied by chain link fencing on the river side. The trail is relatively flat, crushed limestone, wide, hot and sunny, with very little shade provided along its entire length. As a staff member at Columbia Crossing visitor center suggested, it would be a fine trial to ride at peak fall foliage time, as it runs directly along the Susquehanna and you could enjoy the colors on its opposite bank of trees for the first 10 miles or so. But to my taste, there's little reason to continue beyond that unless you're just trying to get your mileage in. Well before the Martic Forge trestle the trail diverges from the river and becomes a wide, hot, green tunnel with no towns, interests, or services until its abrupt end.
This was a ride done during the day prior to a wedding we attended in MD. We picked up the trail on rented bikes by PaperMill Road and headed north. Some of the surface was muddy from heavy rain but still passable. We had lunch at Monkton Hotel. There was a museum too that we were able to tour along the trail. Would recommend being ready for bugs but overall still a great ride.
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