Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Columbia, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
Caution: On April 12, 2018, a fire severely damaged the Martic Forge Trestle, which runs over Pequea Creek and River Road on the Enola Low Grade Trail. Access to the trail going west from the Route...
Constructed in 2012, the Gravity Trail is one of the newer additions to the extensive network of trails and greenways that criss-cross the Greater Reading metro area. The trail's unusual name comes...
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...
Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail forms the spine of the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area, a five-county expanse between Philadelphia and Pottsville. Built along former...
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...
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...
Baltimore’s Stony Run Trail follows an old Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line through nearly 3 miles of wooded stream valleys and small parks, providing a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle...
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...
Northwest Lancaster County River Trail stretches nearly 13 miles along the east bank of the Susquehanna River between Falmouth (near the Dauphin County line) and Columbia. Along the way, you can...
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...
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...
The Warwick Township Linear Park Trail is a joint project of Warwick Township and Lititz borough. The pathway extends from Market Street north, following the Santo Domingo Creek, to Newport Road....
The Conewago Recreation Trail in northwestern Lancaster County parallels Conewago Creek over most of its length, as it passes through farmland and forests. A unit of the Lancaster County Department of...
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...
Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail forms the spine of the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area, a five-county expanse between Philadelphia and Pottsville. Built along former...
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...
Northwest Lancaster County River Trail stretches nearly 13 miles along the east bank of the Susquehanna River between Falmouth (near the Dauphin County line) and Columbia. Along the way, you can...
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...
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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...
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...
Originally conceived by landscape architect Warren Manning (a disciple of Frederick Law Olmsted), the Capital Area Greenbelt is a 20-mile ring of parks and trails circling the Pennsylvania capital...
As its name implies, hikers on the Chickies Rock Overlook Trail will be rewarded with a beautiful vista at the end of their excursion. The trail follows an old trolley line route that once took...
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 Lebanon Valley Rail-Trail takes you on a journey into Pennsylvania Dutch country. Running along the corridor of the old Cornwall-Lebanon Railroad, the 14.5-mile trail lets you experience 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...
Constructed in 2012, the Gravity Trail is one of the newer additions to the extensive network of trails and greenways that criss-cross the Greater Reading metro area. The trail's unusual name comes...
The Warwick Township Linear Park Trail is a joint project of Warwick Township and Lititz borough. The pathway extends from Market Street north, following the Santo Domingo Creek, to Newport Road....
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...
Baltimore’s Stony Run Trail follows an old Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line through nearly 3 miles of wooded stream valleys and small parks, providing a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle...
Caution: On April 12, 2018, a fire severely damaged the Martic Forge Trestle, which runs over Pequea Creek and River Road on the Enola Low Grade Trail. Access to the trail going west from the Route...
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...
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...
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...
Caution: On April 12, 2018, a fire severely damaged the Martic Forge Trestle, which runs over Pequea Creek and River Road on the Enola Low Grade Trail. Access to the trail going west from the Route...
Southeastern Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail forms the spine of the Schuylkill River National Heritage Area, a five-county expanse between Philadelphia and Pottsville. Built along former...
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...
Originally conceived by landscape architect Warren Manning (a disciple of Frederick Law Olmsted), the Capital Area Greenbelt is a 20-mile ring of parks and trails circling the Pennsylvania capital...
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...
Northwest Lancaster County River Trail stretches nearly 13 miles along the east bank of the Susquehanna River between Falmouth (near the Dauphin County line) and Columbia. Along the way, you can...
Constructed in 2012, the Gravity Trail is one of the newer additions to the extensive network of trails and greenways that criss-cross the Greater Reading metro area. The trail's unusual name comes...
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...
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...
Baltimore’s Stony Run Trail follows an old Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad line through nearly 3 miles of wooded stream valleys and small parks, providing a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle...
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...
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 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 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 Lebanon Valley Rail-Trail takes you on a journey into Pennsylvania Dutch country. Running along the corridor of the old Cornwall-Lebanon Railroad, the 14.5-mile trail lets you experience the...
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 Warwick Township Linear Park Trail is a joint project of Warwick Township and Lititz borough. The pathway extends from Market Street north, following the Santo Domingo Creek, to Newport Road....
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 Conewago Recreation Trail in northwestern Lancaster County parallels Conewago Creek over most of its length, as it passes through farmland and forests. A unit of the Lancaster County Department of...
This is our favorite trail to ride with our kids. It’s about 12 miles from the Mt. Rock Rd section to Shippensburg. The trail is wide and well maintained, and there are restrooms at the Newville trailhead and the township park that’s about 1500 ft off the Oakville Rd trailhead.
This a nice trail. It is closer to 13 miles as of now. They have been adding to it and they clearly plan to add more as the end says "'Temporary End". Only issue is there is not much to see on the way. It is pretty flat and straight. The small gravel surface was a little deep so I would not recommend a road bike. You can use one, but it would not be the best choice.
This was my very first Rail Trail I have ever completed since I bought my new bicycle. It was a blast! There was a lot of beautiful country land, farm animals, rock walls, and a creek that looked like it might have some trout in it. The parking spot Google maps had taken me to was a spot right off of highway 743 which I do not recommend. It was too close to the highway and dips down which made it very nerve-racking to back up and out of right into the busy highway. I suggest finding the very beginning of the trail for better parking.
I am also a Pokemon Go fan, and I play when I'm out trailing. There was 2 Gyms, about 3 or 4 Pokestops along the way, and tons of Pokemon spawning.
I highly recommend this trail for beginners. It was very easy.
Happy Trailing!
I don’t recommend for small children. My 13 year old son and I did the whole thing and we liked it. Some places were not kid friendly due to busy roads. It had a nice variety of wooded trails and city. The ride along front street is a nice finish with the river view and flat sidewalk with minimal road crossings. Stick to the river section if you have small ones.
This is my new favorite trail. It is flat, shady and immaculately maintained. Not one rough spot in the paving, not one piece of trash on the entire 14 mile length. There is lots of green space on both sides of the trail so that most of the time you don't realize that you are in the middle of quite a built-up area. We've started at both the Exton end and the King of Prussia end (2 different days) and in both cases rode about 7 miles to Media, where we had lunch, and then did the return trip. The Exton end is very flat while the King of Prussia end has a few not-too-difficult hills. There are a few road crossings but they are well controlled by lights and the drivers in this area seem to be familiar with the trail crossings and often stop before you get to push the button for the traffic signal. The only crossing that is a real pain is going over Route 100 if you want to ride past Main Street at Exton. We won't bother with that again. The trail is well used by walkers and bikers on weekdays but there was not so much traffic to make it feel crowded. (Not sure how busy it is one weekends.) We love this trail!
Liked the fix it stations. This should be on all trails.
Now that the restaurant in Monkton is open, with a delicious healthy menu, my wife and I try to ride this trail once or twice a month. We would ride it more often but its an hour and 45 minute drive to New Freedom just to get to the trail. The scenery is great as the trail follows a creek that is 1 to 2 feet wide near New Freedom and grows to 20 to 30 feet wide by the time you reach Cockeysville. We have seen lots of wildlife including a red fox. The trail surface is in dire need of improvement. Almost as soon as you cross from PA into MD you notice the difference, from a wide path smooth from edge to edge to a rougher surface with lots of pot holes. If you ride a recumbent trike you're in for a rough ride as much of the trail is two single tracks. The transitions from trail to bridges and at road crossings are also very rough.
We rode the Douglassville to Pottstown section of the trail yesterday. Most of the trail was in shade which was welcome in the heat. The Berks County portion is hard gravel and easy to ride. When you cross into Montgomery County the trail is macadam, but as a previous writer mentioned, it is marred by numerous raised sections, probably due to tree roots. This is the reason for a 4 star rating. When we ended our ride in Pottstown park, I was excited to discover a Little Lending Library and picked out a book to read. The Douglassville trailhead is located in Old Morlatton Village. Not only is this a quiet trailhead, but there are several historic buildings with descriptive placards to read.
We started at City Island and knew it was a 20 mile loop. We are comfortable with that distance but are used to rail trails. (My husband and I love biking rail trails.)This definitely is not a rail trail. To us,it seemed like lots of hills and biking upgrade.Also had to bike on some busy roads. If you enjoy a challenge and don’t mind biking on roads, you will be OK. Do not recommend for families.Signage must have been improved since some earlier reviews. The only place we were confused was close to the farm show buildings where you need to use the pedestrian underpass.
The portion from Falmouth to Bainbridge is not currently bike friendly. i'm told it will be soon, but there's no evidence yet of work to be done. It is dirt, rutted and washed out dirt and heavy gravel. It's a hiking path. On the contrary the 11.7 mile ride from Columbia to Bainbridge is great. It's asphalt 99% of the way; the other 1% near Marietta is RR right of way you can get around. There are narrow windy sections with close vegetation but overall it's a great ride. Plan to stop in Marietta for food. We rode on a Sunday afternoon. The trail's crowded with all types, but it's not really bad. Not recommended for class A "club" types.
If you start in Quarryvile and go west, the trail surface is smooth crushed stone and very well maintained. Unfortunately, the trestle at Martic Forge is closed, so you can’t get to the Susquehanna until it’s repaired. From Quarryville east, the trail is a mess. Large stone ballast, mud, weeds, steep slopes at road crossings, and just generally poor conditions. Definitely not road bike friendly. In my case, I was riding a gravel bike, and still had difficulty.
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