Find the top rated dog walking trails in Columbia, whether you're looking for an easy short dog walking trail or a long dog walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a dog walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I'm basing my rating on comparison to other trails I've ridden. Some sections of CVRT are quite lovely; passing by parks and wooded areas.
Otherwise, the proximity to 202 and the numerous road crossings makes the trail feel choppy and you never really feel disconnected from suburbia. There are two intersections in particular that I found quite dangerous.
First, in Exton, the crossing at Rt. 100 is chaotic! You need to cross roads three times to reach the other side of 100. On top of that, truck traffic is extremely heavy and frequently blocks the intersection.
The other dangerous intersection is at Foundry Way in Malvern. Incoming traffic has the right of way and does not stop. The intersection is large, so by the time you're in the middle of it, traffic is inbound and they barely slow down! Be careful here.
Overall, I think CVRT is more a commuter trail than recreational trail.
This is a work in progress that aims at facilitating getting around Gettysburg by bike. NOT a trail one would ride for fun. However, it's a good way to get to some of the fine bike riding ion the national military park roads.
Trail is along the Susquehanna River following the railroad from Falmoth to Columbia. The Northernmost section goes through the woods and is a little rough but getting to the North end let's you see an old lock which was part of the canal system. Starting in Bainbridge and going South the trail is asphalt suitable for road bikes. If you go on the weekends, the foot traffic is pretty heavy. For the most part the trail is shaded with sections going along open fields.
Just walked the NLCRT on Sunday June 30th in beautiful weather. The Columbia to Bainbridge sections have been paved and landscaped for some time now and of course they are wonderful. We have been waiting for the last 2.9 miles from Bainbridge to Falmouth to be finished for a couple years and we are almost there. Two new bridges and two new trestles are in so technically the trail is complete from end to end. But...word to the wise...start at the Falmouth end unless you are walking in hiking shoes. The trail from North to South is in good shape for two miles of walking (the last five minutes on the grassy shoulder which is wide and flat. The fair amount of the 0.9 miles to Bainbridge is large, loose ballast stone that is miserable to walk on and impossible to run or bike, unless you have one of those four-inch wide tire bikes. The ballast was put down to fill in low spots, and is doing a great job. It will make a great base once the smaller stone is dumped and rolled in, and support the planned paving which our local paper says will be complete before summer's end. The new forest garden is only a five minute walk from the Falmouth end, and is beautiful. We are so close to having a finally paved and finished NLCRT! It will be a real gem when complete. The Marietta bypass section still needs some work but it is roughed out and quite passable on a hybrid or mountain bike. I had heard there were still some property acquisition issues last year, so not sure when it will be paved. Once we have our NLCRT train fully completed, we can start planning the connectors to the Conewago trail to the Northeast and the Enola Low Grade trail to the Southeast.
I rode the entire Torrey C. Brown Trail starting in New Freedom, PA and ending in Cockeysville, MD. The entire trail is in very good condition, is flat and offers plenty of shade to keep you cool. The Maryland portion of the trail is 19.7 miles, starting at New Freedom added another 1.5 miles to my ride.
I rode on a beautiful Sunday in early June; the trail gets busy especially as I got closer to Cockeysville but everyone was courteous and respectful. There are multiple trail heads with Montkton serving as a great mid-point as it offers a cafe, real bathrooms and a small museum. The scenery changes from fields to streams to verdant hills; the entire ride was captivating.
We parked at 8th St. Plenty of parking. We rode 24 miles,12 one way & 12 back.Nice trail,some inclines,not bad though..Paved in parts & crushed stone. Woods & residential,some road crossings.
Walked portions of this trail in the past. It has gotten longer.
Spent couple of hours riding End to End and back.
Started at the Millway crossing parking area. Good parking with PortaJohn. Millway and Rothsville Rd.
Ride into Ephrata is paved and lighted. Portions of the trail open in the evening. Some portions Dawn-Dusk. Warwick Township portion is mostly packed gravel - in good condition.
Lititz Bikeworks provides a Bike Rental kiosk at Warwick Township Facility.
It's a do-over. I'll be back.
We rode this trail starting at the small parking area along Valley Road. After finishing the short 2.2 mile out and back ride we continued over mostly very quiet neighborhood streets to the Landis Valley Farm and rode the Manheim Twp. Bikeway then another short road section to the Kissel Hill Commons Trail and finally a trail along the Landis Run Intermediate School and finally another short road section back to our car. The whole ride was about 8 miles. There are other short trails nearby, some named some you really need to look closely to find on the maps. The trails are mostly through parks or between well kept homes with a short wooded section and a nice open wetland. Fun exploring these short trails.
I am only giving this trail three stars, not because the trail is a poor experience, but it is a short trail for me, and there are numerous road crossings. The trail is asphalt all the way, and virtually level. Yes, some slight slopes, but nothing serious. There are mileage markers almost every half mile, and also some signs for points of interest. I started at the King of Prussia park and ride, and biked to Exton and returned. Initially, the trail goes along some very congested real estate, but the sound barriers do muffle the traffic noise so in portions it is very nice, heavily wooded on both sides, and in some places refreshingly cool. In other areas, homes and office parks are along the way. This gives rise to multiple road crossings, and many are signal controlled, especially at major crossings. Around the 8 mile point, the scenery is more open, with farms along the trail. Once one reaches Exton Park Trailhead, where water, restroom and tables are available, unless one wants to go into Exton, there is little reason to travel further. But going further has major road crossings, and one enters into a major commercial area, and about a mile or so past that, the trail simply stops. At the Exton Park, there is a detailed trail sign and also indications of future trails, including the proposed route to link with the Schuylkill River Trail from King of Prussia.
We parked at the south end of the park, just off Petersburg Road. There are indoor restrooms (very clean) near the parking area. We rode to the north end of the park then took mostly very quiet, neighborhood streets to the Brighton-Reidenbauch Park Trails about 1.5 miles away. There is a short section of busy roads (Koser Road and Buckwalter Road) but its less than 1/2 mile. The whole ride on both trails and the road sections, out and back was just 7.3 miles. There are several other short trails nearby and they're all worth a look.
We rode the three short sections of trail and the very quiet neighborhood streets that connected them late on a Wednesday morning. We saw more people walking dogs then we did cars on the street sections. We also rode to the nearby Manheim Township Community Park Trail about 1.5 miles away. There were two busy roads, Buchwalter Road and Koser Road, together they totaled less than 1/2 mile, the rest of the road section was very quiet neighborhood streets. These trails are just minutes (by car) to several other short trails that dot that area. Our total ride was just 7.3 miles. I can't wait to take some of my biking friends on these short but sweet trails.
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