Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Ephrata, 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.
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...
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 history of Perkiomen Trail railroad corridor extends more than 140 years. Founded shortly after the Civil War, the Perkiomen Railway Company started running from Oaks to Pennsburg in 1868. New...
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 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 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...
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...
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...
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 2.4-mile paved trail provides a quiet, scenic escape northwest of Philadelphia, from Encke Park at Radnor-Chester Road to the shopping center at Sugartown Road and Route 30. The trail travels...
Saucon Rail Trail connects four communities: Hellertown, Lower Saucon Township, Upper Saucon Township, and Coopersburg. The trail has a slight 1% grade traveling from north to south and is easy for a...
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 Michael Castle Trail offers a scenic 12-mile route along the north shore of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in northern Delaware. The trail is named after the former governor and US...
Eastern Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail spans just over 140 miles through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor from Bristol, in the Greater Philadelphia region, to Mountain Top, nestled in the...
The beautiful Lehigh and New England trail is a short, crushed-stone trail that follows a section of the former Lehigh and New England Railroad corridor just south of Tamaqua in eastern Pennsylvania....
Located in Media Borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Ridley Creek State Park encompasses over 2,600 acres of woodlands and meadows. The park is only 16 miles from Center City, Philadelphia, but...
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 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....
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...
For 77 years, the tiny Northampton & Bath Railroad traveled the 7 miles between the two Pennsylvania towns that gave the line its name. Then, like its larger cousins, the Northampton & Bath Railroad...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
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 Michael Castle Trail offers a scenic 12-mile route along the north shore of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in northern Delaware. The trail is named after the former governor and US...
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 beautiful Lehigh and New England trail is a short, crushed-stone trail that follows a section of the former Lehigh and New England Railroad corridor just south of Tamaqua in eastern Pennsylvania....
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 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...
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...
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...
This 2.4-mile paved trail provides a quiet, scenic escape northwest of Philadelphia, from Encke Park at Radnor-Chester Road to the shopping center at Sugartown Road and Route 30. The trail travels...
The history of Perkiomen Trail railroad corridor extends more than 140 years. Founded shortly after the Civil War, the Perkiomen Railway Company started running from Oaks to Pennsburg in 1868. New...
Saucon Rail Trail connects four communities: Hellertown, Lower Saucon Township, Upper Saucon Township, and Coopersburg. The trail has a slight 1% grade traveling from north to south and is easy for a...
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....
Eastern Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail spans just over 140 miles through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor from Bristol, in the Greater Philadelphia region, to Mountain Top, nestled in the...
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 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...
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...
For 77 years, the tiny Northampton & Bath Railroad traveled the 7 miles between the two Pennsylvania towns that gave the line its name. Then, like its larger cousins, the Northampton & Bath Railroad...
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 Michael Castle Trail offers a scenic 12-mile route along the north shore of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in northern Delaware. The trail is named after the former governor and US...
Eastern Pennsylvania’s D&L Trail spans just over 140 miles through the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor from Bristol, in the Greater Philadelphia region, to Mountain Top, nestled in the...
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 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...
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...
This 2.4-mile paved trail provides a quiet, scenic escape northwest of Philadelphia, from Encke Park at Radnor-Chester Road to the shopping center at Sugartown Road and Route 30. The trail travels...
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 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...
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...
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...
Located in Media Borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Ridley Creek State Park encompasses over 2,600 acres of woodlands and meadows. The park is only 16 miles from Center City, Philadelphia, but...
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 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...
Saucon Rail Trail connects four communities: Hellertown, Lower Saucon Township, Upper Saucon Township, and Coopersburg. The trail has a slight 1% grade traveling from north to south and is easy for a...
We camped at Lums Pond State Park and biked to the trail, but it was a challenge to find. Here are the directions.
Make a right out of the campground entrance. Ride a short distance to Old Summit Rd. Make a left onto Old Summit Rd. follow the road until you get to a circle clearing. There are three dirt roads that go into the circle. Take the middle dirt road. It is not signed. The trail is at the bottom of a long down hill. When you see the asphalt path take that right to go to Chesapeake City (which turns into the Ben Cardin Trail) or left to go to Delaware City. There is no signage.
We had a wonderful fall weekend at Lums Pond. The Saturday ride was fantastic. We are planning to return so we can ride the other half of the trail o Delaware City.
Enjoy!
My husband and I started in Bainbridge and rode to Columbia. I have a walky for my dog to run beside me and and trailer for when she gets tired. There were many turns and a few small uphills. The traffic on the trail was a little crowded around Chickies Rock. We all had a fabulous ride. I even seen a lizard. Who knew Pennsylvania had lizards. The eastern fence lizard. We also seen a few bald eagles. The views of the Susquehanna were nice too.
We walked most of this trail November 3, 2018. It is in need of repair/maintenance. Large stretches are very muddy with a lot of standing water. You have to go off the trail to get around it. It needs gravel and drainage.
I work at Chase in Wilmington and I just started using this trail to commute home from work. I take the trail on the riverfront and exit at Chelsea Estates neighborhood. Then the rest of my commute goes through Corp Commons, Churchmans rd. to Harmony rd. This trail helps me cut out most of the areas in Wilmington that are "If'y" and high traffic. Very scenic and quiet. I would like to take this trail in the mornings into work but not sure if the trail is open all the time or certain sections close dusk to dawn. The only part that i would question would be the tunnel by Baylor prison near Chelsea Estates. I may take a dry run one weekend to see. I would be traveling around 6 am. So far i love my commute. Hopefully one day we could connect newark to wilm the same way. Even though there are bike lanes on Kirkwood Hwy, there are still some sketchy areas along that route coming into elsmere and wilm near and on 4th st. Ride safe!!
This little trail is less than 4 miles long but is connected to the D&L which at the present time (fall 2018) allows roughly 10 miles north (to Lehighton) and maybe 10 miles south (to Cemeton). So if a longer ride is wanted there you go. The easiest way to access the trail is from the Slatington trail head on the D&L, proceed south a very short distance to the Heritage trail which is to the right and starts on a neighborhood roadway. There are ample signs pointing the way.
The Slate Heritage Trail is open the entire length as the turnpike bridge is complete. As others have mentioned the trail follows the creek. There are (I think) 3 through truss bridges and an old railroad trestle for your creek crossing pleasure. There is also a (very nice) reproduction 19th century covered bridge next to a covered picnic grove. Signs and markers along the way tell of the once booming slate industry complete with ruins of old slate workings. It is a very pleasant abet short trail.
The trail surface is a combination of paved and packed cinders. There are small elevation changes but overall a fairly easy trail to ride or jog.
I mentioned the much larger and much touted D&L Trail which intersects the Slate Heritage Trail. A few words here note I write as of Fall 2018:
As mentioned going north it is 10 miles to Lehighton, 15 if you continue along the Weissport section (Lehigh Canal). The D&L abruptly ends at the waste water treatment plant in Jim Thorpe, leaving the explorer really no viable option to continue north along the Lehigh Gorge section of the D&L. The Carbon County Commissioners have constructed a rather impressive bridge over the Lehigh River that will at some point in the future connect the Lehigh Canal to the Lehigh Gorge Trails adding another 35 miles of rail trail extending from Jim Thorpe to just south of Glenn Summit. However this bridge is closed until a half mile of the northern end of the Lehigh Canal trail is constructed which will not be completed until mid to late 2019 at the earliest (as of fall 2018). Check with the D&L if contemplating this trip.
Heading south on the D&L from Slatington, the trail is closed just south of Cemeton due to a road bridge replacement. This bridge will not be completed until Dec. 2020. At that point, a road bridge just upstream of the current project is due to start which will put another gap in the D&L that will last until late 2023. It is possible to detour the current gap and it might be possible to detour the future gap but make sure before you plan your vacation.
Happy Trails!
From the train station, Pass under the tracks following the passage to the train platforms and on to the grounds of the Masonic Village retirement community. Don’t be intimidated. During daylight hours The community is open to the public. There you can enjoy biking on streets with speed limits under 20 mph or hike on miles of scenic walk only asphalt paths. The hills are very challenging. Head toward the farm market on Eden View Dr. This May be the highest elevation in Lancaster County and you can enjoy views for miles.
My wife and I rode the Heritage Trail today, starting at Seven Valleys, and headed south to New Freedom. The trail was very scenic, with views of the creek, farmhouses, all along the shaded trail, which was made of crushed stone. The trail ran parallel to the railroad tracks the entire way on this flat portion of the trail. It was very easy and enjoyable ride, and we plan to make the 1.5 hour drive from our home tomorrow, to take in other parts of the trail. There are a lot of nice bike trails in Eastern Pennsylvania, but I would rank the Heritage Trail in the 3
This trail is well-separated from the cars, so they're not a hazard, but there are a handful of crossings (with lights and pedestrian signals), which are annoying but easy and safe to do. This trail isn't in the woods (although the offshoots to Neshaminy Creek Trail are), so it's not somewhere to explore the beauty of nature, but it has two key virtues: (1) it is well-maintained asphalt with gentle turns and (2) the southern half is at a higher average elevation (200-250 feet) than the northern half.
Thus, heading south is a good workout with a lot of long-but-not-impossible climbs, while those same hills become long descents when heading north, a great place for people to develop confidence at higher speeds, using drop-bars, or practicing their lean for a high-speed turn. If you're just starting out cycling, or you're preparing for a 10- or 20-mile event, this is an excellent trail to develop your skills and improve your fitness.
I have ridden parts of this trail twice... from St Georges to Delaware City and from St Georges to the Summit West Marina.
Both sections and directions were very enjoyable and an easy pedal on my Catrike.
While staying at Lums Pond State Park I will ride this trail many times, as it is easily accessible at St Georges, only about 5 miles from Lums Pond.
Update.....trail west of Quarryville to the Pequea Creek just west of Rte 324 is crushed cinder (with good scenery, some open, some in a hollow ditch with several good, safe parking areas). However, the beautiful trestle bridge at Martic Forge was victim of arson in early 2018, so trail does not cross the creek at this time, though repair is hopeful.
Closest parking west of the closed bridge is at Colemanville Church Rd. From there, it's crushed cinder (improved in 2017-18) for 2 miles to a spur (hiking) trail to Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve, and another 1 mile improved rail trail to the Conestoga River. There, the Safe Harbor trestle bridge is currently closed but another hopeful for repair. This stretch has designated climbing areas.
West beyond the Safe Harbor bridge is the great, improved, five mile section of the Enola LG that is located in Manor Twp, also with climbing areas, and a nice parking lot at Turkey Hill Point.
For points east of Quarryville- a new parking lot was installed in early -mid 2018 along Rt 372 just east of Q-ville. Not sure of the current surface of trail east of Q-ville, but it was unimproved but manageable with wider tires up to Hollow Rd, then there's a stretch that's not fun, with difficult sand and mud, up to the access at Rte 896.
Following up on our last comment, rode again yesterday afternoon (Sunday 9/30) from New Castle to the Riverfront. In the 1 3/4 mile stretch from Rt. 273 to Boulden Blvd. we passed 45 bikers. From there to the new bridge another 50. From there to beginning of the River Walk another 36. Stopped counting then because of the numbers. Too hard to count walkers, joggers, and roller blades, but must have been at least another 100 - 130. Fast becoming our favorite trail in Delaware.
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