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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.
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
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.
A wonderful trail to walk and ride bike on.
Much of trail has no maintenance. Was great trail not now!,,,,,
Very nice paved trail from Columbia to Bainbridge. Beyond Bainbridge you need a mountain bike and know how to use it. We struggled for about a mile on a hybrid but it wasn't worth it. Beyond Bainbridge trail turned to dirt and intermittant large gravel. Trail kind of peters out into tall grass.
Ride offers parallel trail at Marietta one through town and one along river, both are nice and suggest both especially for round trippers as the 10 mile ride each way is nice for a round trip. Traffic on trail became heavy on weekend after 10 am. Trail is narrow so for those who like to cruise I do not recommend a weekend.
A few weekends ago a good friend and I biked the entire trail starting in Lebanon and ultimately ending in Columbia along the river. The 14.5 mile trail is well taken care of and their were plenty of workers patching up spots along the way (they just had tons of rain the week before). The majority of the trail is well shaded and there are plenty of places to stop and take a break along the way. A very pretty ride through the country side. Well worth returning to time and time again. If you continue like we did along the Conewago Connector Trail it is a another approximately 5 miles until you reach Rt 230. A left turn onto 230 will take you 3.5 miles in the lovely town of Elizabethtown. Stay on Market St. through town and you will pass several places to rest, eat, relax, and grab a coffee. Continue on Market St. and then make a Left onto Rt. 241 (W. Bainbridge St.) until you get to River Rd (Rt 441). Cross over River Rd. and make a left onto N. 2nd St. and continue into the town of Bainbridge. Make a right onto Race St. and head straight down to the river, there you will find the terminus of the NW Lancaster County River Trail. I absolutely love this trail. Paved all the way to Columbia 14.1 miles away. Twisty, turnings, rolling small hills, river to one side, and forest and corn fields on the other. The entire trip is about 40 miles. Check the NW Lancaster trail for flooding or heavy rains prior to the trip as a few areas of the trail may flood out turning your trip into 57 miles instead due to turning around and finding road routes around it. Enjoy!!!
My wife and I entered on the 54 side and road across and back. The 54 side of the trail has logging going on currently and was muddy in spots. Next time I will start on the 42 side and maybe go halfway and back. The trail map does not show the restrooms in the middle or the 42 trail head. A great easy ride with enough grade not to be boring.
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.
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