Heritage Rail Trail County Park

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Photo by Carl R. Knoch, York County Rail Trail Authority.

Ghost riders pass Hanover Junction Trail Station. Photo by Tim Senft.

Steam into History tourist train leaves Hanover Junction Train Station. Photo by Tim Senft.

The Howard Tunnel is known as the oldest continuously operating railroad tunnel in the nation. Photo by David Brown.

Oversize bicycle trailside art built and installed by a local small business near Seven Valleys. Photo by David Brown.

Runners in Bob Potts Marathon coming out of the tunnel. Photo by Carl R. Knoch.

Bridge near Seven Valley's around trail marker 50. Photo by Tammy King.

Sunset over New Freedom on the Heritage Rail Trail. Photo by Carl R. Knoch.

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Note: 5.7 miles of the Heritage Rail Trail's northern extension is now complete and open to the public. This northern extension does not yet connect to the 21.5 miles of rail trail south of the City of York, and there is now a temporary 8-block on-road connection. The City of York will be constructing an off-road dedicated connector in 2020, at which time the Heritage Rail Trail will be approx. 28 miles in length.

Heritage Rail Trail County Park, sharing the corridor of the former Northern Central Railway chartered in 1828, provides a link for visitors to some of York City's oldest buildings and the creek where America's first iron steamboat chugged.

The trail travels south 21.5 miles passing through eleven municipalities including the towns of Seven Valleys, Glen Rock, Railroad, and New Freedom, and adjoins directly with the Maryland Northern Central Railroad Trail (20-mile non-motorized rail trail). This trail, located in the center of York County, is the central spine of a planned greenway trail system to interconnect communities. Trail amenities include twelve interpretive signs that explore natural and historic features such as:

• Hanover Junction Railroad Station - A rail stop with a connection to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
• Howard Tunnel, 1838 - A 250-foot-long tunnel named for a Revolutionary War soldier from Baltimore
• New Freedom Railroad Station, 1860 - Served as a passenger and freight station until 1971
• Mason Dixon Line
• The old line of freedom
• Agricultural - Numerous preservation lands adjoin the trail

The trail is constructed adjacent to the railroad tracks (tracks remain in place and are usable) with a surface of crushed compacted stone. The cost to construct the trail totaled 3.7 million dollars. Funding partners included: federal, state, county, and municipal dollars, individual and corporate donations as well as utility fees collected for use of the corridor. In 2006, visitation to the trail totaled 310,295.

Allowed Uses:

Other Activities

• Fishing

• Certified as an NRT
  May 31, 2008