Trail Development
Design and Construction
The trail is used for many activities such as hiking, bicycling, running, horseback riding. In the winter, the trail has also been used for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The trail and restrooms are ADA accessible. The design of the trail is a ten foot wide path and consists of compacted stone surface. It also includes the Northern Central Railway, a temporarily inactive rail line. The grade throughout the trail is level, however, "New Freedom has a high point of elevation (818 ft) and the low point of elevation is (400 ft) in York City." More services and facilities are offered throughout the 11 municipalities the trail passes.
Trail Amenities
Facilities include picnic tables, restrooms (ADA accessible), and benches.
Historic features of the trail include two museums supported by the Friends of the Heritage Rail Trail Corridor. The Hanover Junction Railroad Station, as listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was visited by President Abraham Lincoln on November 18 and 19, 1863, as he traveled to Gettysburg to give the Gettysburg Address. The station was finally restored to its 1863 appearance in 2001. To gain more information on the days and hours of the museum, visit: Hanover Junction Railroad Museum. The New Freedom Railroad Station of 1860 was restored to its 1940 appearance in 2003. To gain more information on the days and hours of the museum, visit: New Freedom Railroad Museum. Other historical sites, include the Howard Tunnel of 1838, "a 250 foot long tunnel named for a Revolutionary War soldier from Baltimore." and the Mason Dixon Line, the old line of freedom." Memorials include a Korean War memorial in downtown York and a War Rescue Dog World War II Memorial.
Art features of the trail include public sculptures, such as a livesize horse and man and "ordinary" bicycles made with used bicycle parts and commissioned by artists in Maryland. This was installed as part of completion of the rail trail in 1999. Murals are also apparent through communities such as Glen Rock.
Small gardens maintained by the Rotary Club and the county's Juvenile Authorities can also be seen throughout the trail.
Read more about this topic: York County Heritage Rail Trail
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