I had a conference in Harrisburg last week, so I took the opportunity to look on trail link for a good trail, and boy did I find one.

There is a single continuous crushed stone trail running roughly 45 miles from York PA down to Hunt Valley MD on the northern outskirts of Baltimore, the Heritage Rail Trail and the Torrey Brown (North Central) Trail.  I drove down on Saturday night and stayed at a Holiday Inn in York that I found on Priceline and got up early Sunday to ride the trails.  Unfortunately, I had to drive all around York looking for a Dunkin’ Donuts, since I was down south and had no hope of having Tim Hortons.  Oh, well… When in Rome?

I drove to the trailhead in Railroad, PA, figuring I’d ride the 43 miles south to Baltimore on the North Central and back and if I had anything left when I got back, I’d press north towards York.  I didn’t figure on doing the whole trail because I had to be back in Harrisburg by 3-ish.  Railroad is a good spot to go from, there is a little B&B right next to the trail, practically on it.  There are a lot of food options in the Shrewsbury/New Freedom area, from chain to local fare.

The trail is a little rough in spots north of the PA/MD border from some erosion problems.  Also, you are riding along side a real railroad track.  I read in some places it was active, but I seriously doubt that.  The track abruptly ends at the border, which is also I think the high elevation point of the trail.  Keep this in mind, because there is a slight but noticeable slope from the border to about ten miles in on the Maryland side.  The way down I thought to myself that it was going to be a hard road back, and it really was.  By the time I got back, I was beat and looked forward to riding back through York to find something to eat.

The crushed stone reminded me that I really need a fender – I had stone/slug/mud gunk all up my back and seat.  But the MD side of the trail was in pretty good shape and a really pleasant ride once the morning dew dried up.  It got a little busy south of the Monckton trail head as I got into metro Baltimore, but not unpleasantly so.

I don’t know if I would drive five hours just to ride this trail, or it’s sister trail that I never finished to York, but if I’m back for business next year, I may very well give the rest of it a go.