Heritage Rail Trail County Park

Current Status

The York County Heritage Rail Trail was completed and officially dedicated on August 28, 1999. The trail is managed by the York County Department of Parks and Recreation as one of eight county parks.

The Heritage Rail Trail County Park is 21.1 miles long and connects to Maryland's 20-mile long Northern Central Railroad Trail. The trail's surface is 10 foot wide and consists of compacted stone designed for hiking, bicycling, running, horseback riding as well as winter sports such as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Historic features of the trail include: New Freedom Railroad Station, Hanover Junction Railroad Station and the Howard Tunnel. The Howard Tunnel is the oldest, continuously operational railroad tunnel in the nation.

In 1999 the Heritage Rail Trail was voted one of the top 10 rail trails in the nation by NBC News. In 2003, the Heritage Rail Trail County Park received a Rail-Trail Design Recognition Award from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and the American Society of Landscape Architects for innovative rail-trail design in the category of bridge and tunnel conversions.

Project Location

York County, PA from the Maryland/Pennsylvania state line near New Freedom, PA to Lafayette Plaza in the City of York.

Participating Agencies

York County Rail Trail Authority, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, York County Planning Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission,
and the generous contributors to the Capital Campaign.

Funding Sources

York County Rail Trail Authority, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, York County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Vision

For 134 years, from 1838 to 1972, the Northern Central Railroad connected Baltimore, MD with York, PA and points north, encouraging the growth of small communities such as New Freedom, Glen Rock and Seven Valleys. The railroad was a major link in the exchange of goods and passenger service between York and Baltimore. It was originally chartered as the Baltimore and Susquehanna RR, then the Northern Central RR, later the Pennsylvania RR and finally Penn Central RR. Following the declared bankruptcy of the Penn Central Railroad in 1970 and the major destruction of the rail line in 1972 by Hurricane Agnes, the County of York purchased the rail corridor in 1990 through a special agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and formed the York County Rail Trail Authority. This panel of ten volunteers, supported by extraordinary volunteer efforts throughout the county of York, have converted this rail corridor into a unique recreational asset.

The Future

The Heritage Rail Trail County Park will serve as a spine for the development of additional recreational trails in York County. Already in the planning stages is a Northern Extension that would connect the rail trail with John Rudy County Park, a major recreational facility near Mt. Wolf, PA. The Hollow Creek Greenway and the York Hanover Trolley Line may also one day connect to the Heritage Rail Trail. The success of the Heritage Rail Trail as both a recreational resources and an economic benefit has helped to facilitate the planning for additional trails and greenways in York County.