phillygal
07-13-09, 07:39 AM
I am planning a trip in August on this trail. I would start on the southern end and bike into York city, find a hotel for the night and then bike back to the southern terminus of this trail. I would be grate ful for any information concerning York city, the trail, parking at the southern end or other info. Thanks in advance!
I am contemplating something similar for this weekend, except that I plan to bring the tent and sleeping bag, etc. and continue on from York up to Gifford Pinchot State Park, PA and camp for two nights.
I've ridden the entire NCR trail quite a few times; I've only gone a few miles into PA, a few times, on the York trail.
Parking at the southern end of the NCR trail fills up very quickly on a nice weekend day -- you'll need to get there quite early. If you're departing on a weekday, you should be fine. There are other parking lots available further up the trail, but none of them is very large.
The surface of the trail is packed dirt and occasional fine gravel; it's mostly pretty smooth. I've ridden short distances on it (as in 3 miles or less) on a cyclocross bike with 25c road tires without problem, but I wouldn't want to do that for the whole 40 miles. A touring or hybrid bike with 32c tires would probably be more comfortable. Lots of people on mountain bikes, but the trail is nowhere near rough enough to make that necessary.
The grade of the MD part of the trail is very flat, no more than a barely noticeable 1% or 2%, for the most part. On the MD side, it's "uphill" to about Monkton, "downhill" from there to the PA line. As I said, I've only ever gone a few miles on the PA side, but that seemed quite flat, too.
The paved side roads, though, at least in Maryland, are often horrendously steep.
The MD trail is very pleasant to ride on in summer, lots of shade, the Gunpowder River flowing alongside. It's a bit remote, though, so make sure you bring enough water and food. (Bathroom/port-a-pot facilities are also limited.)
Sorry, I don't know anything about the city of York, but I'm sure you can "use the Google" and get some good info. :) The York Trail ends at the York County Colonial Courthouse, at 205 West Market Street, and I would bet there are probably some B&Bs or something not too far away.
Here are some links that should help:
York County Heritage Trail:
http://www.yorkcountyparks.org/parkpages/railtrail.htm
Northern Central Railroad Trail:
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/greenways/ncrt_trail.html
Info on both:
http://bikewashington.org/trails/ncr/ncr.htm
Enjoy! I'm pretty certain that my trip this weekend is a go; I'll try to post a ride report here when I get back.
Just noticed this thread, a few down -- good info:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=554048
phillygal
07-14-09, 05:30 AM
Thanks, I much appreciate this information. Have a great trip and I'll look for your report.:)
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