Rail Trails: Riding the Torey C. Brown Trail and the Heritage Trail

A couple of months ago, Michael and I did a 60 mile ride on the Torey C. Brown Trail and the Heritage Trail, which are connected rail trails in Maryland and Pennsylvania, respectively. the Torey C. Brown Trail starts in Cockeysville, Maryland and ends at the state line, where the Heritage Trail begins. The Heritage Trail goes all the way to York, Pennsylvania for a total distance (both trails) of 40 miles one way It is a beautiful trail and we enjoyed it enough that we decided we needed to do the whole distance for an out-and-back of 80 miles. On Sunday, Wild Type and another friend joined us and we made the ride.

It started out a little bit crowded with runners. Apparently, a Baltimore running club was having an event at the southern trailhead. It wasn't too bad and, before long, we were mostly by ourselves on the trail. We made good time all the way to York. We had lunch on a picnic table in a park at the end of the trail. Then we decided we needed to ride to Maple Donuts. After all, it was only another 4 miles, round trip. And there would be donuts!

The way back was even more deserted than the ride out. The northern section of the Maryland portion of the trail was especially quiet. Michael had a flat, so we got a break while he changed it. We also stopped for ice cream since we were clearly sugar deficient after the donuts. It was a great ride that took all day. We did a total of 85 miles. Congratulations to our friend Wild Type on his longest ride ever.

I didn't take a lot of photos on this trip. I brought my good camera, but forgot the memory card in my computer. All of the pictures below were taken with my phone.

The Howard Tunnel on the Heritage Trail. This was one of the prettiest sections of the ride.

The square in York at the end of the trail.

Pretty sunflowers right beside the trail.

How many cyclists does it take to change a flat?

Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania: The birthplace of commercial ice cream production (click to enlarge).

Rail Trails: The Torey C. Brown Trail and the Heritage Trail

One of our training rides this spring took us by what looked like a lovely rail trail. That ride spent about 10 miles on roads that paralleled the Heritage Trail in Pennsylvania. Last weekend, seeking a cycling change of pace, we decided to explore it. 

We started at the south end of the Torey C. Brown Trail (formerly the North Central Railroad Trail) in Cockeysville, Maryland. The trail continues north for about 20 miles to the Pennsylvania border. At the south end, it is heavily used and the trail is pretty wide. Nearer to Pennsylvania, the trail narrows into two dirt tracks and we encountered far fewer people.

This bike is normally my commuter bike. I took it out on the trail to test whether it would be a good ride for an upcoming rail trail trip.

 Rosa multiflora (Multiflora Rose)

At the Pennsylvania border, the trail becomes the Heritage Trail, which continues 21 miles north to York.

 We stopped to have lunch at the high point on the trail, just south of New Freedom, Pennsylvania.

They run a tourist train at New Freedom. The trail crosses the tracks several times, but it isn't like you can't hear the train coming and it doesn't move particularly fast.

We passed grazing twisty-horned goats.

We also passed a hillside full of gnomes. Click to enlarge for the full glory of the gnomes. My photo does not, sadly capture all of them.

 Gillenia trifoliata (Bowman's Root) near the gnomes.

Geranium maculatum (Wild Geranium).