THE HERITAGE TRAIL
Since the early 1990s, residents and visitors of York County have been using the Heritage Rail Trail for hiking, jogging, bicycling and even horse back riding. Covering 176 acres, the trail winds through scenic areas of southern York County, running north from the Mason-Dixon line to John Rudy Park in East Manchester Township. The Heritage Trail also continues into Maryland, connecting to the 20-mile-long Torrey C. Brown trail.
Starting in spring, on any given day the trail can be found bustling with activity. There are several historical sites to see along the way and even an active railroad, but there was no way to take the trail from start to finish. Since 2011, our Highway and Bridge crews have worked to complete several projects to connect the trail into a cohesive unit and modify the existing portions to be safer and more accessible. Our work over the years has included everything from constructing pedestrian bridges to trail extensions.
THE MISSING LINK
Up until last year, the trail cut off 21 miles north of Maryland, leaving a two-mile gap between York City and John Rudy Park. In late 2021, we began our work to complete a final missing link – a 2,000-foot-long paved, multi-use trail that tied into where our work left off two years ago. This portion of the project included digging out the trail, paving, installing an infiltration trench, streetlights and right of way fencing.
With construction of the final gap complete, the trail now runs continuously for over 27 miles. Our crews have worked hard over the years to get the trail to where it is today, and we are proud to have delivered this project for our community.
