I knew the trail had been extended/improved since my last visit in April of 2016, and I wanted to check it out. I also knew about the tragic burning of the Martic Forge Trestle by an arsonist in 2018, which not only wrecked a wonderful visual attraction to the trail, but also effectively cut off about five of the seventeen miles that is currently paved with a nice surface of crushed gravel.
The "manicured" section runs west from the trailhead at Bushong Road in Eden Township, but I started a few miles east at a small trailhead on Route 896 in Bart Township. I rode a couple of miles east towards the borough of Atglen, along a decent path of gravely single-track. When it became a rough surface more like railroad ballast, I turned around. The condition of the surface connecting with the most rideable section of the Enola Low Grade Trail was variable, to say the least.
The recent rains had made a mess of some of the areas under construction, with mud and runoff covering the roadbed. The trail runs through a culvert under (I think) Mt. Pleasant Road, and the pedaling was really difficult through the ruts of hardened mud. Other sections were a bit more rideable with a surface that seemed like pulverized asphalt but were still fatiguing to ride over for a decent distance. I chose to detour around these sections on the way back via the parallel Valley Road.
I was quite happy to finally hit the finely crushed gravel, as I felt like I had taken a physical beating. High winds had been forecast for the day, but they thankfully never materialized. There was a pretty consistent 10 mph breeze the whole time I was riding. The route is slightly downhill most of the way west, which made fighting the wind easier, and on the way back, with the wind at my back, it just felt like I was riding on a flat!
At the Red Hill Road trailhead I made my detour around the Martic Forge Trestle, pedaling along Route 324, then making a right turn on River Road to head under the bridge. A steep climb on Colemanville Church Road was necessary to return up to the trail level. I remembered this section of the trail had been railroad ballast during my last ride here, but it was now wonderfully fine gravel.
Because the trees have not yet bloomed this spring, views of the Susquehanna River were fantastic as I neared the turnaround at Safe Harbor. Dozens of rock climbers were out on the cliffs during this beautiful, sunny day, and I bet they were glad the high winds never happened, too!
I noticed work was being done to resurface the Safe Harbor Bridge (upper structure in photo below), which will create a fantastic link to another 5.5 miles of trail that is complete to Manor Township. Rails To Trails folks envision connecting west to Harrisburg and east to the Chester Valley Trail, and I hope I'm able to see this come to fruition!
I've been able to move a few bikes out of the shop the past couple of weeks, but I still have plenty of finished machines and some ready to be assembled. I just completed the DeRosa build, and I'll say goodbye with some pics:
