How Far Does the Heritage Rail Trail Go and Where Should You Start?

York County's Heritage Rail Trail County Park runs 27 miles, from the Mason-Dixon Line just south of New Freedom north through Glen Rock, Hanover Junction, Seven Valleys and the Howard Tunnel to downtown York, then on the Northern Extension to John Rudy County Park. At the state line it becomes Maryland's Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail, another 20 miles toward Baltimore. Start at New Freedom for the trains and the Maryland connection, Hanover Junction for the history, or Brillhart Station if you want the shortest drive from York.

This is the park buyers ask me about most. Below is what it is, the trailheads with parking counts, the rules that trip people up, and the stops worth planning around.

What is the Heritage Rail Trail?

It is a crushed-stone path on the bed of the Northern Central Railway, the line that carried trains between Baltimore and York from the 1830s until the railroad gave it up in 1972. The county established the park in 1992, and the York County Rail Trail Authority built it out from there. The original stretch from York to the Maryland line is about 21 miles; the Northern Extension along Codorus Creek from the city to John Rudy Park adds the rest. An active tourist railroad still runs on the tracks beside the trail from New Freedom to Hanover Junction and Howard Tunnel, so the crossings are real crossings: look both ways.

Where are the trailheads, and where should you park?

The county lists these lots, south to north. Parking counts are the county's approximate numbers.

Trailhead	Address	Parking
New Freedom Train Station	117 N Front St, New Freedom 17349	about 40
Railroad Borough	5 E Main St, Railroad 17355	about 24
Glen Rock (Centerville)	3439 Seven Valleys Rd, Glen Rock 17327	listed
Hanover Junction Train Station	2433 Seven Valleys Rd, Seven Valleys 17360	about 50
Seven Valleys	Seven Valleys borough	about 30
Glatfelter Station	Spring Garden Township	about 43
Brillhart Station	York Township	about 77

The Northern Extension has its own lots at Route 30 and at John Rudy County Park, 400 Mundis Race Road, which is also the parks department headquarters.

What are the rules?

• Open dawn to dusk, like every York County park.
• Class 1 pedal-assist e-bikes are permitted, and this is the only county park that allows them. Class 2 and Class 3 e-bikes are prohibited.
• The railroad beside the trail is active. Check both directions before crossing the tracks.
• The surface is crushed stone on the southern trail and a mix of blacktop and stone on the Northern Extension. A hybrid or gravel bike is the right tool; road bikes with narrow tires struggle.

What is worth stopping for?

Hanover Junction. The station was built in 1851 where the Hanover Branch met the Northern Central. On November 18, 1863, the special train carrying Abraham Lincoln to Gettysburg changed railroads here on the way to the cemetery dedication; earlier that year wounded soldiers came through on their way from the battlefield to hospitals, and it was a key point on the military telegraph. The station is on the National Register, was rebuilt in 2003 and houses a small railroad museum run by the county parks department.

Howard Tunnel. About five and a half miles south of York near Seven Valleys, a brick-lined tunnel built in 1836 and 1837 and opened to trains in 1838, named for the engineer who worked out how to bore through the slate. It was listed on the National Register in 1995 and trains still use it.

New Freedom. The restored station at 117 North Front Street is the base of the Northern Central Railway of York, a nonprofit that opened in June 2013 as Steam Into History and took its historic name in 2019. Its replica 1860s 4-4-0 locomotive, the York, pulls excursions of about an hour to Glen Rock, two and a half hours to Hanover Junction, and three and a half hours to Howard Tunnel, plus fall foliage runs in October and November.

Glen Rock. The Glen Rock Mill Inn at 50 Water Street is an 1837 woolen mill turned restaurant and boutique hotel, operating as Table 1837; as of September 2026 it is open Tuesday through Sunday with a Sunday brunch. It is the natural lunch stop on a New Freedom to Hanover Junction ride.

Which end should you start from?

For a long, flat ride with a destination, park at New Freedom and head south into Maryland; the two trails together are more than 44 miles one way. With kids or a short window, Hanover Junction gives you the museum and shade in both directions. If you live in York, Brillhart Station is the big lot closest to the city, with Howard Tunnel a few miles south.

What does the trail mean for homeowners along it?

The boroughs on the trail, New Freedom, Railroad, Glen Rock and Seven Valleys, sell on it. People commute to Baltimore or Hunt Valley on I-83 and spend weekends on the trail, and the market shows it: Southern York County School District, which covers New Freedom and Glen Rock, had a median sale price of $380,000 for January through August 2026, against $309,900 for the county as a whole. If a listing says "walk to the rail trail," I go check how far that walk actually is, because it moves the price.

If you want a house you can ride from, tell me which trailhead you like and I will pull what is for sale near it. Call or text me at 717-356-9413.