August 16, 2023
Ride as much or as little or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.
- Eddy Merckx
Wednesay, August 16th was forecast to be slightly cooler than the past few days. We were determined to squeeze in as many adventures as we could before one of us had to head back to work for the school year, so we decided to take a short bike ride on the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The 7.1 mile trail follows the former Reading and Columbia Railroad, running west from Ephrata to Lititz in Warwick Township.
Note: This trail is highly used by walkers and bike riders, especially at the eastern end in Ephrata. We suggest riding it early in the morning if you prefer to have the trail mostly to yourself. Also, there are a few road crossings on this trail. Be watchful when crossing because drivers do not always slow down or stop for trail users.
We rode on this trail for the first time in September 2021 and enjoyed it enough to want to go back again. Many of the photos you see here will be from that first trip since it was nearly the same time of the year and not much had changed in the two years since we had first ridden the trail.
We started our journey at the Ephrata Linear Park trailhead, riding on the paved trail as we headed west. The trail passes by some buildings with murals painted on them before passing through a tunnel carrying Rt. 272 over it.
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 | | Ephrata - along the trail (2023) |
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 | | Ephrata - along the trail (2023) |
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 | | Rt. 272 tunnel (2021) |
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At some point before entering the small town of Akron, the trail becomes gravel. For the last eight years, people passing through this section of the trail have been treated with the sight of the Nibbles McGibbles Gnome Village. Sadly, while writing this post we discovered that the gnome village was permanently removed not long after our recent ride on the trail. Fortunately, we stopped to take photos of it, not realizing it would be dismantled within the next few days. It was a very popular spot on the trail and will be missed!
 | | Gnome Village in Akron, along the trail (2023) |
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 | | Gnome Village, Akron (2023) |
 | | Gnome Village, Akron (2023) |
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 | | Gnome Village, Akron (2021) |
 | | Gnome Village, Akron (2023) |
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Also found along the trail is Hope Meadow, a lovely plot of land filled with wildflowers for all to enjoy - but no picking!
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 | | Hope Meadow, along the trail (2021) |
 | | Hope Meadow (2021) |
.JPG "Black-Eyed Susan") | | Black-Eyed Susan (2023) |
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 | | Hope Meadow (2021) |
.JPG "Cutleaf Coneflower") | | Cutleaf Coneflowers (2023) |
 | | New England Aster (2023) |
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 | | Wild Senna (2023) |
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The trail continues into a nicely tree-shaded area, passing over the Cocalico Creek before heading out into farmland and Warwick Township, with the off-road portion of the trail ending just as you enter Lititz.
 | | Along the trail (2021) |
 | | Cocalico Creek bridge (2021) |
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 | | Along the trail (2021) |
 | | Along the trail (2021) |
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 | | Trailhead at Lititz (2021) |
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You can take the road to the official end of the trail, by turning left onto the roadway where the gravel trail ends, and heading up the hill where you turn right and follow the street into Lititz Spring Park. We have only ever ridden on the off-road portion of the trail.
After taking a short break at the Lititz/Warwick end of the trail we returned to our start in Ephrata Linear Park where we sat on a bench at the trailside Veteran's Plaza and ate our lunch before heading the short distance further east on the trail to Main Street in Ephrata, then circled back to our car for the ride home.
It was a pleasant day for a ride and we are ever so grateful we were lucky enough to see the gnome village one more time before it was dismantled.
* All Photos and videos are the property of the authors except where otherwise noted. *
.JPG "Black-Eyed Susan")
.JPG "Cutleaf Coneflower")
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