CPC secures first trail easement on the South Mountain Trolley Greenway

The South Mountain Trolley Greenway is a proposed 8-mile trail following the former Cumberland Valley Railroad corridor between Dillsburg and Mechanicsburg. It would traverse the Cumberland County municipalities of Mechanicsburg Borough and Monroe and Silver Spring townships, and the York County municipalities of Dillsburg Borough and Carroll Township.

The greenway was first identified as the Trolley Line Greenway in the Cumberland Countywide Greenway Study (2000) and the Northern York Region Comprehensive Recreation, Parks & Open Space Plan (2005). The Friends of the South Mountain Trolley Greenway formally mobilized this spring with the mission to generate community support for the trail, advance the trail planning effort, and conduct direct outreach to landowners to secure trail easements and generally to support the trail’s establishment. The result will bring needed recreation opportunities to local residents, a renewed sense of place and community, and an appreciation for the unique historical, ecological, agricultural, and economic values of the South Mountain region.

CPC has participated on the study committee for the initial feasibility study and is working together with the Friends of South Mountain Trolley Greenway as a partner in this effort. By virtue of its function as a local land trust, CPC may serve as a holder of the trail easement agreements with landowners. While CPC is unlikely to be the entity to construct and manage the trail, it strongly supports the planning and outreach effort and securing and holding the trail easements.

“Greenways offer unique open space conservation opportunities that can enable broader appreciation of and interaction with this region’s natural and historic landscapes. We’re really fortunate and thankful to be able to partner with an organization like CPC at this critical early stage of the trail’s development,” said David Maher, a Cumberland County resident who has been spearheading the Greenway effort since 2016.

In this role, CPC has accepted the project’s first trail easement for the northern trailhead at the Wertz Coal Yard property on Trindle Rd. in Mechanicsburg. We hope this serves as an example or model for future landowner agreements. The trail corridor extends south to connect to Coover Park in Dillsburg, as the southern trailhead. Keep up-to-date on South Mountain Trolley Greenway updates by following them on FaceBook!