Ad Crable, LancasterOnline.com, reported Wednesday a new Northeast Lancaster County River Trail section and Columbia Crossing River Trails Center now open in Columbia Borough.

You can walk or bike through an old railroad tunnel blasted through rock, pass within feet of the base of Chickies Rock as climbers scale the edifice right above you, and view the long-forgotten remnants of no less than four 19th-century iron furnaces.

For the first time since the recreational trail was envisioned 20 years ago, you can now walk along the Susquehanna from Columbia to Falmouth, near the Dauphin County line.

The Columbia Crossing trail center, along Front Street and just across the railroad tracks from the 1877 train station, has a vast elevated deck that looks across the river to Wrightsville and is framed to the north by the art deco Veterans Memorial Bridge that opened in 1930.

The stone bridge abutments that once supported the covered bridge that played a pivotal role in the Battle of Gettysburg also are visible.

Inside, high ceilings and lots of glass showcase the history of the river and Columbia. Ten paintings from the Visions of the Susquehanna River Art Collection are currently hanging in the center, as well as black-and-white photos from the great ice jam of 1917.

Inside, high ceilings and lots of glass showcase the history of the river and Columbia. Ten paintings from the Visions of the Susquehanna River Art Collection are currently hanging in the center, as well as black-and-white photos from the great ice jam of 1917.

The Visitor’s Center is open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Click Here to read the entire article and to see photos of the Visitor’s Center.

NewsClips:

New Northwest Lancaster County River Trail Section, Visitor’s Center Open

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3/21/2016