Columbia Crossing River Trails Center Susquehanna NHA — Attraction in Columbia

What a surprise when we parked the car. The setting is all around delightful. The stilted architecture is current and elegant, surrounded by vast green lawn that faces the Susquehanna River.  It is also a perfect vantage point for viewing the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The center provides an excellent source of information for accesses to the river as well as bike trails in Lancaster County.  It also offers facilities for events such as exhibitions and weddings.  The parking lot, though a substantial size, could be overrun especially in the summer during popular boating and biking season.

There is one boat launcher and 2 docked paddle boat access points, including one which is wheelchair accessible.  And I should count also the one undocked access point right under the bridge.

The center marks the southern end of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail, currently my favorite trail.  The one negative I should point out is that it can be confusing to get to the trailhead.  There is an overflow parking area and restricted access road that can potentially mislead. The key is to go across the traffic light to where the murals are and head left until the Y intersection where you'd have to cross twice in order to get to the trail.  Aside from that, this place is perfectly situated and...

We came here as out of state tourists and got slammed with a $25 fine for parking in the "trailer" parking lot when there was NO regular parking available. We were literally there for 10 minutes and I saw a cop walk up to our car from the other side of the park. When my husband went to investigate, they had just written the ticket. The cop said if we wanted to dispute it we needed to talk to the chief at the local police station. When my husband went in to talk to the chief he found out that he was conveniently out of town for the next week. We were told if we didn't pay the fine it would increase then there would be a warrant out for our arrest...for a $25 fine! This whole thing is a scheme to line the pockets of someone in this town. Also to the town- if you want people to enjoy your park, you need to add more regular parking. There were 5-6 other cars also parked in this area and I assume they were also ticketed...a few even had PA license plates. We even went on a weekday when it wasn't even very crowded. We actually came to the park to enjoy a nice stroll with our two daughters after visiting the Turkey Hill experience and would up giving the police station our last...

Great trail. Paved and lots of shade and almost completely flat. Good for walking and biking. Many children out there also. Would not recommend for cyclists due to a lot of people and blind turns. Goes from river in Columbia to Bainbridge and is going to be expanded to Falmouth. Distance from Columbia to Bainbridge is about 11.5 miles. Decatour to Bainbridge about 6.5 miles. After you get to Marietta you must ride on streets for about a mile til you get to decatour St. To get back on path. Or go over tracks and get on dirt trail for that distance. I walked once and got bitten by bugs so I recommend bug spray. Also can stop at Bainbridge inn or many great restaurants in Marietta. I ride many trails in the area and this is me and my wifes favorite. We have giant bikes that are a combination between compfort and cycling. We do under a five minute mile and almost never get passed. To give you an idea of speed. All ages and all speeds are there. Go...