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E-bikingBikingWalkingRunningHikingBirdingCross-country skiingand more
The Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail, known locally as the WERT, runs about 7.7 miles across northern Lancaster County on the old Reading and Columbia Railroad grade. It starts on North Broad Street in Lititz across from Lititz Springs Park, follows Lititz Run east through Warwick Township farmland, crosses Cocalico Creek on a restored 1909 railroad bridge at Millway, and continues through Akron to the north side of Ephrata. The western half is crushed stone through preserved farms with little shade. The eastern half through Akron and Ephrata Borough is asphalt, lit at night, and lined with benches. The grade is rail-flat the whole way, with well spaced trailheads and restrooms.
Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail
Your comfort. Prognosticated.
-Cory
In a typical year the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail has about 116 to 161 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, birding, e-biking, running, biking, and walking, with April, May, and October the best months.
Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.
Plan your visit to this trail. Get the best windows for a comfortable outing.
Enjoy the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail!
In half of past years, color along the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail peaks October 30 to November 18, typically around November 7. The trail has 12% deciduous coverage, with the majority being yellow-poplar, red maple, white oak, black walnut, chestnut oak, white ash, and black oak.
The Reading and Columbia Railroad ran its first train through Millway and Lititz in 1863. The line was built to move Schuylkill Valley coal and factory goods toward the Chesapeake Bay, and it faced doubts from the start. Critics in the Civil War years asked whether the ground suited a railroad and whether shaving 25 miles off a New York to Washington trip was worth it when a line already ran through Harrisburg. The road was built anyway. On March 15, 1864, a train of officials and invited guests steamed across Lancaster and Berks counties for the first time. In its busiest years the corridor carried as many as ten passenger trains a day along with freights. A new steel bridge went in over Cocalico Creek at Millway in 1909. The Reading kept the line alive into the 1970s. Tropical Storm Agnes did irreparable damage in 1972, and the railroad abandoned the route. Trail planning began around 1991, and the four municipalities that own the corridor bought the railroad's 60-foot right of way. The first pieces opened in 1996, and the trail grew outward from Lititz and Ephrata in sections over two decades. A paved, lighted mile from Akron to Ephrata opened at the end of 2014. The last gap closed when the refurbished 1909 Cocalico Creek bridge opened to walkers on December 31, 2018, joining the Warwick and Ephrata halves into one continuous trail.
Major Richard D. Winters Memorial Trail
