Nov 1: Visit to “Charles Greenway”
Noted in the newspaper last week that the first section of the “Northwest River Trail”, named the Charles Greenway, was opened to the public. This section runs from the park off Vinegar Ferry Rd in East Donegal to Decatur Rd. in Marietta.
Parked by the lot at the pavillion and wondered where the path was…the driveway is a one-way loop and the path is near the entrance; there is a stone parking lot that could hold a half-dozen or so vehicles. There are no markings, so other than having people come the other way, I was never really sure if I was on the path. Path is between the railroad track and river, so most of the time the water is nearby. Some sort of motor or exhaust noise is audible, plus I could have swore I smelled freshly cut wood in the same area as the noise. There are a number of factories along 441, so that’s possible! Eventually I did come to a big blue “Charles Greenway” sign, and then a yelllow gate. It seems that this was the end, because I didn’t see any place else to go. There is a road that goes under the railroad (I presume this is Decatur Rd) which was flooded; I saw a couple with two dogs go north and then back south, so I presume there is some way to get to the other side of the railroad tracks.
Not a bad walk…it will be nice to see other sections open in the future. Pedometer read 4695. (Newspaper says park to Decatur is 2.3 miles, and I take about 1200 steps in a mile. This did not include the distance from the trail beginning to the parking lot.)