Pedal to the Petals

July 15th, 2023 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

View of a riparian forest buffer from a Lancaster County back road.

Part of the Pedal to the Petals route overlooking a riparian forest buffer in Lancaster County (Photo by Ryan Davis).

Do you love bikes, botany, and beavers? So do we! Join us on Saturday, July 15th to explore two riparian forest buffer sites and a wet meadow habitat near Christiana, PA in this 13-mile, guided biking tour!

A riparian forest buffer is a planting of native trees and shrubs along a stream. Without forest cover, streams are unprotected from polluted runoff and runaway streambank erosion. Forests along streams are also critical for our native aquatic life, which help filter pollution out of our water.

The three-hour trip will begin at 9:30 AM at South End Borough Park in Christiana (28 Water St, Christiana, PA 17509), where our reforestation site along Williams Run is thriving. We’ll discuss the ecology of riparian forests, learn tree species identification, and look at beaver signs before jumping on our bikes and heading to the Enola Low Grade Trail, a mile from the park. We will take the gravel rail trail 5.5 miles to another reforestation site along a tributary to Bowery Run, which has a large herbaceous wetland with great wildflower diversity to explore before heading back to Christiana on the Enola Low Grade Trail.

We’d recommend participants bring plenty of snacks and water and consider boots and pants to put on at the wetland site. A support vehicle will be there (on Hollow Road, Quarryville) and can transport supplies for you.

Please note, while the route is primarily on a rail-to-trail, the trail terrain is rather rough, rocky, and muddy (see image below for reference). If you have a mountain or gravel bike, we’d highly recommend you use that for the tour. If you have any questions, please email us at contact@allianceforthebay.org.

Bicyclist riding on a dirt trail.

Enola low grade trail (Photo by Ryan Davis)

Bike Tour Map


Use this interactive map to explore the entire Pedal to the Petals bike tour route. (On The Go Map)

Registration

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Liability and Safety Waiver

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