Cumberland Valley Rail Trail

Once the route of the Cumberland Valley Railroad (charted in 1831), the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail (CVRT) was completed between Shippensburg and Newville in 2006. In 2017 the trail was extended across a new bridge at Fogelsanger Road and through campus to a new trailhead at Fort Street. The extension of the trail into the heart of Shippensburg presents a wonderful opportunity for the university in terms of attracting and retaining students, enhancing potential classroom, internship, research, and service learning activities, and better forging stronger connections to the surrounding community.

Dr. Leslie Folmer Clinton (VP for External and Community Relations) and Dr. Allen Dietrich-Ward (Associate Professor of History) are chairing a campus-wide CVRT Coordinating Committee. In addition to thinking “big thoughts” about future uses for the trail, the group will form action-oriented working groups to handle pragmatic issues that are bound to arise with a jointly-managed amenity as well as the practical matters associated with integrating the trail into academic and student service activities.

Cumberland Valley Rails-to-Trails Council (CVRTC) is an all-volunteer, non-profit, charitable corporation that is working to develop the 11-mile Cumberland Valley Trail, from Shippensburg to Newville, PA. Learn more about the trail and upcoming events on the CVRTC website. Contact Dr. Allen Dieterich-Ward to learn how you can get involved on campus!

In October 2017, a 1956 Penn Central boxcar was moved just outside downtown Shippensburg at the CVRT’s Fort Street Trailhead. This location, known as “Shippensburg Station” serves as a the Cumberland Valley Railroad Museum and is open year-round for self-guided tours. Click here to watch the boxcar move from start to finish!