Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster, or another part of PA - bike trails are priority

[furboll]

Originally Posted by mitak

I'm looking to relocate 'from' south Jersey (Mount Laurel area). I want to buy a house with lower property taxes, and also I'm looking for an area where I can go biking on paved trails (such as greenways or trail-to-trails) for long rides - off the street. I need to be near mountains or foothills since I also like hiking and the views. A good downtown area with fun shops and somewhat of a laid back vibe would be great. I've seriously looked all over the country for a new place to live over the past 4 years, and other than a few places like New Mexico, the housing prices have really gone up and so many places are congested with traffic, crazy drivers, etc. I was surprised, from places in NC to CO it's been this way - not the laid back vibe that I remembered from 20 years ago. It's amazing how many articles online say "The 10 best cities, etc", and when I do more research they're already busting at the seems and getting overcrowded. So, since I have family in NJ, I'm thinking that I can find a nice part of PA that fits what I need. It doesn't have to make the top 10 list of best places, and maybe going far away isn't the answer. The area NE of Pittsburgh in the Allegheny National Forest looks great for hiking.

Which of these towns (Harrisburg, Reading, Lancaster - or another part of PA) would provide what I'm looking for? I'm beginning to think that maybe I'm just difficult.. lol.. because I keep thinking that I'll find this magic place but when I finally visit where I've been researching it's not what I expect. For work, I'm a mental health therapist and I see a lot of clients online - so I can take half my job with me. Housing probably shouldn't be too expensive, such as $250K.

I just got back in to biking last year and faced a similar issue. I grew up in Philly where I rode my bike everywhere; traffic and all. I moved to Central Pa and now I must drive everywhere and it’s not very conducive for biking.. As everyone else already said, there are quite few trails to bike on, but no matter where you move to, you will most likely have to drive to them unless you move to or close to Harrisburg, like Lemoyne, Enola, or Camp Hill. Last year alone I discovered the Capital Area green belt, the PA rail trail that goes in to Maryland, and Rocky Ridge Park.

But remember, you will be driving to most of them.

[g500]

Harrisburg area has Capital Area Greenbelt, Kings Gap, Stonybrook, Memorial Lake, Swatara SP, and Pinchot SP. There's a new 400-acre Detwiler Park and trails on Cove Mountain in the works.

[CozyCorner]

It's farther south than you are looking but the PA Rail Trail is popular in my neck of the woods (MD/PA line in York County). https://yorkcountypa.gov/parks-recre...ail-parks.html