Railroads might be used less and less for transportation, but they still are of good use for recreation thanks to the presence of railbikes.
Of course, that might beg the obvious question for some.
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What exactly are railbikes?
Railbikes are pedal-power carts that are ridden on railroad tracks and have the same style as recumbent bikes in the way people sit on them and pedal.
When going on a railbike adventure, you can expect to leave in a group with tour leaders at the front and back for safety, with the pace set by the lead guide.
If that sounds interesting to you, there are several places around the country that offer these unique adventures.
Here are a few of those spots where railbike adventures are offered, according to hitraveltales.com. For more detailed information such as complete route and cost of each one, click the links below.
- Skunk Trail Railbikes, Fort Bragg, California - A 90-minute road trip, this will take you along the Pudding Creek Estuary and give you views of redwood groves.
- American Railbike Adventures, York County, Pennsylvania - These tours go through various tunnels, farmland and forests along tracks in York County.
- River Fox Railbikes, Saramento, California - These 60-minute tours follow tracks alongside the Old Garden Highway beside the Sacramento River.
- Carson Canyon Railbike Tours, Carson City, Nevada - A 90-minute trip, this takes you along the Virginia & Truckee train tracks and also visits the Halfway House Stage Stop.
- Vance Creek Railriders, Washington (state)- Tours take you on the Simpson Logging Company Railway, located on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula.
- B&ML RailCyclers, Unity, Maine - Trips on the Belfast and Moosehead Lake Railroad tracks are the feature of these tours.
- Revolution Rail - Adirondacks, New York - The tours go along abandoned railroad tracks in the Adirondacks, passing alongside the banks of the Hudson River.
- Adirondack Railbike Adventures, Adirondacks, New York - Railbikers have a chance to pedal along the Adirondack Scenic Railroad tracks on a six-mile journey through the Adirondack Mountains.
- Rail Explorers, 4 locations - These tours go along the Milford Track in Milford, New York, the Catskill Mountains along the Ulster and Delaware Railroad in New York, the Old Colony Railroad in Rhode Island, and also in Las Vegas.
- Scenic RailRiders, Concord, New Hampshire - A trip through a 6.4 mile stretch of abandoned railroad tracks along the Merrimack River can be taken in these tours.
- Rail Bike Adventures, Laconia, New Hampshire - Tours will take you along a 5-mile journey along the Hobo and Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad tracks.
- Essex Steam Train Railbike Adventures, Haddam, Connecticut - Railbikers can enjoy an 8-mile route along the Connecticut River and pass by The Preserve, a 963-acre forest between Boston and New York.
- Tracks & Yaks, Frostburg, Maryland - A 10-mile route, these tours go along the Great Allegheny Passage hiking and biking trail.
- Secret Valley Explorers, Boyertown, Pennsylvania - This 5-mile route takes bikers over creeks and forests.
- Soarin’ Eagle Rail Tours, Hawley, Pennsylvania - These tours go along a 6-mile route in the Pocono Mountains beside the Lackawaxen River.
- Wheels On Rails, Traverse City, Michigan - These tours in Northern Michigan opened in May and has already been in demand. The 6-mile excursion is the first railbike tour to open in Michigan.