Lang Hastings – Rail Trail

Length –  33 km (one way)

90% rail trail path
5% road crossings, detours

Elevation – Flat, with a very gradual slope

Terrain – Fine crushed stone, gravel, asphalt at either end. Use a hybrid or gravel bike.

Skill – Easy 

Maps – Well marked, new map boards and posted signs.

Traffic – Cycling, hiking/jogging, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.

Facilities – Parking lots, outhouse, benches, rain shelter, food and lodging at either end with not much in between (not yet).

Highlights – Large road underpass tunnel, old rail bridges, waterfront views, locks 

Trail Fee – Free

Phone – None

Website – Lang Hastings Trail

Similar Trails – Omemee ,  Victoria,  Lower Trent

Local Clubs – Peterborough Cycling Club

Access – Suggested parking lots in Peterborough at Rogers Cove Park or Beavermead Park or just out of town on Technology Dr.

Midpoint: Base Line Rd. east of Heritage Line

In Hastings : on Trent Street and at Homewood Ave. & Bridge St. N.

History – (I no longer include train history in my free reviews. Only to be found in my published books.)

Enjoy a 33 km country cruise, car-free, on the Lang Hastings Rail Trail this summer. Find your way out to Peterborough and cycle through the Ontario countryside to Hastings.

I recently rode the length of this trail with my friend Michael on a sunny day to scout the conditions of the path. I am pleased to say the route is in excellent shape with new signs, benches and is resurfaced with a fine crushed-gravel base.

We started in Peterborough at Rogers Cove Park, a perfect start point 1.5 km back from the official trailhead. This was done for two reasons: no parking lot at the trailhead and extra sights to see by the Otonabee River.

It’s worth going west down Maria St. for a minute; this will take you over a long rail bridge into town. Then double back to start your journey heading SE on the park trail that crosses over the Trent – Severn Canal at Lock 20. You have to walk your bike over the locks, rather novel.

A short jaunt down a paved path alongside Ashburnham Dr. takes you to Lansdowne St. On the opposite side of this busy (take care) intersection is the Lang Hastings trailhead. That was the hardest part to navigate (lol, not hard at all); the rest of the way is easy sailing on two wheels.

This part of Ontario is full of short hills that you do not have to manage. Track builders years ago found a way around these many mounds of glacial deposits to make a level route for trains. This in effect gives riders less of a straight, boring direct route and more of an interesting, winding path to follow.

The trip is a quiet venture into farm country with a few barns in the distance and the odd woodlot and marsh to pass through. We both agreed that sunscreen would help, as it was not that shady a trip.

I do not recall many road crossings on this trek. Most are underpasses with likely the largest road “tunnel” in Ontario going under…

Read the rest of this review and 59 others in my NEW book, Volume 2 of Best Bicycle Park & Rail Trails in Ontario.