Three Notch Trail
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2024) |
| Three Notch Trail | |
|---|---|
| Length | 10.6 miles (17.1 km) |
| Location | St. Mary's County, Maryland and Charles County, Maryland |
| Established | June 2006 |
| Trailheads | South: Baggett Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland, North: Hughesville, Maryland, Future: Lexington Park, Maryland |
| Use | Hiking, Biking |
| Surface | Asphalt |
| Website | www |
The Three Notch Trail is a 10.6-mile (17.1 km), shared-use rail trail in the US state of Maryland. It currently runs on the right-of-way of the old U.S. Naval Air Station Railroad from Deborah Drive in Hughesville, MD just inside Charles County to Baggett Park in Mechanicsville, MD. It is almost entirely within St. Mary's County. The county plans to extend the trail south to Pegg Road in Lexington Park, MD and possibly as far as Great Mills Road. Three smaller sections totaling about 5000 feet have been constructed in California, MD as part of other construction projects.
History[edit]
The trail runs on the abandoned right-of-way of the Brandywine and Cedar Point Railroad. The railroad north from Mechanicsville was constructed between 1872 and 1881 by the Washington City and Point Lookout Railroad with intentions to take it all the way to Point Lookout in Scotland, MD. It was extended 2.5 miles in the 1920s to south Mechanicsville when it was the Washington, Brandywine & Point Lookout Railroad and then in 1942, after it had been purchased by the Navy, it was extended to the Naval Air Station Patuxent River when it was called the Brandywine and Cedar Point railroad. When operating the train became too expensive, passenger service was ended in 1954. The Pennsylvania Railroad continued using the line to deliver aviation fuel into the 1960s, but when it started being brought by barge, service ended completely.
On June 26, 1970, 28 miles of the ROW in the county was purchased by St. Mary's County for a utility right-of-way. Part of the ROW was used to widen MD-235.
Construction of the trail started in 2005 and Phase I, running one mile from MD Route 236 in New Market, MD to the Northern County Senior Center in Charlotte Hall, was officially opened on June 3, 2006.[1] Phase II, from the Northern County Senior Center to Deborah Drive just inside Charles County opened in October, 2008.[2][3] Work on Phase 5, a disconnected section in south Mechanicsville from Baggett Park to near MD Route 5, broke ground in 2010 and was complete in the spring of 2011.[4] Phase VI, at first delayed due to a conflict about how it would pass through the property of Immaculate Conception Church, was completed in 2016. This section passes through Mechanicsville and closed the gap between Phase I and Phase V.[5]
In September 2023, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced $1.2 million in additional funds for the trail's construction, as part of the Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program by the Maryland Department of Transportation.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ "St. Mary's Commissioners To Host Three Notch Trail Grand Opening Ceremony". 22 May 2006. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ "Three Notch Trail Completed and Future Phases" (PDF). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Cranor, David. "CWL 2008 #11 Three Notch Trail". Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Hiking, biking trail adds another three miles". SoMdNews. 5 October 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Three Notch Trail is back on track". 11 January 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
- ^ Transportation, Maryland Department of (September 15, 2023). "Governor Wes Moore Announces $25.5 Million For Bicycle, Pedestrian Projects Across Maryland". The BayNet.
38°30′44″N 76°46′30″W / 38.512176°N 76.775067°W
