Philadelphia: Lock 12 Loop
Explore canal relics and tucked-away overlooks of the Mason-Dixon Trail on this 3.6-mile dayhike in Holtwood Environmental Preserve.
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Trail Facts
- Distance: 4.7
Waypoints
MDT001
Location: 39.8146018981934, -76.3309478759766
Head ESE into lower plain of Anderson Run
MDT002
Location: 39.814395904541, -76.3289260864258
Check out schist walls of Lock 12, one of the best-preserved remnants from the Susquehanna & Tidewater Canal; continue NW on blue-blazed Mason-Dixon Trail
MDT003
Location: 39.8188629150391, -76.335319519043
Trail drops into old canal bed
MDT004
Location: 39.819164276123, -76.3362503051758
Cross creek and turn L onto path with thick, waxy rhododendrons
MDT005
Location: 39.8168487548828, -76.3382263183594
Cross back over creek; pick up faint trail on L and climb wooden staircase for brief detour to explore old road grade
MDT006
Location: 39.8137893676758, -76.3383407592774
Trail ends @ private property; return to WPT 5 and bear NW on Mason-Dixon Trail along open ridgeline
MDT007
Location: 39.8191871643066, -76.3385543823242
Views above the Susquehanna River and a patchwork of farmland
MDT008
Location: 39.8249816894531, -76.3412780761719
Leave Mason-Dixon Trail and hike N on gravel path to dam
MDT009
Location: 39.8258590698242, -76.3415298461914
Reach W side of Holtwood Dam and clear vantage above the torrents rushing from Lake Aldred; finish loop by hiking SE to WPT 4 and returning to trailhead
Wooden ladder
Location: 39.8167457580566, -76.3385772705078
©Fletcher Caldwell
Creek crossing
Location: 39.816837310791, -76.338249206543
©Fletcher Caldwell
Cascading creek
Location: 39.8174438476562, -76.337272644043
©Fletcher Caldwell
DSC_2721
Location: 39.8147888183594, -76.3308944702148