Underground Railroad Archives - Adventure Cycling Association

Underground Railroad Section 1 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:31 +0000

The southernmost map of this route begins in Mobile, Alabama, and follows several rivers north to Fulton, Mississippi. In the 1800s Mobile was a key port for ships to unload enslaved Africans. The Tensaw, Alabama, and Tombigbee rivers all flow into Mobile Bay, and were used as guides for freedom seekers to escape northward. Besides the lush green scenery and the many small towns Section 1 passes through, a host of museums, historic parks, and visitor centers bring the region’s history alive. More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Section 2 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:31 +0000

Shortly after leaving Fulton, Mississippi, the route joins the Natchez Trace Parkway for 10 miles. After crossing a low divide into Tennessee, the route follows the Tennessee River northward toward its confluence with the Ohio River. This area of western Tennessee and Kentucky is rich in American Indian and Civil War history. The Shiloh National Military Park and the Fort Donelson National Battlefield are points of interest along the way. This also follows The Trace Road through the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, a highway with no commercial traffic. Upon reaching the Ohio River, once known as the dividing line between the slave and free states, the route then heads northeast along the river to end at Owensboro, Kentucky. More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Section 3 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:30 +0000

Riding close to the Ohio River in the tri-state Kentucky/Indiana/Ohio region, this section moves through the Borderland. This is a narrow strip of land lining both sides of the river that saw some of the Underground Railroad’s most intense activity, and where a concentration of physical evidence remaining from those days still exists. The towns of New Albany, Lancaster and Madison in Indiana, and Augusta, Old Washington, and Maysville in Kentucky all have buildings, churches, homes or sites to visit. Roads are generally narrow and winding with low traffic counts. The route alternates between following the river and heading inland. At Maysville you will cross the river into Ohio, and then ride downstream a few miles to Ripley, which comprises a fifty-five acre National Historic District. There is a 16-mile spur into downtown Cincinnati. The city holds numerous sites relating directly to the struggle for freedom, including the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Section 4 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:30 +0000

From Milford north to Xenia, you will cycle along the Little Miami Scenic Trail. One of the longest paved rail-trails in America, it offers fifty miles of the most enjoyable cycling you will experience on the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route. The trail parallels the Little Miami State and National Scenic River, creating the additional option of stashing your bike for a day and checking out the same scenery by canoe. The majority of the roads in Ohio are rural in nature and tend to be excellent for bike touring, with smooth, high quality blacktop. You’ll travel through many small towns where traffic will increase during commuting hours. In Wilberforce, an unincorporated community just northeast of Xenia, you will find the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center. The route travels through Ohio’s capital, Columbus, and temporarily deviates from the Ohio to Erie Trail to follow the Olentangy Trail through the city. Continuing northeast on the Ohio to Erie Trail, it passes through the small towns of Mt. Vernon, Millersburg, and Massillon. In Akron, the route navigates efficiently through the urban hub entirely on traffic-free bike paths. Learn about abolitionist John Brown, and see the house he lived in between the years of 1844 and 1854. Ashtabula County occupies the extreme northeast corner of Ohio. Best known for its numerous wineries and beautiful covered bridges, the area held some three-dozen Underground Railroad safe houses. Here you will ride on the Western Reserve Greenway, a linear park following the former right-of-way of the PennCentral Railroad. A dozen Underground Railroad interpretive markers line the twenty-seven miles of the greenway claimed by Ashtabula County, identifying such sites as the Hubbard House, which is situated adjacent to Walnut Beach in the city of Ashtabula. The safe house was considered a northern terminus of the railroad, as escaped slaves would go from there by boat across Lake Erie to Canada. It is now home to an Underground Railroad museum that includes a map showing the locations of all known Underground Railroad stations in the area.

More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Section 5 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:29 +0000

Riding northeast from the city of Erie you will enjoy a long stretch of waterside along Lake Erie, the southern-most of the five Great Lakes. Then, after turning back inland south of Buffalo, you will ride through Orchard Park, home of the Pedaling History Bicycle Museum and one of the largest collections of antique and classic American bicycles to be found. There is a great deal of history to be explored in the Buffalo/Niagara area, ranging from American Revolution times to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. This region became a natural funnel for freedom seekers, due to its remoteness, its proximity to Canada, and the anti-slavery sentiment that ran strong throughout New York state. After crossing into Canada, from Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake, the route mainly uses the Niagara River Recreation Trail and short portions of the Niagara Parkway along the scenic Niagara River. The route near Niagara Falls is extremely busy in summer, with many international tourists visiting the area. Numerous plaques memorializing people, structures, and events important to the Underground Railroad and other periods of black history are found on or close to the route as you proceed northwest through the Niagara area. Throughout Ontario the route traverses the Niagara Escarpment, so expect climbs and descents. This will provide a challenge for the fully loaded cyclist, especially when going off-route for services or exploration. Owen Sound, where your ride of discovery ends, was known as the final terminal of the Underground Railroad. It is where many former slaves found their hard-earned freedom, and many of them settled in the village originally called Sydenham. Every year since 1862 the community has held its Emancipation Picnic, which today celebrates two historic milestones of freedom: the British Emancipation Act of 1834, and the United States Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Detroit Alternate Section 1 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:29 +0000

This alternate, beginning in Everett, Ohio, takes cyclists around the western side of Lake Erie through historically rich Michigan. There are many sites to visit in the towns that the route goes through. In Michigan the route becomes much more urban. Because there is no bicycle-friendly connection between Detroit and Windsor the route crosses into Canada north of these cities, which were both important sites to freedom seekers. More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Detroit Alternate Section 2 Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:28 +0000

From Sombra, Ontario, the route heads north through rural countryside, visiting several Underground Railroad sites before reaching Owen Sound, the terminus of the main route, located on the southern side of Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay. The Windsor Option, also in this section, can become a loop on its own connecting to section 1. From Sandusky,Ohio, you can cross Lake Erie via ferry. The route then goes northwest along the shore to Windsor, where many freedom seekers settled after their escape to Canada. It continues to the northeast where it reconnects to the Alternate at Sombra, Ontario. More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Complete Digital Route Set

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:28 +0000

The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route honors the bravery of those who fled bondage and those who provided shelter. This route passes points of interest and historic sites along a 2,100-mile corridor. Beginning in Mobile, Alabama, a busy port for slavery during the pre-civil war era, the route goes north following rivers through Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Waterways, as well as the North Star, were often used by freedom seekers as a guide in their journeys to escape slavery. Upon crossing into Ohio, the route leaves the river to head inland toward Lake Erie and enters Canada at the Peace Bridge near Buffalo, New York. In Ontario, the route circumvents the shores of Lake Ontario and ends at Owen Sound, a town founded by freedom seekers 150 years ago. More information about this route is available here. Digital Route Set Includes:

Underground Railroad Section 1 Digital Route (BE-5001)
Underground Railroad Section 2 Digital Route (BE-5002)
Underground Railroad Section 3 Digital Route (BE-5003)
Underground Railroad Section 4 Digital Route (BE-5004)
Underground Railroad Section 5 Digital Route (BE-5005)
Underground Railroad Detroit Alternate Section 1 Digital Route (BE-5006)
Underground Railroad Detroit Alternate Section 2 Digital Route (BE-5007)

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UR Pittsburgh Spur Digital Route

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:23 +0000

This 153-mile spur connects Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the Underground Railroad Bicycle Route at Erie, Pennsylvania. The route begins at the Senator John Heinz History Center and quickly crosses the Allegheny River to the 3.5 mile North Shore Trail. Across the water, cyclists have a view of Point State Park, the tip of Pittsburgh’s “Golden Triangle” where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers join. Cyclists continue along the North Shore trail which borders the shores of the Ohio River and takes them through the most urban section of the route. Underground Railroad sites, historic markers and museums dot the route with the highest concentrations in Pittsburgh and Mercer. Rolling hills make up the terrain in western Pennsylvania but most of the route is on fairly low-level traffic rural roads and highways. More information about this route is available here.

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Underground Railroad Detroit Alternate Digital Route Set

Joe LaRiche — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 21:43:23 +0000

The Underground Railroad Bicycle Route honors the bravery of those who fled bondage and those who provided shelter. The Main Route passes points of interest and historic sites along a 2,100-mile corridor. Beginning in Mobile, Alabama, a busy port for slavery during the pre-civil war era, the route goes north following rivers through Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Waterways, as well as the North Star, were often used by freedom seekers as a guide in their journeys to escape slavery. Upon crossing into Ohio, the route leaves the river to head inland toward Lake Erie and enters Canada at the Peace Bridge near Buffalo, New York. In Ontario, the route circumvents the shores of Lake Ontario and ends at Owen Sound, a town founded by freedom seekers 150 years ago. More information about this route is available here. Digital Route Set Includes:

Underground Railroad Detroit Alternate Section 1 Digital Route (BE-5006)
Underground Railroad Detroit Alternate Section 2 Digital Route (BE-5007)

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