The Capital Area Greenbelt is a 20-mile scenic trail connecting five communities. It was envisioned by landscape architect Warren Manning in 1901 during the City Beautiful movement, with an innovative plan for tree-lined carriage drives linking a necklace of parks. The Great Depression halted progress for nearly 70 years until dedicated volunteers revitalized the trail in 1990. Along the route, Reservoir Park, Harrisburg's highest point, offers views of the Pennsylvania Capitol, the Susquehanna River, and Blue Mountain, as well as sunsets, sculptures, gardens, Shakespearean plays, concerts, and original artifacts in the Civil War Museum. The National Civil War Museum presents interactive exhibits devoted to understanding all sides of the Civil War and an award-winning film about everyday people living in America as the war progresses. Historic Paxtang Parkway, built in 1910 along the Paxtang Tributary of Spring Creek, is a quiet wooded oasis that was eventually gated and abandoned before Greenbelt volunteers cleared and reopened it, and mountain bike trails line both sides of the Greenbelt through Paxtang.
