The Trolley Trail from Calvert Hills to Riverdale Park Station is now officially open and there is a detour for the remainder of the route heading south.

Under the temporary route, hikers and bikers heading south from College Park can make their way through the shopping center to connect up with the trail into Hyattsville.

Residents have been frustrated by the slow pace of the trail construction, since there was no good alternate. (There’s no sidewalk on the eastern side of Baltimore Avenue north of Riverdale Park Station, so bikers either had to head into a busy road or cross Route 1 twice just to reconnect to the trail.)

Now that the trail is open, bikers can head from Franklin’s in downtown Hyattsville all the way to Greenbelt Road, a fun three-mile ride through quiet mostly residential neighborhoods with connections to the Paint Branch Trail.

Under the detour, bikers heading into Riverdale Park Station from the north should turn right and go behind the row homes, turn and go down 45th Street where the MOD Pizza is, then turn and go past Whole Foods and Starbucks, skirting the edge of the property until they reach the southern trail access point at Tuckerman Street.

When construction is finished, a more direct bike route will be available through the site, but for now, removing the fences at the northern and southern ends will help a lot.