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19 reviews for Wissahickon Valley Trail
The Wissahickon Valley is a nearly perfect urban oasis.
Water, trees, birds, deer, walking and biking paths, horseback riding, covered bridges, and an early American Inn that still serves the public. Ahhh, pure unadulterated bliss!
Oh Wissahickon Valley Trail, how I love you. You have shady spots when it's hot, and sunny spots when it's cold. You have something for everyone and you are just so beautiful.
You are easily accessible and tons of fun. You remind me how great it can be to live in Philadelphia, and I appreciate you every time I need to escape the noise and crowds of the city.
Thank you for being so close to my apartment, but just so you know, even if you weren't a block away, I'd still drive my car to come visit you.
For a first time Philadelphian coming from California, I didn't really know what to expect when I moved out here. So when I walked around my neighborhood and came across the pathway entrance, I was more than excited to go, "exploring." The trail is totally walkable, but while making my way down the trail, I couldn't help but wish I had brought my mountain bike from home with me.
It's filled with gorgeous scenery, and if you go on a day with great weather, you'll find the trail packed with people just as excited to breathe some fresh air.
I cant wait to buy a bike for the upcoming spring!
A great place to go to feel like you're away from the city! I brought my dog there, and she LOVED it. Also, most people don't complain if your dog is off their leash (as long as they're well-behaved).
Lots of fun and nature's beauty for the whole family. We take the kids here for a 'feeding the ducks" play date and mini hike (2-5 year olds) and they just love it. Especially in good weather (not too hot or humid or raining). Don't miss it!
Ah, Wissahickon Trail ... I want to set up a tent and live on you forever. Seriously, you made me forget all about the screaming kids from my neighborhood, the wretched stench of the city on a hot day and, well, pretty much anything else discomforting about city life.
What more could I ask for from a life partner?
I've been in more beautiful trails in more beautiful places, but not many that are INSIDE a city. I ived in East Falls for a long time and occasionally utilized this park, but sadly really only discovered some of the more beautiful sections prior to moving much further away to So. Philly. This really is a great park with some nice hiking as well as some fun things to see like the Tolerance and Indian statues and some historical houses, etc. It's a natural gem in Philly. As Poe said, "...the Wissahiccon [sic] is of so remarkable a loveliness that, were it flowing in England, it would be the theme of every bard, and the common topic of every tongue." Check it out.
I have been exploring some new places to go hiking in the greater Philadelphia area, and the Wissahickon Valley Trail is one of the best I have encountered so far. One of the nice features of the park is that you have the option of making your hike as easy or difficult as you choose, and it is not easy to get lost, as long as you know where you are in relation to the creek. On my first visit, I chose to walk down Forbidden Drive from Bell Mills Road, and then cross over at about 4.5 miles and head back through the wilderness trails on the other side of the creek; you can get in a nice 10 mile hike that way, but there are many other paths to explore.
Dear long-silvery-haired man who owns an Akita,
If you know your dog has a problem with other dogs and is prone to approaching said other dogs without his tail a-wagging, possibly with the intention of being aggressive with said other dogs, please keep your dog on a leash. This will prevent me from nearly having a heart attack/wanting to beat your dog with any nearby object as it growls and attacks my dog, who is probably a good forty-pounds less than your dog, approaches everyone with tail a-wagging, and is on a leash. Alrighty. Super. Thanks.
**
So the trails here are, generally, less taken.. which is nice because then the dogs can come off leash with relative ease and safety. Probably fifty percent of the dogs we saw were running free and happy (one running free and angry). But after the akita dog attack incident I kind of soured on the place (my dog came out relatively unscathed, but still). We'll probably be back, because it's the best nearby wilderness in the area, but if I see any leashless-akitas, I'm yelling at the owner, picking up the nearest longest stick, and fending them off with all my might.
Edit:
Ok, after a revist I'm bumping this up to the four stars it deserves. But seriously, if you see a silvery-haired man with an Akita.. don't say I didn't warn you.
A excerpt from my blog:
However, Forbidden Drive is more like a street than a path. If you're like us and always seem to try the hardest way first, then you'll end up on a dirt path instead. There is a DISTINCT difference between the two. The paths are full of rocks, thick tree roots, sharp elevation changes and that "lost in the woods" feeling. Also, some paths have plenty of "evidence" of horseback riders. The extra care needed with just walking around will make for a longer hike. To give you a comparison, it took 2.5 hrs on the way to Valley Green, and just 1.5 hrs on the way back using Forbidden Drive.
(y'know... for a "forbidden" path, it's awfully accomodating... but I digress)
Of course, there's rewards for taking the harder route. You're far more likely to see woodland creatures with being deeper in the woods & there being much less foot traffic. Don't expect to see a Sasquatch, however. All we saw on our outing were birds and chipmunks.
Okay, I was totally psyched to see chipmunks.
So close to home but yet I feel so far away in the country and leave the stresses of the city to seek the beauty of the woods. Best place to walk the trails and also the path with a stroller.
Like others, I love that this scenic getaway is so close to the chaos of the City (even though I am a suburbanite, who has many other outdoor-sy choices as well). Obviously a great place for a bike ride or hike, especially with a dog. There's some really cool history throughout the Wissahickon & Fairmount Park, and it pops up just about everywhere. I'd love to check this place out during a snowfall, though something tells me it would be eerily quiet & desolate. But as far as summer time goes - it's great! Okay, so it is true that 5 "sewage plants" drain into this river...but there's a word missing there: They are sewage TREATMENT plants. They go through great trouble to clean that water before releasing it into public streams...and when it is released, it is water, and nothing else! So, it's perfectly fine to swim in, and you can even catch & eat fish from it. Don't drink it of course (like any stream), but you're much better off swimming in this water than you would be in the Delaware or Schuylkill !
Lastly, I will repeat that you should leave this place as you found it. Philadelphians do a pretty nice job of that - this is a darn clean trail, minus the horse poop!
I've hiked around a lot of places, mostly along the Pacific Northwest coast (with mountains and rivers galore), and I did not expect something as nice as the Wissahickon Trail within such a short distance of the city. I am a definite fan of the trail; it's serene and natural. And it runs along the creek with a lot of little side trails, and it leaves the highway as well so there aren't annoying traffic noises around. There are also plenty of trees around! The trails are well-maintained! Clean, environmentally-friendly toilets abound!
I definitely recommend coming here for a bike trip on a nice autumn day.
This trail is awesome! Beautiful scenery, wide access, flat paths for casual bikers/walkers/strollers as well as more serious paths for hikers and mountain bikers. Heavily wooded, so it's shady on the hottest days. Valley Green Inn is a perfect respite. Multiple access points make it easy to park and ride (though I walk from my house).
the wissahickon can be downright magic sometimes. there are over 50 miles of trails to explore, not just forbidden drive. in the winter months it's easy to explore off-trail as well, though beware of ending up in someone's backyard. i've done that more than a few times, apparently the locals are used to it but please respect their property.
get yourself a trail map from friends of the wissahickon and go to it. there are plenty of sights to see, like the indian statue, devil's pool, glen fern house, and the thomas mill covered bridge.
the orange trail (east side closest to the creek) tends to be the most challenging while forbidden drive is the easiest. there are trails to accommodate all levels of hikers and bikers.
if you're hungry or thirsty, stop by valley green inn for a snack, cold beverage, or full service sit down meal.
the park is accessible via public transportation from the r8 chestnut hill west line or further south via the r6 or by bus from the wissahickon transfer station.
i sometimes refer to the wissahickon as nature's air conditioning in the summer as it's much cooler down by the creek and in the surrounding forest.
in the winter it gets very cold very rapidly as the sun goes down. if you're hiking late bring an extra layer. also, watch out for ice!
spray yourself with deet and do tick checks every time you hike. wear long pants, preferably ones you don't mind getting a little muddy. one of my cats got a tick from my clothes after hiking because i didn't spray them as well.
do not swim or dive into the creek, or devil's pool. the creek is extremely polluted with sewage, storm water runoff, commercial and industrial pollution from montgomery county upstream.
FIVE montgomery county sewage plants discharge into the creek. ew. don't swim in that.
watch out for horse droppings on the trails.
i cannot emphasize the beauty of the various parts of the wissahickon enough! i've been hiking in there for a few years and never fail to find something new and beautiful every time.
i love to walk forbidden drive! it is so scenic and lovely you totally forget you are in the city. the sound of the creek rushing below and the tiny places the water falls off the short cliffs and the dams are just awesome. it is a very nice experience overall. i like to try to park along different areas just to switch it up a bit but it pretty much looks the same LOL. the one thing i can say is that the path is kind of rocky but that doesn't seem to bother the tons of folks that bike there. my feet start barking after a while though:-) speaking of barking, people LOVE to walk their dogs here. they all seem to be very well behaved dogs and nothing like my little terrors. LOL. they are not invited on my walks so don't worry. love this path!
Alyson's review of Forbidden Drive is right on. In addition to the Drive, though, the Valley is full of AWESOME singletrack! Nearly all of the trails, which are used by hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders, start and end on the Drive at clearly marked trailheads. I can't speak to the hiking or horseback riding, but for mountain bikers, the trails are both technical and fast. To get off the floor of the valley, the only way is up. The ascents are rocky and technical, about 1/8 to 1/4 mile up. For my out-of-shape a$$, brutal. But once you get up off the creek floor, the trails are rolling, easy to follow, beautiful singletrack. Lots of technical sections with fast breaks between. Since most sections loop up and back from the drive, you can string together a ride of almost any length, up to about 18 miles, without riding the same sections twice. The Drive is also great for warm-up and cool-down. When you get too tired to ride the technical stuff safely, hit the crushed cinder to air it out.
Amazing mountain biking inside the city limits. We've got it all over Central Park.
This is probably my favorite thing about all of Philadelphia. It's easy to get to from center city, and you can get away from it all in just a few minutes. The creek is very clean for an urban creek, and you can usually find fish in it. I got interested in mountain biking here as some of the trails can be very challenging. If you go, be careful to keep the area as you found it! The trail connects to Kelly Drive, and you can follow it from The Art Museum up to Montgomery County.
Truly Philadelphia's path less taken - but worth the journey. Wissahickon Trail is a 7 mile stretch of wooded trails - perfect for a bike ride, walk, or run. Deep in the heart of the Wissahickon Valley you can enter the trail just off Lincoln Drive and follow it all the way to Chestnut Hill's Germantown Avenue. I run. I love to run. Because it makes me feel healthy and keeps me fit but mostly because of the solitude. A private sport good for the body but even better for the mind and soul. I loathe Kelly Drive - where most Philadelphian's looking to run or walk a substantial distance w/o having to stop for traffic end up going is horrific for someone like me. On any given sunny day at any time of day Kelly Drive is full of people on rollerblades, baby strollers, dogs, the works. Travel just beyond Kelly Drive down Lincoln to discover a trail that is divine - wide & carefully maintained. Plenty of room for all - the bikers, the lovers & me - no blading this is a gravel/dirt trail - woo hoo!!! check it out - any time of year - the scenery is breathtaking and shhhhh.. you can actually hear yourself think --- bliss!
