Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Philadelphia, whether you're looking for an easy short cross country skiing trail or a long cross country skiing trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a cross country skiing trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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We made our annual pilgrimage to the Lehigh Gorge section of the D&L trail. As usual we had a wonderful ride. Rode 48 miles round trip from Jim Thorpe to White Haven and back. Waterfalls were flowing and rapids were high, providing for some of the best scenery PA has to offer.
To add to the excitement, we saw a large rattlesnake crossing the trail. It had to be at least two feet long. Quite an exciting afternoon.
On a practical side, the White Haven renovations are complete with some of the best bathroom facilities I have seen on a trail anywhere.
Dinner on the porch of Molly McGuire’s in Jim Thorpe capped off the day.
So glad we decided to keep of the tradition of an annual visit.
I discovered this after I got my gravel bike last year. It is short however this is one of the few places you are right by the Schuylkill River for a significant amount of trail and can actually see the river. Most of the primary right of way for the SRT is either along the canal or you cannot see any scenery. There is a reason Schuylkill in Dutch I believe means "hidden river".
If you want to do a longer gravel ride under a treed canopy, park at the Longford Road Dog Park at the end of Longford Road and take the canal trail from there through Mont Clare. After crossing under PA Rt 29 you will come to the paved section of Lock 60. Go a short way and cross the little bridge on the right and that's where this trail officially begins. Worth the trip.
Note: the trail is often closed for a short duration after flooding events.
This is a local trail for me. I used it twice a week when working in West Goshen, Chester County. The trail is in very good shape and Chester County is to be commended for the trail. Today I use the trail to go deep into the hills of Chester County on my roadbike and get back to where I live not far from Valley Forge.
The good: It provides non-car connectivity! The surface is very good and provides the ability to get in and out of the area without cars. The canopy of trees as you get towards Montgomery County is great on hot days.
The not so good: There are a significant number of road crossings. The trail also parallels US 202 and is noisy in many spots.
I can't wait until the trail is extended further into beautiful Chester County. It is a shame it doesn't connect directly to Malvern, Paoli or Downingtown Boros.
This is, generally, an enjoyable ride, an unexpected green oasis in a congested urban landscape. However, at the southern end, between Torresdale Av. and State Rd., the trail is in pretty poor condition, especially in the amount of mud that has been allowed to accumulate on it. That stretch just projects an indifference on the part of the city to what was a really nice civic resource when it first opened.
We have ridden the section that connects with the Schuylkill River Trail several times and that section is fine. We went to ride the other two sections. First we stopped at the Hopewell Furnace Visitor's Center. there is lots of parking and clean rest rooms, however we could not find the trail. We asked a park ranger and he directed us to the trail. It was down a steep hill covered with large stones (for biking over) followed by an unmarked turn. Finally there was a sign and the trail was wide and paved most of the way to the pool where we turned around although a wide gravel path continued on. Next we drove to Elverson and rode that section of trail. Other than being short, part of the trail was little more than a single track.
Rode 10 miles north from Jim Thorpe parking lot today. Very nice ride along the Lehigh River. Parking lot was 2/3rds full so easy to off load bikes and pay the $8 at the kiosk. Trail is well marked and easy to navigate. The only issue is the compacted stone has turned into several inches of loose sand in some areas. Between miles posts 110-112 it was most noticeable. My wife and I have regular 2 inch mountain bike/cruiser tires, so the sand slowed us down but did not stop us. Roadbikers may have more trouble. All in all it is a great section and worth Another vists. And some really nice old trains to He k out.
Truly a magical and wonderful place.
The wide crushed stone trail is nestled on a shelf between the Lehigh River and the vertical gorge wall of red/purple/brown shale and sandstone. The rushing river alternates between white water and calmer sections. North of Rockport, there are a number of remnants of the locks that were built with the local rock during the industrial revolution. The vertical gorge wall is exposed rock in many parts and covered with mountain laurel in others. The wider sections of the valley are forested with hemlock and hardwoods. Throughout the entire trail waterfalls and rushing streams cascade down the gorge wall and into the river. Even during the this rainy spring, the trail was puddle and mud free and in great condition from Glen Onoko to White Haven.
Great Trail with a seemless connection to Delaware’s Michael Castle Trail Paved the entire route, and “car width” wide. Parking at the Chesapeake City end is under the MD213 bridge. (The new paved lot mentioned in previous reviews is for the restaurant). Make sure it is not windy on your ride day. The canal is very wide and there is no windbreak, so a good tailwind turns into a terrible headwind on the way back. There are a couple switchbacks to get elevation gain but those are only for about 50’ of gain. Ice Cream shop right of the trail in St.GeorgesDE.opens the end of April.
Trail was really nice and there was a lot of shade. It was pretty cool to see different types of trees with descriptions. However the end of the trail was flooded and had to walk back.
The Pennypack is an incredibly scenic trail and well maintained. It’s definitely a year round rideable path. As a new rider of the trail, I thought there could be a few more signs with distances given; it would be nice to know if there are services nearby at crossroads/junctions. I also felt there was a lack of signs at Lorimer Park (riding south) showing the link to the Delaware. I ended up at Cliff Ridge Park with no sign/map indicating where to go next.
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