Explore the best rated trails in Ardmore, PA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Palmer Township Recreation Trail (Towpath Bike Trail) and D&L Trail . With more than 158 trails covering 869 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
I have biked this trail many times since they opened.I like the fact that it is close enough for me to bike to from my house .Also I like that it connects Tamanend park Southampton and local shops.¿¿¿¿
Entered on Millstream. The first 4 miles were very pleasant, wide gravel which was firmly packed. Then it got a rather loose like pine barren sand. I have a hybrid so I was able to maneuver okay but my ride became a bit more stressful. Then after going through the tunnel under 195, the trail became less maintained and more narrow. It was a fun ride, especially since it was pretty straight. Several small bridges, farms and wooded. Very friendly people! It was an enjoyable trail but I doubt I will repeat.
(39.9958759, -75.4088718) Goshen Trail Parking Goshen Rd, Newtown Square, PA 19073
I ride this trail end to end around 2-3 times a week. It needs to be repaired off the Summit/Lums Pond parking lot. There needs to be a speed limit set for EV bikers. Dog owners need to keep their dogs on leash at all times. I've been run at by off leash dogs at Summit where people can camp overnight. Not a great experience.
It is a beautiful ride. Just be considerate of others and share the trail, please.
Was a very easy stroll. The parking lot has about 5 spaces and the path is fully paved. The trail is entirely flat and nicely winds along the creek and then in and out of a neighborhood. I clocked it at 1.8 miles out and back. The 2 small bridges can be very slick when wet so take your time.
Great trail. Well maintained and marked. Traveled from southern terminus to Green Park Lane. Loved the change in surfaces. More tressels than I expected which made for excellent photo opportunities. Only one real climb. Can't wait to do it again.
This is a beautiful (and mostly in good shape) riverside trail for the south end to around mile marker 5.0, good for walking, jogging, and hybrid or mountain bikes. Above mile 5, best for mountain bikes only.
June 3, 2024
HORSHAM POWERLINE TRAIL PREVIEW PART 1
Check out the Horsham Powerline Trail Preview Part 1. I started at the Jarrett Park parking lot, ran towards Norristown Rd, made a U-turn. I headed on the path back past Jarrett Park, up the hill, and made a right before the path gets to Babylon Rd on the section that heads towards the library. At the dead end, I made a right to head back up the alternative path from the library parking lot to Jarrett Park. Great time always while using the trail here. See my video of the run on youtube: https://youtu.be/yHqGfeiBuJo?si=9b0ayOoBU36DMM3q
I grew up on this trail and I highly recommend it!
Over the years, I've noticed that rail trails exist on a continuum when it comes to preserving the history of the earlier rail lines that they replaced. On one end are lines where the original RR infrastructure was dismantled or repurposed long ago and the only traces left are the greenway's name and a couple interpretive signs or kiosks, while on the other are trails that go all out highlighting the corridor's past with RR-themed signage, artwork and memorabilia, including restored rail cars and/or engines, old buildings, rock cuts, bridges and other historical sites.
Located in the north Allentown suburbs, the 9.2 mile long Ironton Rail Trail clearly falls on the latter end of this spectrum. As the description for the asphalt trail indicates, it was built along the route of the Ironton RR, a short line that initially hauled iron ore from local mines to the Lehigh River. After the iron ran out in the late 19th century, these mines were repurposed as limestone quarries and several cement manufacturing mills and kilns sprang up along the line, which extended from Ironton east along Coplay Creek to a point just outside Stiles. From here, the line split in two and looped around the towns of Stiles, Coplay and Hokendauqua, connecting to other railroads along the Lehigh riverfront. Cement production peaked in the early 20th century and the area entered a gradual decline, with the last mill ceasing to manufacture it by 1975. The RR was acquired by Conrail and taken out of service in 1983 and the tracks were pulled up 7 years later, in 1990.
Today, the Ironton Rail Trail follows this lasso-shaped route. The highlight of the 4 mile long western "Spur" of the trail is the crumbling ruins of several of the old concrete mills, now being reclaimed by nature and creating a beautiful, yet eerie landscape that gives the impression of a post-apocalyptic, lost civilization being found in the woods. Located about halfway along the Spur in Egypt, The Troxell-Steckel House & Farm Museum, meanwhile, gives trail users the opportunity to glimpse an earlier era of local history by preserving the house, barn and springhouse of one of the first Pennsylvania Dutch farms built in the area. Trees line most of the route of the trail, providing cool shade in the warmer months of the year, while the Whitehall Parkway serves as both a nature preserve and has its own small network of trails encircling the ruins of another mill complex.
Moving further east, the Spur of the trail passes beneath Route 145 and links to the 5 mile Loop portion at a junction just north of Stiles. As its name indicates, this portion forms a circular greenbelt around the suburbs of Stiles, Coplay and Hokendauqua. Highlights on the Loop include the historic cement kilns at Saylor Park, believed to be the last of their kind that are still standing, the remains of the Thomas Iron Works along the Lehigh River, the Beiry Yard, an old RR yard now converted to an open space area and the Tate Meadows preserve. Several homeowners have also used their proximity to the Loop to beautify their yards with small gardens and ornate fences and gates (stay on the trail and do not go on private property), further enhancing the scenery and an abandoned RR trestle that crosses the Lehigh River may eventually link the trail to the D&L and Nor-Bath trails in Northampton, Catasauqua and North Catasauqua. Numerous examples of RR memorabilia along the trail include a small engine and maintenance handcar at the western terminus of the Spur in the North Whitehall Rec. Area, an old passenger car in the Whitehall Parkway and a caboose in Coplay, a phone booth used by RR maintenance workers and foundations of an old water tower, blacksmith shop and section house. Several old RR sidings, with the rails still intact, also attest to the corridor's industrial heritage.
Numerous kiosks and interpretive signage extensively detail the history of the numerous sights along the trail and more info can be found on the Ironton Rail Trail website. There are also numerous benches along the route, three larger pavilions and numerous smaller ones. Anyone who loves rail trails and history should check out this gem of a suburban greenway.
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