Explore the best rated trails in Pike Creek, DE. Whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Limerick Trail and Chester Valley Trail. With more than 148 trails covering 559 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.
A work in progress, the 2.5-mile Uwchlan Trail currently extends from the Struble Trail off the intersection of Dowlin Forge and Shelmire roads, north along the Shamona Creek and primarily following...
The MA & PA Heritage Trail is not your typical rail-trail. Named for the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, which chugged through the Harford County countryside for the first half of the 20th...
The Mill Creek Greenway is a paved, multi-use pathway that runs through nicely wooded grounds in suburban New Castle County. The trail follows a portion of its namesake creek, winding its way along...
Located in Media Borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Ridley Creek State Park encompasses over 2,600 acres of woodlands and meadows. The park is only 16 miles from Center City, Philadelphia, but...
Maryland's Ben Cardin C&D Canal Recreational Trail links to Delaware's Michael Castle Trail; both run along the north bank of the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal and meet at the state line. The...
The Gurney Street Trail currently extends for just one block in the Fairhill Neighborhood of Philadelphia. However, the trail, which will continue to North American Street, is the culmination of a...
The Pennypack Trail travels through wooded parks in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties along Pennypack Creek, which derives its name from a local American Indian term for a slow-moving creek....
A link in the region's burgeoning network of multi-use greenways, the Warwick Highlands Trail connects several subdivisions, shopping centers and a hospital on the west side of Warwick Township, just...
The K&T Trail, also known as the Kensington & Tacony Trail for the former railroad line on which is runs, spans a mile along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Beginning at the Frankford Arsenal Boat...
The Joseph Plumb Martin Trail offers a pleasant, paved loop through Pennsylvania's Valley Forge National Historical Park. Nestled against the wooded Schuylkill River, the park provides a wealth of...
The 7.1-mile Warwick-to-Ephrata Rail-Trail runs from Ephrata west to Lititz in Warwick Township, following the former Reading and Columbia Railroad, which began service in 1863. The Lancaster Junction...
Situated near the south end of Lititz borough, the half-mile long Butterfly Acres Park Trail follows a restored wetland and small stream, connecting two neighborhoods. A smaller segment, which is...
The Manayunk Bridge Trail opened in late 2015 to great fanfare, and for good reason: the trail, which crosses the Schuylkill River, Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76), and active train tracks,...
The mile-long Lindenfield Parkway Trail is part of Chalfont's burgeoning trail network. It extends down the grassy median of the street for which it is named from Main Street to Micheal Lane, then...
The Maurice River Bikeway Trail provides access to shops, recreational parks, and riverside riding all in one. Starting behind the city hall, travelers will be just off the river on Ware Avenue in...
Providing over a mile of trail between the Kent County communities of Smyrna and Clayton, the Smyrna-Clayton Bike Path is a nifty recreational asset that offers a nice path for outdoor exercise as...
The Exeter Scenic River Trail traces the north bank of the Schuylkill River. The tree-lined route provides views of the river and runs to the Klapperthal Trail at the base of Neversink Mountain. Visit...
The James F. Hall Trail, named for the City of Newark’s late parks and recreation director, packs a lot into a short stretch. Its paved surface is great for bicycling, inline skating, and stroller and...
Camden's Cooper River Park is found on both the north and south shores of Cooper River Lake. The urban park is open daily from dawn to dusk and offers a paved loop path for bikers and pedestrians, as...
The Darby Creek Trail winds along a wooded creek through the western neighborhoods of Haverford Township, just outside of Philadelphia. The trail's southern end is anchored by Merry Place, a...
A gorgeous addition to the area’s trail network, Wilmington Riverwalk (sometimes called the Christina River Walk) allows pedestrians and cyclists to experience Wilmington’s renovated urban development...
Visitors to northwestern Philadelphia can acquaint themselves with the parks that surround Wissahickon Creek on a nearly 9-mile system of multiuse trails. In the north, the Wissahickon Trail (also...
Part of an emerging network of trails in the Dover area called the St. Jones River Greenway, the Isaac Branch Greenway Trail offers over three miles of completed, paved trail, providing a mixture of...
The 1.35 mile-long Chester Riverfront Trail is a great way to experience the Delaware River. Part of an urban renewal project that also includes the adjacent Barry Bridge Park, Subaru Park Stadium and...
Like many other municipalities in the densely populated suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, the borough of Chalfont, located in Bucks County, has constructed its own network of multi-use trails to...
The Capital City Trail forms an important leg in the evolving Saint Jones River Greenway trail system in the Dover area, creating a link between the three-mile Isaac Branch Greenway Trail and the...
The Monroe Township Bike Path carries visitors through the tranquil woodlands of the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area as it connects the southern New Jersey suburban towns of Glassboro and...
The MA & PA Heritage Trail is not your typical rail-trail. Named for the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, which chugged through the Harford County countryside for the first half of the 20th...
Traversing the Delaware/Pennsylvania border along the scenic White Clay Creek, the Charles Bailey Trail offers a pleasant, wooded hike for those willing to travel somewhat off the beaten path. The...
Currently about a mile in length, the Lime Spring Trail is envisioned to connect several residential communities to the nearby Lancaster suburb of Rohrerstown as well as to shopping centers, office...
Part of Manheim Township's growing network of multi-use greenways, the Manheim Township Bikeway begins off Kissel Hill Road, immediately north of the intersection with Landis Valley Road. Heading...
A part of Manheim Township's network of multi-use greenways, the mile-long Kissel Hill Commons Trail extends across the mixed use subdivision for which it is named in the suburbs north of...
Part of the township's ongoing efforts to create a network of multi-use greenways, Manheim Twp.'s Heritage Trail begins at Valley Road and extends south, along the eastern boundary of Landis Woods to...
Although just 1.4 miles long, the 58th Street Greenway is an important connector in the southwestern Philadelphia neighborhood of Kingsessing. Although most of the greenway is off-road trail, note...
The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts because of its proximity to populous Baltimore and its relatively flat course, which winds along river valleys through...
The K&T Trail, also known as the Kensington & Tacony Trail for the former railroad line on which is runs, spans a mile along the Delaware River in Philadelphia. Beginning at the Frankford Arsenal Boat...
Traversing the western edge of Dover, the Hazlettville/North Shared-Use Path is a sidepath trail that follows the southern side of Hazlettville Road and W North Street, providing a wide asphalt...
Situated on hilly land on the northern edge of Newark, the Newark Reservoir was built in 2006 to capture water from the nearby White Clay Creek watershed - and thanks to the paved Newark Reservoir...
The Chester County Parks & Recreation Department opened this trail in 1979 on part of a former Pennsylvania Railroad right-of-way. Today the 2.6-mile trail attracts more than 125,000 visitors each...
The Newtown Rail Trail will one day stretch from the Fox Chase neighborhood of northeast Philadelphia to Newtown Borough, connecting Bucks and Montgomery Counties by trail. Along the way, the...
The popular Lancaster Junction Trail follows the former Reading and Columbia Railroad, which transported iron ore and coal from Reading to the Chesapeake Bay via the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal...
Philadelphia’s Rail Park is an exciting project developing across Center City, which will connect several neighborhoods and provide access to Fairmount Park and other cultural attractions. The 3-mile...
The Schuylkill River West Trail will one day span 15.5 miles beginning in downtown Philadelphia and heading northwest through Lower Merion Township, West Conshohocken, Bridgeport, and Upper Merion...
Situated on hilly land on the northern edge of Newark, the Newark Reservoir was built in 2006 to capture water from the nearby White Clay Creek watershed - and thanks to the paved Newark Reservoir...
The Cross County Trail runs for 3 miles between the Schuylkill River Trail in Conshohocken and the village of Plymouth Meeting. The trail links suburban shopping with neighborhoods and mostly...
At one time an important thoroughfare for commerce carried by canal barges and railroad cars in southeastern Pennsylvania, the Schuylkill River corridor now accommodates walkers, bicyclists, and...
The Union Canal Trail runs along the Tulpehocken Creek from the city of Reading up to Blue Marsh Lake in Leesport. The trail makes up a segment of the 71.7-mile Schuylkill River Trail in southeastern...
The Mill Creek Greenway is a paved, multi-use pathway that runs through nicely wooded grounds in suburban New Castle County. The trail follows a portion of its namesake creek, winding its way along...
This bike path begins along Southwest Boulevard at Harding Highway (US 40). It continues alongside the boulevard, then crosses Central Avenue and slipping into Bruno Melini Memorial Park, Buena’s...
The John N. Balis Bikeway is a half-mile paved trail along a former rail corridor that now serves as an electrical transmission right of way in the suburban community of Runnemede. The southern end...
Providing over a mile of trail between the Kent County communities of Smyrna and Clayton, the Smyrna-Clayton Bike Path is a nifty recreational asset that offers a nice path for outdoor exercise as...
The Skippack Trail traverses a township of the same name in eastern Pennsylvania, about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Its western end connects to the Perkiomen Trail, a 19-mile north-south route...
A work in progress, the Red Clay Creek Trail currently extends along the east branch of the creek for which it is named in Kennett Square. The trail, which has a crushed-stone surface of varying...
Closure Notice: The Bancroft Pedestrian Bridge over Brandywine Creek in Alapocas Run State Park is closed indefinitely due to flood damage that occurred in September 2021. Please check the website...
The John Heinz Refuge Trail and various footpaths at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum stand in stark contrast to the urban setting that surrounds this refuge. At different points on this...
Part of Limerick Township's ambitious plans to build a network of multi-use greenways, the paved Limerick Trail currently extends nearly 2 miles through the southeastern PA municipality. The trail...
The Maurice River Bikeway Trail provides access to shops, recreational parks, and riverside riding all in one. Starting behind the city hall, travelers will be just off the river on Ware Avenue in...
The Berlin Road Sidepath provides a pleasant, shaded paved trail for biking and walking in the community of Lindenwold. Stretching between Linden Avenue and Gibbsboro Road, the trail runs along the...
Less than an hour west of Philadelphia, the East Branch Brandywine Trail begins south of Downingtown and continues south along its namesake river. The paved trail passes through meadows and wooded...
The Pennsy Trail is a short, but sweet rail-trail located in Haverford Township, to the west of Philadelphia. The trail's southern and northern ends are currently broken up by Manoa Road, with the...
No, the K&T Trail is not a loop. The title of my review instead refers to the impact that this mile-long trail, which is built along a segment of the now defunct Kensington & Tacony RR, on a section of the Delaware Riverfront in the NE Philly neighborhoods of Wissinoming and Tacony.
Our story begins in the city's early years in the late 17th century. At this time, the banks of the Delaware River were lined with forests and wetlands teeming with wildlife, where Native Americans and early colonists hunted and fished. As the city grew in the 18th and early 19th centuries, the local gentry were drawn to the area's serenity and beauty, building several estates and vacation homes.
Later in the 19th century, numerous industries began popping up along the river, using it as a power source and as a transit route for materials and goods. Mills and factories, as well as the Frankford Arsenal military depot, replaced the earlier mansions and explosive growth occurred as people, many of them immigrants, arrived seeking employment. It was during this period that the Kensington & Tacony RR, part of a network of rail lines that crisscrossed Philadelphia known as the Connecting Railway, was constructed to serve the riverfront.
The area served as an industrial and shipping hub for most of the 20th century. The Frankford Arsenal closed in 1977 and most other industry left over the next decade, sending the area into decline. The K&T RR was abandoned in the 80's, though its rails remained intact, slowly decaying along with abandoned factories and surrounding brownfields.
The dawn of the 21st century saw the riverfront's fortunes turn around as new recreation facilities, including Lardiner's Point Park and the Frankford Boat Launch, were developed. Old ruins were cleared away, allowing new forests to grow and wetlands to be reestablished. In the late 2010's, the old railroad tracks were finally pulled up and replaced by a ribbon of asphalt multi-use trail connecting the two parks and extending a little ways north, to Magee Ave.
Starting at its northern terminus, the trail directly follows the bank of the river, passing beneath the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. The northernmost of the five bridges that link the city with NJ, the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge is a graceful, concrete structure that serves as a main traffic artery as well as a walkway for pedestrians and cyclists. Like the K&T Trail, this walkway is also part of The Circuit network and can be reached by following the access road to Lardiner's Point Park north to Milnor Street, then turning right onto the bridge. The park itself includes a small plaza as well as a fishing pier where visitors are treated to spectacular views of the bridge and river. Trail users also have the option of taking a gravel path that winds though young, new forests growing along the river bank before rejoining the main trail in the park's undeveloped, southern end.
From Lardiner's Point, the trail continues south through reclaimed meadows and wetlands, passing the Wissinoming Yacht Club. After crossing a creek, it continues south, threading a line between the river and the remaining abandoned buildings of old mills and the Frankford Arsenal, whose site is currently being redeveloped into an office and light industrial park, before ending at the Frankford Boat Launch. The old RR catenaries, which run high above the trail and are still in use as powerlines, as well as the remains of a few old boat terminals, still serve as testimony to the area's bustling past. Otherwise, the quiet and serenity of the trail demonstrate how this segment of riverfront has come full circle, reverting to its original status as a natural area.
Although the trail has several amenities, including benches in Lardiner's Point Park and the Frankford Boat Launch, restrooms in Lardiner's Point Park, ample parking at both parks and interpretive signage with detailed information on local wildlife as well as historical sites from each of the past eras, there was some litter. The trash was especially bad on the middle section of the trail near Comly Street, keeping me from giving it five stars.
Plans call for the K&T Trail to be extended north to the newly opened Baxter Trail and south to the Port Richmond Trail in the near future. All of these segments of multi-use trail being built along the Delaware River will eventually be joined to form the Delaware River Greenway, which, in addition to comprising part of the Circuit network, will also form part of the East Coast Greenway, a long distance trail that follows the Eastern Seaboard of the US from Maine to Key West, FL.
The NW Lancaster County River Trail is my go-to for weekend rides. Notwithstanding the fact that it's only 12 mins from my house, it is as all the other reviews attest to a most pleasant ride. It is almost entirely paved and even part of that one very short section is being repaved as I type this.
It is wide with varied scenery, has very few hills and even those are short and low grade. The entire path is very well maintained and has many portable toilets along the way, two covered picnic areas, tons of park benches, two air pumps, mileage signs, and a rock climbing wall (real rock).
Most of the time you'll be in woods or going past fields that are farmed. In Marietta at Furnace Rd you there's a place to rent kayaks, bikes, and he sometimes has a food stand open (be sure to buy something!). After passing an excavating company and a small water treatment plant you'll see the interesting Mussellman Vesta Furnace Museum. The trail then takes you on E. Front St, where you'll pass a couple blocks of houses and then you cross back over the RR tracks and back onto the trail. If you get hungry there are tons of eateries in the town there. After that, you may notice a sort of sweet food smell in the air on certain days emanating from the Perdue Grain elevator complex I believe ( I could be wrong though).
You won't see any more civilization until you get to Bainbridge (burgers and beer at the Bainbridge Inn) and then another three miles of scenery until you get to the trailhead at the Falmouth Boat Launch. Speaking of trailheads, there are many boat launches and parking areas along the way but most people including yours truly park in the shade under the old bridge in Columbia, and it's a 13-mile ride from there to the end. When you get back there is a popular ice cream stand across from the Columbia Crossing River Trails Center, where you can also park.
My final recommendation is that if you're there on the weekend the earlier you start the less crowded it will be with groups of casual walkers. It's nothing bad but you'll be slowing down while uttering "On your left" a lot.
Following is a link to a video I made recently of one of my rides. It took place shortly after a nasty local storm had knocked down many trees along the trail but they were cleaned up almost immediately. https://youtu.be/i6a2JLxV-n8
Nice paved path that runs all the way around the lake - like the app says though it is NOT a rail trail so it is narrow. On weekends at peak times it’s going to be crowded with walkers, bikers, joggers and little ones as it’s a shared trail. Best times to go are early morning, later evening and weekdays. Many nice spots to stop and have a little picnic lunch/snacks.
I live in the area and this is my Sunday "go to" route. (Rockledge/Byberry portion) 5.25 miles long, well maintained (unless very heavy rains have occurred), plenty of shade and relatively level. It can get a bit crowded on a beautiful day, but not too bad. Plenty of trails in area, but I use this one more often than the others. Nice 10 mile roundtrip with good parking at both ends in Rockledge or at Byberry park entrance.
This trail has it all- paved surfaces, beautiful scenery, a good mix of shade & sun, benches, and porta potties all along the way. Early mornings are best to beat the crowds.
First time on this trail and will definitely be back. 99 percent paved surface and very well maintained. The wide path winds through woods, farmland, and local areas with amazing scenery of the Susquehanna River, historic buildings, flowers, farm fields and more. Lots of shade and benches to rest on along the way…
Nice, shorter trail. I parked at Little Hill. Make sure to wear older sneakers if it has rained. The wood chips are fine to walk on….just spongy in spots. Some of the brush along the trail needs cut back a bit. You may want to apply bug spray depending on what time of year you are there. Very pretty setting….peaceful and serene with Mill Creek beside you most of the way to gate off of Conard Road.
We rode our bikes 7 miles from Ephrata to Lititz and arrived at lunch time a break and some nourishment in town. Lititz is cute as a button for all kinds of shopping and history. After time in Lititz we got back on the trail and got to Ephrata Linear parking lot in about 40 minutes. For us, this was the perfect length. The “hills” were pretty easy, the gravel parts were not a problem at all and the weather was sunny and warm, with low humidity. We would do it again if we are in the area!
Great trail! We started by the Southampton train station and went about a mile and a half in (direction of Tamanend Park) before we had to turn around. Trail was asphalt then turned to small gravel by Tamanend park (about 3/4 miles in). Trail was shady and peaceful- well maintained and quiet. Perfect for my 7 year old to bike on while I ran. We can’t wait to go back!
Rode from Birdsboro down and thru Pottstown. Stay out of Pottstown, nothing good about riding in town on those streets. Berks county part of the trail is narrow but smooth cinder. Montgomery county all paved and wider. Want to ride north from Birdsboro some day but confused about unconnected sections.
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