Find the top rated walking trails in Newark, whether you're looking for an easy short walking trail or a long walking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a walking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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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...
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 Riverview Trail makes a loop through Fox Point State Park along the Delaware River in Wilmington. The trail circles an open field along the west bank of the river.
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...
Envisioned as a multi-use trail that will eventually connect the Thun Trail section of the Schuylkill River Trail in Union Township in southeast Berks County to the towns of Elverson and St. Peters in...
Although relatively short at 1.8 miles, the Muhlenberg Rail Trail extends the ability of residents to exercise or visit local parks, schools, and businesses under their own power. The asphalt trail...
Cobbs Creek Trail runs through the borough of Lansdowne, just west of Philadelphia. The paved pathway offers a scenic route along its tree-lined namesake creek from the 63rd Street Station to Cobbs...
The Wyomissing Creek Trail offers a pleasant tree-lined route along its namesake waterway in West Reading. At its eastern end, you can connect to an 18-mile segment of the Schuylkill River Trail that...
The James F. Hall Trail—a rail-with-trail—packs a lot into a short stretch: Its paved surface is great for bicycling, in-line skating, and strolling, and there are multiple playgrounds, picnic areas,...
The Northwest Lancaster County River Trail follows the route of the historic Pennsylvania Main Line Canal, tracing the Susquehanna River northwest from Columbia to Falmouth. While the majority of the...
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...
Although less than 2 miles, the Port Richmond Trail—a key component of the North Delaware River Greenway—provides an important connection between northeast Philadelphia and the Delaware River. It's...
This trail is not offically part of the Lancaster County Park system. It runs next to the Conestoga River at Sunnyside. The one end of the trail is at Lancaster County Central Park. Although there is...
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...
Part of Manheim Township's growing greenway network, the paved, multi-use trail begins at the access road to the Manheim Township Community Park and loops around athletic fields and a playground at...
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The paved Power Line Trail carries users between residential neighborhoods, parks, schools, and other destinations in Horsham Township. The 5.5-mile utility--easement trail also heads north to green...
The Audubon Loop Trail is only 2.5 miles in length, but is over four miles when adjacent sections of the Perkiomen and Schuylkill River trails are added. The trail begins in Lower Perkiomen Valley...
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...
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...
Named after Dr. Ulysses Simpson Wiggins, a prominent doctor in Camden in the early 1900s, the Ulysses Wiggins Waterfront Park Promenade extends for 1.2 miles from the Ben Franklin Bridge to the...
Spanning just shy of 8 miles, the Jack A. Markell Trail, named after a former Delaware governor, connects the Wilmington riverfront with New Castle. The paved pathway was formerly known as the...
This trail is not offically part of the Lancaster County Park system. It runs next to the Conestoga River at Sunnyside. The one end of the trail is at Lancaster County Central Park. Although there is...
As you walk along the Elephant Swamp Trail, it’s easy to see where it picked up the swamp part of its name. As for the rest, legend has it that in the late 1800s, an elephant got loose in the swamp...
Caution: On April 12, 2018, a fire severely damaged the Martic Forge Trestle, which runs over Pequea Creek and River Road on the Enola Low Grade Trail. Access to the trail going west from the Route...
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...
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...
Although currently less than a half mile in length, the Royersford Riverfront Trail is a lush, shaded linear park situated between 1st Ave. and the Schuylkill River. Highlights on the paved trail...
Cobbs Creek Trail runs through the borough of Lansdowne, just west of Philadelphia. The paved pathway offers a scenic route along its tree-lined namesake creek from the 63rd Street Station to Cobbs...
This 2.4-mile paved trail provides a quiet, scenic escape northwest of Philadelphia, from Encke Park at Radnor-Chester Road to the shopping center at Sugartown Road and Route 30. The trail travels...
Actually a small network of multi-use trails, the Farmingdale Trail has recently been extended through The Crossings mixed-use development and now connects several neighborhoods in the northwest...
As of late 2017, approximately 1 mile of the Pencoyd Trail has been completed. The paved, multi-use trail begins at Main Street and an on-street segment of the Schuylkill River Trail next to the UA...
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The Parkside Trail is one segment of the larger Camden Greenways network, a proposed system of trails currently under construction. When complete, the greenway will follow portions of the Delaware...
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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...
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 nearly 3-mile long Chester Creek Trail is finally a reality after nearly two decades of planning. Phase 1 of the multi-use trail was opened to the public in late 2016. It follows the path of the...
The Delaware River Trail hugs the Philadelphia waterfront proving access to parks and recreational amenities. It's part of a larger effort called The Circuit, which will link 750 miles of trail...
Philadelphia's MLK Drive Trail offers a paved 4-mile route along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive that's popular for both transportation and recreation. The trail begins near the Philadelphia Art Museum...
The paved Power Line Trail carries users between residential neighborhoods, parks, schools, and other destinations in Horsham Township. The 5.5-mile utility--easement trail also heads north to green...
The Northern Delaware Greenway Trail spans 10 miles of northern New Castle County from Bellevue State Park on the Delaware River to Brandywine Creek in Wilmington, Delaware’s largest city. The surface...
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 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...
A work in progress, the French Creek Trail is one of several trails being developed by East Pikeland Township. Although a small part of it follows the route of the former Pickering Creek Railroad,...
Constructed as part of the Belmont subdivision/Shoppers At Belmont mixed use development, the Belmont Trail is part of Manheim Township's growing network of multi-use greenways and the latest of...
The Frankford Creek Greenway trail is a 1.2 mile trail which connects Aramingo Ave and Wheatsheaf Lane to Delaware Ave and Lewis St and the East Coast Greenway/Port Richmond Trail at its southern end....
The Little Jersey Trail loops through Lums Pond State Park on a wide, packed earth surface that accommodates hikers, cyclists and equestrians. The trail is the longer of two loops; the Swamp Forest...
The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail is one of the best hiking and biking trails in the Mid-Atlantic region. It allows for nearly 20 miles of flat travel, punctuated by a number of access points and an...
Part of Manheim Township's growing greenway network, the paved, multi-use trail begins at the access road to the Manheim Township Community Park and loops around athletic fields and a playground at...
As of late 2017, approximately 1 mile of the Pencoyd Trail has been completed. The paved, multi-use trail begins at Main Street and an on-street segment of the Schuylkill River Trail next to the UA...
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 paved Power Line Trail carries users between residential neighborhoods, parks, schools, and other destinations in Horsham Township. The 5.5-mile utility--easement trail also heads north to green...
The James F. Hall Trail—a rail-with-trail—packs a lot into a short stretch: Its paved surface is great for bicycling, in-line skating, and strolling, and there are multiple playgrounds, picnic areas,...
Although less than 2 miles, the Port Richmond Trail—a key component of the North Delaware River Greenway—provides an important connection between northeast Philadelphia and the Delaware River. It's...
The Goshen Road Trail runs through Newtown Township, which lies about 30 miles west of Philadelphia. Just shy of a mile, the crushed-stone trail offers a great place for a quick run. The route, which...
The roughly half-mile long Frog Hollow Trail currently begins at Miller Road and follows a creek south between two subdivisions before dead ending at a point near French Creek. The crushed stone trail...
Reading's Neversink Connector Trail is a short paved pathway that branches off the Thun Trail, a 18-mile section of the Schuylkill River Trail. It begins near the Reading Area Community College and...
The Audubon Loop Trail is only 2.5 miles in length, but is over four miles when adjacent sections of the Perkiomen and Schuylkill River trails are added. The trail begins in Lower Perkiomen Valley...
Baltimore’s Herring Run Trail runs through scenic Herring Run Park, centered on a tributary of the Back River. The winding trail follows Herring Run through a woodlands environment so peaceful you're...
The Delaware River Trail hugs the Philadelphia waterfront proving access to parks and recreational amenities. It's part of a larger effort called The Circuit, which will link 750 miles of trail...
The Angelica Creek Trail, in Reading's suburbs, begins at a scenic stretch of the Schuylkill River Trail, then goes south along the river a short distance before heading northwest toward Angelica...
The Creek Road Trail extends north from a connection with the Pomeroy and Newark Rail Trail in White Clay Creek State Park. The scenic park features over 37 miles of hiking trails through wooded...
I feel so guilty! Someone did some fine planning to make this wonderful trail happen, and it's maintained and beautified! All I did was show up and ride. It was heaven. Thank you to whoever contributed to making one of the best trails I've experienced in the two years I've been biking.
Do not Bother. Not worth it! Not really a Rail Trail. It was like someone took a Grader back there "Years Ago" and it has not be touched since. 3 to 4 inches of standing water in some sections and not really much of a trail in other sections so you are basically riding through field like conditions with high grass. Never Again!
Plenty of shade, hilly, loud because of the proximity of the Blue Route.
Finding the Newcastle “end point” to the trail was tricky. Once I found it, the scenery was beautiful at times, but also filled with highway imagery. Two trees had also fallen down from a previous storm, so that was difficult to maneuver under. Once I came into the marsh area, there was a nice view of Delaware marsh land that I had only previously seen at a distance from the I-95 on ramp. Overall, I enjoyed it.
With more gaps being closed every year, the 40-year goal of constructing a continuous, multi-use trail that will run the length of the Schuylkill River from the coal country of the Poconos southeast to the marshes of South Philly is close to being a reality.
As of mid-2019, over 71 miles of trail have been built, enough to classify the system as the unified Schuylkill River Trail, as opposed to a series of stand-alone greenways regarded as separate projects.
Rather than rehash the description above, I'll just note that, like other long-distance greenways, the Schuylkill River Trail has a lot to offer for hikers, cyclists, parents pushing young kids in strollers and roller and inline skating on the paved sections. Most of the trail follows old rail corridors or canal towpaths, ensuring a level trip with few slopes, as well as numerous reminders of the river's history as a major transportation route, a roll that can still be seen today by its close proximity to major highways like Routes 61, 422 and I-76 and active rail lines that freight trains often rumble along. Although most of the mills and other factories that used the coal and lumber shipped down the river for raw materials and sent finished product to the port of Philadelphia are now gone, their legacy also lives on whether as ruined hulks, historical markers or as repurposed apartment houses or office buildings. Some of the many historical sites on or near the trail include the vintage car museum and Yuengling brewery in Pottsville, an old canal tunnel turned rock cut south of Landingville, the railroad museum in Hamburg, Daniel Boone's birthplace near Douglassville, Morlatton Village, a Swedish village that was one of the firstthe Phoenix Iron Works museum in the old foundry in Phoenixville, a restored segment of canal in Mont Clare, Valley Forge National Historical Park, an old movie studio just east of Valley Forge, the Philadelphia Art Museum and Bartram's Garden, the oldest botanical gardens in the US, along with many others.
As one would also expect, the trail passes through a wide array of landscapes on its route. From the lush, remote forests of Schuylkill County, to the rural farmlands of Berks County, to the more suburban Montgomery and Chester counties and finally heavily urban Philadelphia, as well as smaller cities Reading and Pottstown and numerous towns along the route, the trail offers users a microcosm of Pennsylvania.
The trail is paved with crushed stone on most of its rural and remote segments from its northwest terminus outside Pottsville to the eastern end of a restored canal near Oaks, and asphalt in Reading, Pottstown and on most of the stretch from Oaks to its current southeast end at Bartram's Garden in South Philly. No review of the trail would be complete without mentioning the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk segment, which extends over the river itself in Center City Philadelphia.
Although most of its surface is smooth and user-friendly, some of the shorter segments, including the one that parallels Route 61 just south of Pottsville and a little-used one near Felix Dam Park in the north Reading suburbs, are in need of improvement. The westernmost segment of the Thun segment of the trail from Route 183 to Reading Community College, although paved with asphalt, also needs repaired and better overall maintenance. The subpar status of these sections of trail. along with vandalism in parts of Reading and the fact that some of the remaining gaps in the trail are not easily detoured, prevents me from giving the trail a 4 or 5 star rating.
Fortunately, efforts continue to close these gaps and it looks like the trail may be completed in the next decade or so. Plans are currently under way to complete the long-stalled restoration of an old RR trestle south of Auburn in the next year or two, a pedestrian bridge over a steep gap over Route 724 east of Monocacy is currently in the planning stage, a trail bridge spanning the Schuylkill River next to the new Route 422 bridge east of Pottsville has been completed in anticipation of constructing the "missing link" between Pottstown and Parker Ford in 2020 and work is currently under way on the repurposing of an old RR swinging bridge over the river in South Philadelphia, which will connect the Greys Ferry Crescent and Bartram's Mile sections to one another.
In addition to bringing the Schuylkill River's status as a transportation corridor into the 21st century by connecting numerous towns and cities, the trail has also helped revitalize the economy of a region that was hard hit by the decline of steel, coal mining and other heavy industries in the last few decades. With connections to the East Coast Greenway and future Schuylkill-Susquehanna Passage and 9/11 trails, it has the potential to be an eastern PA counterpart to the Great Allegheny Passage.
Pros: Lots of shade to make a 90-degree day feel cooler. Clear road signs to stop for oncoming traffic. Nice urban-like scenery, there are some cool houses you pass by, and you also get to ride over one bridge and under another!
Cons: There were a lot of broken branches and even a fallen tree. Not sure how safe this bike trail is at night, but there were some empty patrol cars that were spotted near the bike route that alleviated some anxiety.
Overall experience: Great! This is my 2nd bike trail that I rode since getting my first road bike. It has a lot of potential. It looks like it is still under construction, so if the bike trail became even more extended, was tided up, and also had a bit more supervision, I think it would be an excellent first bike run experience!
I'm basing my rating on comparison to other trails I've ridden. Some sections of CVRT are quite lovely; passing by parks and wooded areas.
Otherwise, the proximity to 202 and the numerous road crossings makes the trail feel choppy and you never really feel disconnected from suburbia. There are two intersections in particular that I found quite dangerous.
First, in Exton, the crossing at Rt. 100 is chaotic! You need to cross roads three times to reach the other side of 100. On top of that, truck traffic is extremely heavy and frequently blocks the intersection.
The other dangerous intersection is at Foundry Way in Malvern. Incoming traffic has the right of way and does not stop. The intersection is large, so by the time you're in the middle of it, traffic is inbound and they barely slow down! Be careful here.
Overall, I think CVRT is more a commuter trail than recreational trail.
My wife and I rode our tandem from Biddle Point westward to Chesapeake City, where the paved trail connects with local streets. The Michael Castle Trail changes name to the Ben Cardin Trail when you cross into Maryland. There are a couple of hairpin turns, so be aware. The marina are at the inlet near Lums Pond SP is a little tricky to navigate the first time through, but the traffic is low (we rode on a weekday afternoon).
There isn't any shade where the trail runs adjacent to the canal (except where bridges cast shadows), but the few areas where it shifts away from the canal do have tree cover. Bring plenty of water if it's a hot day. We didn't see any place to get water along the trail. We passed 2 other trailheads and they did have restrooms, but they are the waterless type.
Terrain is flat except where the trail moves away from the canal - it becomes slightly hilly.
Overall, it is a great ride.
Trail is along the Susquehanna River following the railroad from Falmoth to Columbia. The Northernmost section goes through the woods and is a little rough but getting to the North end let's you see an old lock which was part of the canal system. Starting in Bainbridge and going South the trail is asphalt suitable for road bikes. If you go on the weekends, the foot traffic is pretty heavy. For the most part the trail is shaded with sections going along open fields.
Just walked the NLCRT on Sunday June 30th in beautiful weather. The Columbia to Bainbridge sections have been paved and landscaped for some time now and of course they are wonderful. We have been waiting for the last 2.9 miles from Bainbridge to Falmouth to be finished for a couple years and we are almost there. Two new bridges and two new trestles are in so technically the trail is complete from end to end. But...word to the wise...start at the Falmouth end unless you are walking in hiking shoes. The trail from North to South is in good shape for two miles of walking (the last five minutes on the grassy shoulder which is wide and flat. The fair amount of the 0.9 miles to Bainbridge is large, loose ballast stone that is miserable to walk on and impossible to run or bike, unless you have one of those four-inch wide tire bikes. The ballast was put down to fill in low spots, and is doing a great job. It will make a great base once the smaller stone is dumped and rolled in, and support the planned paving which our local paper says will be complete before summer's end. The new forest garden is only a five minute walk from the Falmouth end, and is beautiful. We are so close to having a finally paved and finished NLCRT! It will be a real gem when complete. The Marietta bypass section still needs some work but it is roughed out and quite passable on a hybrid or mountain bike. I had heard there were still some property acquisition issues last year, so not sure when it will be paved. Once we have our NLCRT train fully completed, we can start planning the connectors to the Conewago trail to the Northeast and the Enola Low Grade trail to the Southeast.
We were hesitant to ride this trail given some of the negative comments, but I have to say they were all wrong! We rode today from New Castle to Wilmington waterfront and back again and it couldn’t have been more fun. Trail head was easy to fine, tunnels weren’t too dark, we barely saw the landfill, the industrial section was minimal — and the marshes and canopies of greenery, the bridges were just spectacular. We usually ride the canal, but this trail may just be our new fave. Next time we start in Wilmington and end the ride with a beer and lunch on the waterfront ¿¿
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