Find the top rated cross country skiing trails in Smyrna, 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.
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...
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...
The Wildwood Crest Bike Path is a one-mile bike path that runs along the beach from East Cresse Avenue to East Rambler Road.
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...
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 Jersey shore was a major vacation destination for residents of the Delaware Valley region throughout the early 20th century. From the 1890s to 1930s, two parallel railroad lines—the Atlantic City...
Maryland's Susquehanna State Park is recognized for challenging hiking and biking trails, camping facilities, rock outcroppings, boating, a museum and restored historical sites. But none of these...
The Michael Castle Trail offers a scenic 12-mile route along the north shore of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in northern Delaware. The trail is named after the former governor and US...
The Jersey shore was a major vacation destination for residents of the Delaware Valley region throughout the early 20th century. From the 1890s to 1930s, two parallel railroad lines—the Atlantic City...
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 Michael Castle Trail offers a scenic 12-mile route along the north shore of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in northern Delaware. The trail is named after the former governor and US...
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...
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 Wildwood Crest Bike Path is a one-mile bike path that runs along the beach from East Cresse Avenue to East Rambler Road.
Maryland's Susquehanna State Park is recognized for challenging hiking and biking trails, camping facilities, rock outcroppings, boating, a museum and restored historical sites. But none of these...
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...
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...
The Michael Castle Trail offers a scenic 12-mile route along the north shore of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal in northern Delaware. The trail is named after the former governor and US...
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 Wildwood Crest Bike Path is a one-mile bike path that runs along the beach from East Cresse Avenue to East Rambler Road.
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...
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...
Maryland's Susquehanna State Park is recognized for challenging hiking and biking trails, camping facilities, rock outcroppings, boating, a museum and restored historical sites. But none of these...
The Jersey shore was a major vacation destination for residents of the Delaware Valley region throughout the early 20th century. From the 1890s to 1930s, two parallel railroad lines—the Atlantic City...
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...
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...
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!
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.
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 ¿¿
DELDOT has converted the rail line along Cape Henlopen Dr to a paved path. It extends 1.5 miles from the State Park Entrance to American Legion Drive in Lewes.
I am only giving this trail three stars, not because the trail is a poor experience, but it is a short trail for me, and there are numerous road crossings. The trail is asphalt all the way, and virtually level. Yes, some slight slopes, but nothing serious. There are mileage markers almost every half mile, and also some signs for points of interest. I started at the King of Prussia park and ride, and biked to Exton and returned. Initially, the trail goes along some very congested real estate, but the sound barriers do muffle the traffic noise so in portions it is very nice, heavily wooded on both sides, and in some places refreshingly cool. In other areas, homes and office parks are along the way. This gives rise to multiple road crossings, and many are signal controlled, especially at major crossings. Around the 8 mile point, the scenery is more open, with farms along the trail. Once one reaches Exton Park Trailhead, where water, restroom and tables are available, unless one wants to go into Exton, there is little reason to travel further. But going further has major road crossings, and one enters into a major commercial area, and about a mile or so past that, the trail simply stops. At the Exton Park, there is a detailed trail sign and also indications of future trails, including the proposed route to link with the Schuylkill River Trail from King of Prussia.
The parks at both ends of the trail where the parking lots are located also have fishing piers and charge $10 to park. I couldn't find any decent, free parking so I went to the Cross Island trail.
My husband and I rode this trail today. It was the 1st warm humid day of this year. The trail is not a rail trail. It’s paved and has some uphill sections. It’s in very good condition and we even seen a huge river otter near the route 1 bridge. The closer we got to Delaware city the more osprey we seen too. There isn’t much shade, and along the canal there’s none. I recommend this trail. There are plenty of restrooms and benches on the east side of the route 896 bridge.
For those of you who like this trail, I have good news. They are adding a 1.5 mile extension to the east end of the trail at the Kent narrows bridge. This extension is almost all made of bridge/boardwalk but it is beautiful and runs over the water through wetlands giving a great view of the water. It is supposed to be finished sometime in may. They must have spend several million to add this extension. Can't wait to ride it, will make the trail total distance now about 6 miles.
4.5 is a more appropriate rating.
A nice, flat, paved and well marked trail.
Ran to the left after parking.
A nice little bridge as well as a nice little tunnel, nice scenary along the way.
The only drawback is crossing several roads which could be a challenge at busy times, and could be a negative for bikers.
So in conclusion, if in the area and want to get a few miles in, give this a try.
You'll be pleased.
Superb trail as far as smooth and maintained, but the road noise from Rt 202 made parts of the trail unbearable. If you are looking for a great trail to hear mother nature. this is not it!
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