Find the top rated horseback riding trails in Pennsylvania, whether you're looking for an easy short horseback riding trail or a long horseback riding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a horseback riding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
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Went on a very sunny, hot (upper 90s) day. Trail is completely paved. Lots of shaded areas. Great historical scenery and info. The only area that sort of freaked me out was riding past the rod and gun club. In certain areas, I could see gaps in the barriers. Yikes! But otherwise, very fun, easy ride!
I’m from Buffalo and not used to hills, but once I got used to it, it was a fun trail. Very beautiful and peaceful. Sat by the lake at launch 3 for a while after my ride.
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.
Fully paved trail with lots of shade throughout. Worked well for us on this August day with temperatures in the low 90’s. We parked at the Chestnut St lot / trailhead. We just did the 5+ mile loop portion. Took us 48 mins with a few stops and an easy pace. Well maintained.
A nice ride. The hub is a good place to start.
First mile bumpy but fine, last two narrow and all natural. The 7 miles in between are really enjoyable, gravel & decommissioned road. Can cross bridges on both ends to ride Bear Hole trail . Didn’t ride this time, but took both bridges over the Swatara creek. Trail is canopied the whole very, lots of Creek views - scenic ride.
Had a great ride just had to move my starting point south about 3 miles from the Viaduct, due to construction on the trail. Trail is in great shape and made it to Carbondale. Just would of been nice to know the trail was closed to the NY line.
One of several segments of multi-use trail that extend along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, the Port Richmond Trail parallels Delaware Ave. for 2 miles, connecting the neighborhood for which it is named to nearby Bridesburg.
If you're looking for either a serene journey through nature, like the K&T Trail to the north, or a bustling trip past trendy eateries, shops and historic ships and submarines that have been repurposed for museums, like the Delaware River Greenway to the south, look elsewhere. Trail users will instead pass through a section of the Port of Philadelphia, with its tank farms and pipeline hookups at the Kinder Morgan oil and petrochemical terminal, and the freight cranes and shipping crates at the Tioga Marine Terminals. If they're lucky, one or more hulking freighter or tanker ships may be berthed at these shipyards.
Moving north, trail users will pass the massive concrete structure of the old Richmond Power Plant. The coal fired generating station was closed in 1985 and scenes from the sci-fi movie "12 Monkeys" were shot there a decade later. Despite sitting idle for nearly 40 years, the plant's imposing, gothic design, topped with rusting smokestacks and pipe work remain a sight to behold.
The trail passes beneath a RR bridge immediately north of the Richmond Power Plant. The steel girders that support this bridge are clearly visible and make it look like it was constructed from a giant erector set. Freight and PATCO commuter trains regularly roll across the bridge.
The trail intersects another local bikeway, the Frankford Creek Greenway, at the intersection of Delaware Ave. and Lewis Street. It then crosses Frankford Creek on a bridge that it shares with Delaware Ave. An older bridge, which originally carried the now defunct Kensington & Tacony RR across the creek, before being repurposed to accommodate cars driving along Delaware Ave., now sits unused immediately downstream. An old traffic signal, now overgrown with vegetation, surreally sits at the north end of the abandoned bridge.
After passing beneath the Betsy Ross Bridge, a major traffic artery linking NE Philadelphia and NJ, the trail threads a route between Delaware Ave. and the route of the old rail line, passing truck terminals and a school bus lot to its northern terminus at Orthodox Street in Bridesburg.
Although the trail's route past industrial properties may not seem particularly inviting at first, it does a great job highlighting the city's heritage as one of the nation's major seaports and transportation hubs, a roll that it continues to hold to this day. There aren't any benches or other amenities on the trail itself, but Pulaski Park near the southern terminus is a great place to relax and offers spectacular views of the river. There aren't many trees along the greenway, making it very hot and sunny in the warmer months of the year,
Plans are currently in the works to link the Port Richmond Trail to the K&T Trail further north and the Delaware River Greenway to the south. Eventually, all of these segments will be joined to form a greenway that will run along most of the city's Delaware River waterfront. When this happens, the Port Richmond Trail will be incorporated into the East Coast Greenway and will also connect to the D&L Trail.
First time on this trail and rode gravel bike - had a blast with all the different trail terrain .. other reviews are spot on. This is a very unique trail! We rode in August, starting in Lickdale at Monroe huge parking area (love the grass spots), since the campground preferred people parking there instead of at their lot. Even though I read the reviews, was still surprised at the distance of the old macadam road (FYI .. it’s easy to move out and has lots of speed bumps & deer jump out). It was fun on gravel bike! As you get close to end of trail you’ll cross Swopes Vally Road .. be prepared if you go the next 1.7 miles (Northern Spur) in the summer, you may experience as we did, way overgrown waist high grass, narrow paths with fun dips before you reach the field by Hampton. Was told there is a really good diner across the street. Plan to go back and glad I had my gravel bike for fun and comfort!
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
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