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Print Friendly MapThe 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 Creek Park and Alvernia University. The park's wetlands are a great spot for birdwatching and wildlife viewing. The trail then follows Angelica Creek through the Kenhorst Borough down to the KenGrill Recreation Center. It may one day continue south to the Nolde Forest or west to Shillington Memorial Park, connecting even more recreational amenities.
The trail is managed by Berks Nature, a non-profit conservation organization.
Just north of the trail's northern end, parking is available at the Schuylkill River Trail's Brentwood Trailhead (intersection of Morgantown Rd & Brentwood Dr in Reading). Take the Schuylkill River Trail south to reach the northern end of the Angelica Creek Trail.
Slightly southwest along the trail from its northern end, parking is available by the Angelica Park Disc Golf Course in the city's Angelica Creek Park (575 St Bernardine St, Reading) on the western side of Alvernia University's campus.
At the south end of the trail, you can park at the KenGrill Recreation Center (730 High Boulevard, Reading).
Visit the TrailLink map for detailed directions.
I enjoyed the trail from Brentwood Trailhead up to where the residential street started…. need more signage at that location to tell people they have to walk thru the neighborhood to pick up the rest of the trail. Or that they can take that little path to the right that leads one back to the University grounds.
The Center looks like a paradise for little kids, indoors and out. It was fun to explore the network of trails, which were shaded on a hot day.
Its been 5 years since we last did this trail and not much has changed. Starting at the Brentwood parking lot the trail descends on a paved surface that has many stones, up to 2" to 3" in size, from a road running parallel to the trail, making the decent less fun and more stressful. The trail turns right at the bottom of the hill and becomes a wide path covered with fine stone. It doesn't last long and soon the trail surface is a mix of mid size stone and gravel. The trail improves for a short time near the education building but not for long. There are several intersections that are not marked as which way to turn and the trail, while paved, is in need of repair. After crossing a road and climbing a short but quite steep hill the trail resembles more a mountain bike trail, little more than a dirt single track. After a short (a block or 2) on road the trail again is more like a mountain bike trail. Just before it reached the end there was a 12 inch rock in the middle of a narrow section of trail. The only reason for giving the 2 star rating is the pleasant scenery along most of the trail.
We started at the Brentwood parking area and rode to the Angelica pool and back. The stone and gravel sections of the trail are smoother than many of the paved sections. The tiny trail markers made it challenging to follow the trail at times.
Part of the Reading metropolitan area's extensive trail system, the Angelica Creek Trail branches off the Thun Trail just southeast of the Brentwood Trailhead, passes under railroad trestles across the Schuylkill, then meanders southwest past Alvernia University and through suburbs before ending at the KenGrill Recreation Center. For most of its length, the trail parallels the creek for which it is named, and much of the environment is wooded. The section in Angelica Park, where a former lake that drained after a dam once located near Route 10 (which the trail passes under) was breeched in a flood has since reverted to wetlands, is particularly impressive. One big difference between this trail and the Wyomissing Creek Trail, which branches from the Thun Trail further northwest, is paved with asphalt and level for most its length, is that the Angelica Creek Trail's surface alternates between dirt, gravel and/or coarse stone on several sections, asphalt in Angelica Park and sidewalk-like concrete on a couple of steep slopes. The gravel/stone sections can get muddy after rainy weather and the asphalt portion is degrading and, like the Neversink Connector Trail, is in bad need of repairs. Due to these conditions, along with the aforementioned slopes, the Angelica Creek Trail is poorly suited for cycling or parents pushing baby strollers, but is fine for hikers, joggers and other foot traffic. Hopefully, the surface will be improved in the near future and the trail will eventually be extended further southwest toward Governor Mifflin Intermediate and Cumru Middle schools, Shillington Memorial Park and/or the Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center.
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