Port Richmond Trail

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 also a part of two growing trail networks, the 750-mile regional effort called The Circuit and the East Coast Greenway, which will stretch 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida.

The paved trail follows Allegheny and Delaware avenues and, at either end, will meet two other planned trails: the Richmond Street Trail and the South Bridesburg Trail. The route is dotted with native trees and shrubs as it traverses an industrial area undergoing revitalization. On its western end, it connects to Monkiewicz Playground and Pulaski Park, a half-acre greenspace with a fishing pier and benches to sit and enjoy views of the river.

Parking and Trail Access

Parking is available on the west side of the trail in Pulaski Park (3001 E. Allegheny Avenue), just off I-95.

was not feeling it

April 2023 sheilahalf1007

Went to Pulaski Park greeted by loud music, people hanging out at the entrance. Driving there passes so much trash, abandoned properties but was still going to try the ride. Parking at the park and then to ride the street for a little we just weren’t feeling it so passed.

Trail along a working waterfront

August 2022 jmcginnis12@gmail.com

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.