Hiking Philadelphia - West Fairmount Park Great Woods Loop

by Brian Schwarz

Most Philadelphia area hikers know about hiking the Wissahickon Gorge, but few realize some of the best trails lie tucked away between the Schuylkill Expressway, West Philadelphia and City Avenue. That's right, West Fairmount Park is so close to the Center City that no one suspects that it's home to an in-tact contiguous woods, with an easy-to-follow 5-mile hiking loop that leads through the urban wilds and only crosses a busy park road once!

Mountain bikers and competitive cross-country runners already know about sections of these great trails. Still, strikingly few hikers take the time to get to know this truly unparalleled hiking experience. Despite their proximity to the heart of the city, this is not some second-rate hike you do when you can't make it to the Wissahickon, the Reading Prong, Blue Mountain or the Poconos. Hiking the great woods of Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park actually feels like entering the lungs of this great city.

Topo map shows terrain, beneath the trees of West Fairmount's Great Woods

Most people who have been to West Fairmount Park are probably most familiar with aspects of the Centennial District, which includes the Philadelphia Zoo, the Horticultural Center with its Japanese Garden, the Mann Center for Performing Arts and the Please Touch Museum in Memorial Hall. Many also know the many picnic areas and the spectacular view to be seen of the Philadelphia skyline from the Belmont Plateau. But fewer know of the woods that lie east of the plateau, on either side of the ridge where you'll find Chamounix Drive and the multi-use Speedway Trail.

The Great Woods of Fairmount Park can be divided into two parts, Belmont Woods and Chamounix Woods. The Belmont Woods is a unique urban-riparian experience.  Bound by Greenland Drive to the north, Chamounix Drive to the west and the sweeping grassy knoll of Belmont Mansion to the south. It is bound by the Schuylkill Expressway, too, and the trails here dip down below the massive interstate highway taking you into quiet wetland zones where creeks trickle down through a mixed-growth forest. Trees that are hundreds of years younger trees, providing a unique forest experience with a high canopy and a dense understory. It's an experience that rivals and even tops many Pennsylvania state forests, most of which are still quite young in comparison.

The Great Woods of Fairmount Park - Belmont and Chamounix

The Satellite image above shows the near contiguous Great Woods of Fairmount Park. Notice where the Strawberry Mansion Bridge enters the picture, crossing the Schuylkill River on the bottom right of the photo. As the road enters the park it is called Greenland Drive until it reaches Chamounix Drive. Belmont Woods are to the left of Greenland and extend all the way to the edge to the grassy area in front of Belmont Mansion. The woods north and west of Chamounix Road stretch as far north as the Schuylkill Expressway - right up to the I-76/Roosevelt Boulevard interchange - then wraps around Chamounix Hill to continue back to Greenland Road.

Here's the best part - the Great Woods of Fairmount Park is home to an extensive network of wilderness trails that nearly ANYONE can do and where EVERYONE is welcome. That's right - you don't have to be a moneybags or have special equipment and such to enjoy these woods! Just strap on a sturdy pair of shoes, carry water and snacks, and carry a pack so you can haul out any trash you make while enjoying the woods. These are the people's woods!

Don't worry that the trails back in these woods are not marked; you can trust all of the trails to lead you eventually to a road. If there is a trail back there that just peters out and doesn't go anywhere - and I haven't found one yet after at least 15 trips to scout trails - then just turn back around and take another route. That's what's so amazing - you're never far from a way out of the woods, yet you could get lost in there for as long as you choose to. These Philadelphia woods are the epitome of the urban wilds.

GPS Map of the Great Woods Hike in West Fairmount Park

The above map shows a recent 5.3-mile hike I took, starting at the Chamounix Mansion Youth Hostel (see the green dot?) and doing a loop of the entire Great Woods Hike. During the hike, I only crossed traffic once - at the intersection of Belmont Mansion and Chamounix Drives, which, as it turns out, is at the three-mile mark, an excellent place to stop and have lunch at the Chamounix Picnic Area.

The road crossings at Ford Road and Greenland Drive each have wooded pedestrian crossings, where if you'd like to exit the woods you may, but you certainly don't have to. Just to give you an idea of how long it would take to do this 5..3-mile loop, I did the entire thing in about three hours, taking several breaks to sit beneath the towering trees and listen to the many birds that call these woods home. Because it is at once so accessible while feeling so remote, you can break up the hike any way you choose and still walk out of the woods feeling refreshed.

So are you ready to explore the Great Woods of Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park? Follow this link to sister blog Hiking Megalopolis for a description of an epic loop hike that begins at Historic Strawberry Mansion, just across Strawberry Bridge in East Fairmount Park.

Also, for more information of other opportunities to explore the urban wilds and other hiking areas throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and beyond, go to Facebook and like the Hiking Megalopolis community page. Free hikes are often listed. And please, TELL YOUR FRIENDS you saw it on Hiking Megalopolis!

Hiking Boston Metro West - Kendal Green to Cat Rock

You may know that Boston is home to two sprawling urban wilderness sanctuaries - the Middlesex Fells and the Blue Hills. But did you know that throughout the city and in the surrounding suburbs many smaller conservation areas are to be found. Cat Rock is one of my favorites, and the best part is that it's accessible by public transit from Boston's North Station or Porter Square in Cambridge.

Hobb's Pond - the gem of Cat Rock Park

Cat Rock Park, located in Weston, Mass., is a tiny slice of preserved wilderness in the midst of suburbia. This granite-topped hill scratches up to the sky from within the suburban landscape about half a mile's walk from the Kendall Green T station.

Escape to the wilds of suburban Boston in Metro West's Cat Rock Park

A passive park, or reservation as it's called, Cat Rock features a loop trail that links it to the rest of the 80 Acre woods that surround Hobb's Pond - the park's central gem. Hobb's Pond is fed by the Cambridge Reservoir farther north and empties via Hobbs Brook to the south into the Stony Brook Reservoir, finally releasing into the Charles River by the Waltham-Newton divide. Hobb's Brook dissects the Cat Rock and 80 Acres hiking loop, so two shorter loops may be followed by sticking to the brook's east or west bank, or you can do the whole thing in just a few hours.

Dogs should be on-leash when not relaxing by your side atop Cat Rock

Cat Rock is on the west side loop. To get there directly I'd suggest taking the Fitchburg Line to Kendal Green, walking north on Church Street, taking a left onto Route 117, and then a quick right onto Drabbington Way. Trail spurs are at the end of Drabbington, on either side of the ball field. The quickest route to Cat Rock from here is taking the left trail spur. Take it into the woods and veer left in the clearing to ascend the old abandoned ski run, and then down the mushroom-clad hill that leads downhill to the west and north here and do the entire loop toward an open meadow, and Hobb's Pond.

Fells-like rock formation in northeaster section of Cat Rock Park

The trail to the right of the ball field will take you away from Cat Rock, to a footbridge where you can cross to the east side loop and into the woods. Straight ahead you will find a street exit to Lexington Street, which runs north-south and forms much of the eastern edge of the woods. Straight and to the right you will find the southern exit to Page Road, which curves east once exiting the park and also leads to Lexington Street. Continue to the north past Hobb's Pond and across the meadow and you will find the northwestern corner of the park, which is also fun to explore. There is a large rock formation similar to what you will find in the Fells.

After exploring Cat Rock Park, to return to Kendal Green either go back to the trailhead you came in on via Drabbington Way, or take Lexington south to Route 117, where you will take a right and then a left onto Church, which slopes down hill toward the station.

Here are the quick stats for Cat Rock Park:

Trailhead: Parking lot at the end of Drabbington Way in Weston, Mass.
Distance: 1 to 5 miles
Elevation Gain/Loss: approximately 300/300 feet
Map: You can obtain a map of Weston Conservation Lands for $10 from the town hall at 11 Town House Road, Weston, MA 02493, or by calling 781-786-5000.  A book with trail descriptions is also available from Weston Conservation Commission for $15. An interactive online map of Cat Rock and other conservation lands is available from the Weston Forest and Trail Association.
Hiking Time: Trails within the park extend as far as the Weston/Lincoln border in the northwestern extreme of the park - doing the main loop and the long spur up to Lincoln will garner you a fairly nice hike of about three hours. This is a great place to walk around for as little or as much time as you have.
Best Times to Hike: This hike is great year-round. Watch out for seasonal flooding.
Difficulty: Easy

If you're living in or just visiting the Boston area, I'd really recommend checking this place out. It's a lovely diversion from the fast pace of city life. And if you're close enough, it's a great spot to enjoy regular hikes without having to venture too far from home. If you're looking for more strenuous hikes in the Boston area, check out these three hikes.

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