Hiking the Hidden Trails of Philadelphia's Great Woods

By Brian Schwarz

I was teaching at Temple University the year I wandered into the overgrown woods of West Fairmount Park with a very specific plan.

From satellite images, it looked like this entire section of the park might hold together as one continuous loop. Not a marked trail. Not something designed as it exists today. But something that hinted at an earlier structure. A system that may have once been part of a more elegant park layout, now grown over and left to evolve on its own.

I wanted to see if it still worked.

I started near Chamounix Drive with that loop already mapped out in my head. The goal wasn’t to wander. It was to stay within the shape of the woods and link together whatever paths remained to complete the full circuit.

Once inside, the overgrown nature of the woods was immediately clear. These weren’t manicured trails, and they weren’t marked. But they were there. Worn in just enough to follow, branching off in multiple directions, constantly giving you options.

And every so often, something would feel different.

A stretch that ran just a little too straight. A curve that seemed too deliberate. A sense that beneath the overgrowth, there had once been intention. Not obvious, not preserved, but still present if you were paying attention.

At each split, I made decisions based on orientation. I knew where the edges of the woods were supposed to be. I knew roughly how the loop should wrap. The question was whether the remnants of this older structure would still connect.

They did.

Moving through Belmont Woods, the terrain shifted in ways that confirmed where I was. Lower sections tightened with thicker growth and water moving through. Higher ground opened along the ridge near Chamounix. Even without signs, the landscape aligned with the plan.

At times, the presence of the Schuylkill Expressway defined the outer edge. Not something I needed to reach, but something that confirmed I was staying within the boundary of the loop.

The key point came at the crossing of Belmont Mansion and Chamounix Drive. That was the midpoint. If everything connected cleanly to that point, then the loop was real. I crossed once, exactly where expected, and went right back into the woods.

From there, it was about closing it.

The second half followed the same logic. Stay within the system. Keep the direction consistent. Use whatever path held the line of the loop, whether it felt like a worn trail or something that had simply been reclaimed by the woods.

And it held all the way through.

By the time I returned to where I started, I had completed just over five miles. One road crossing. No marked route. No need for one.

What looked like a possibility from above turned out to be fully walkable on the ground.

The overgrown woods of West Fairmount Park feel like something that was once shaped and then left behind. Not abandoned, but absorbed. If you understand how to read it, the structure is still there.

You don’t follow a trail here.

You follow what remains.

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 Philadelphia - Wissahickon Gorge White Trail

Wissahickon Valley Park is a gem among gems within Philadelphia's Fairmount Park System, the largest urban park system in the United States. Among the many highlights of this park is its geography. Here, the Wissahickon Creek has carved a gorge through the landscape as it flows southward toward the Schuylkill River, where the Pennsylvania Piedmont flattens to form the Coastal Plain. As a result, trails are secluded within the city, and bustling urban life is at once proximate and absent, making the park both amazingly accessible and surprisingly serene.

Statue of the last Lenni-Lenapi chief, at Council Rock, along the White Trail

There are four primary routes through the park - three dirt-and-stone foot trails and one flat and wide pedestrian path, a former auto route. The 4.5-mile White Trail is a single-track and sometimes wider route that follows a primarily north-to-south trajectory high above the east bank of Wissahickon creek. The trail begins at the north end of Seminole Avenue in Chestnut Hill and continues southward to a point along Park Line Drive in Germantown.

A rocky incline along the White Trail, high above Wissahickon Creek

The White Trail parallels the Orange Trail for the most part. The White Trail, or the "high trail" climbs up and down the walls of the Wissahickon Gorge and involves a water crossing at Cresheim Creek, making it a bit more strenuous than the longer Orange Trail, which, as the "low trail", sticks more to the creek's shoreline.

Along the way, hikers pass two statues - the Indian Statue immortalizes the last Lenni-Lenapi chief at Council Rock and the Toleration Statue is of Pennsylvania founder William Penn and harkens to his political leanings toward inclusion.

Rock-hopping across Cresheim Creek may become treacherous after rains

The White Trail is at some points heavily trafficked by dog walkers, mountain bikers and joggers, which takes away some of the joy of hiking that one feels along the more secluded Orange Trail, where mountain biking is mostly restricted. Still, it is a great fitness route, especially for folks in adjacent Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy and Germantown, as well as folks in South Philly and North Philly who can reach trailheads easily on SEPTA buses from the Broad Street Line's Erie Station or via SEPTA Regional Rail on the Chestnut Hill West line.

Dog walkers, runners, mountain bikers and hikers share the White Trail

Here are all the important stats you'll need to enjoy your day hiking the Wissahickon Gorge White Trail:

Trailhead: Take the SEPTA 23 bus to the intersection of Chestnut Hill and Germantown avenues, walk three short blocks down Chestnut Hill Ave., and you will see the trailhead on your right. You could also take Regional Rail to either Highland Station or Chestnut Hill West and follow the local streets to the trailhead at Chestnut Hill and Seminole avenues. (Check the SEPTA schedule here). The other trailhead is at Park Line Drive and Hortter Avenue, just a few blocks from Tulpehocken Station on the Chestnut Hill West rail line and two blocks south of the SEPTA 53 bus stop at Hortter and Wayne Avenue.
Distance: 4.5 miles one-way (9 miles out-and-back). Add a quarter mile to each end if taking transit.
Elevation Gain/Loss: Estimated 100-300 feet (30-90 m). The elevation change is 100 feet (30 meters), but the trail has a lot of ups and downs, so until I can get a GPS reading I've included an estimate here.
Map: Friends of the Wissahickon and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation have just put out a 2013 Map of the Wissahickon Valley Park, which you can pick up at several locations in and around the City of Philadelphia, including at the Valley Green Inn, along Forbidden Drive in the park. You will find more information about the map and where to get it here. Also, find information on the Wissahickon Gorge's geography and geology in this 1997 report.
Hiking Time: 2 to 2.5 hours, depending on your personal speed.
Best Times to Hike: This hike can be done year round, but snow and ice may impede enjoyment without snowshoes or crampons in the winter. Springtime is mud season, but you can avoid the mud by rock hopping. Avoid this hike after heavy rains, as the stream crossing may become treacherous at these times.
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Overuse on the White Trail has led to re-routing to protect habitats

For a more rugged experience in the Wissahickon Gorge, check out the Orange Trail. And for more information on this hike or other hikesdiscussed in the blog HikeyHikey, feel free to leave a comment below. Check out my other blogs Man of Merit and MyFitLife2Day. Or contact me via my splash page at about.me/brian.schwarz.

Hiking Philadelphia - Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail

When most people think of Philadelphia, it is unlikely that hiking comes to mind. But I'm hoping this post will change that! Philadelphia is home to Fairmount Park, the largest urban park system in the United States. And the gem of the Fairmount, in this blogger's opinion, is the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail.

Follow the orange blazes of the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail

The Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail is a rugged, single-track, dirt-stone-and-root-strewn path that follows the namesake creek's northern and eastern banks and along the lower gorge wall. Higher up the gorge wall, the White Trail follows a near parallel path. Forbidden Drive is the heavily traversed, wide and smooth, multi-use trail that follows the creek on its opposite shore. 

It's an enigma wrapped in a riddle, as they say. The wooded path that is the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail appears on maps to be too close to the city to be enjoyed as an apparent wilderness. Its location deep within the Wissahickon Gorge, however, makes it so. For at least two-thirds of the trail's length, the gorge is practically free of urban noise pollution (with the exception of the occasional scream of emergency vehicle). Otherwise, the sounds of the creek, birds chattering, and wind blowing through the canopy of trees are all you will hear along the Orange Trail.

Enjoy the lush riparian environment of the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail

The Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail makes its way from the northwest reaches of the city, at Chestnut Hill College along East Northwestern Avenue, to the Schuylkill River, near the intersection of Lincoln and Kelly drives at the Wissahickon Transportation Center. This thru-trail is approximately 7.5 miles from start to finish, and it can be done in about 3.5 to four hours, depending on your personal speed.

You won't find outfitters in Philadelphia to shuttle you from one end of the trail to the other. So the best way to enjoy this trail is to reach the trailhead via public transportation, provided frequently, conveniently and economically by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).

From the Olney Transportation Center (Broad Street Line Subway), board the L bus going west toward Plymouth Meeting and get off at the gates of Chestnut Hill College, at the corner of Germantown Pike and Rodgers Drive. The trail begins by crossing the south side of the bridge. From there, the trail veers to the right and hugs Wissahickon Creek, which will remain on your right hand side for the entirety of your hike. 

At about the half-mile point you will cross West Bells Mill Road, and just past the one-mile point you will arrive at a covered bridge. Built in 1737, this is the only remaining covered bridge of the many that once crisscrossed the creek in the area.

Covered bridge along the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail

Enjoy the many views of the bridge, then find your way back to the trail, which continues on the other side of the picnic area there. Within a half mile of passing the covered bridge, keep your eyes directed up the slopes of Wissahickon Gorge and you will see a statue of a kneeling Lenape warrior atop a large rock outcrop called Council Rock.

It is worth it to take the short connector trail up to the top of Council Rock to see the statue up close. According to the Friends of the Wissahickon's 2013 Map of the Wissahickon Valley Park, this 1902 statue stands "where the Lenape are believed to have held gatherings." 

Return to the Orange Trail, and the next mile or so past Council Rock is some of the most beautiful terrain you will encounter along the Orange Trail. There is a section with dozens of rhododendron bushes which, if you're lucky, you'll get to see in bloom. This, according to the National Rhododendron Society, occurs in the Philadelphia area from mid-May through the first week of June.

Civilization along the trail at Valley Green Inn - trail maps available here

At approximately 2.5 miles into your hike you will come across a bridge that gives you access to the Valley Green Inn, which has public restrooms for hikers as well as a restaurant with a full menu, making it a wonderful lunching spot along your hike. Even if you packed your lunch, I recommend you stop here for a cup of coffee to enjoy the view from the veranda. On a recent hike, I had a serendipitous encounter with a bald eagle and the Irish folk band Scynthian. (Read more about that here.)

Devil's Pool, along the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail

Continuing on, you will come across Devil's Pool at the three-mile mark. This is a spot of deep water along the Wissahickon, where it is joined by Cresheim Creek. Just beyond Devil's Pool, which is a popular spot for swimmers even though the official park policy bans swimming, you will reach the historic Livezey House (also known as Glen Fern).

From this point on the trail begins to feel a bit more civilized, especially at the 3.5-mile mark, where you encounter the Fingerspan Bridge, designed by artist Jody Pinto, which was airlifted into place by a helicopter in 1987.

Fingerspan Bridge, designed by artist Jody Pinto, along the Orange Trail

Another mile or so down the Orange Trail you will reach a sharp bend in the Wissahickon Creek. Just beyond the curve you will reach a rock outcropping called Mom Rinker's Rock, named after a reputed witch who, according to local lore, would drop balls of yarn containing messages about British troops to Colonial soldiers waiting below. A spur trail takes you to the top of Mom Rinker's Rock where you will find the Toleration Statue (placed here in 1883).

Tolerance Statue, atop Mama Rinker's Rock, Wissahickon Gorge

Just before the five-mile point you will cross under the Walnut Lane Bridge, which looms high above the creek. Enjoy the graffiti here and continue on. In another half mile or so you will reach historic Rittenhouse Town, which is home to several historic homes, the last remains of a bustling mill town established in 1690. 

At Rittenhousetown, you will follow the sidewalk uphill along Lincoln Drive to the intersection of Lincoln and Rittenhouse Street at the southern end of Saylor's Grove. Cross the drive here - carefully - and on the other side of Rittenhouse Street you will find the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail picks up to the right.

Graffiti at the Henry Avenue bridge, Orange Trail, Philadelphia University

This last portion of the trail, which continues south along the gorge high above Lincoln Drive all the way to its intersection at Ridge Avenue, is the least-traveled of the Orange Trail. In fact, the new map put out by the Friends of the Wissahickon no longer designates it with the Orange color - but to miss out on this portion of trail would be a mistake. One feels like a voyeur over the traffic below, and a sense of accomplishment mounts as you gently make your way back into civilization.

Lincoln Drive as seen from the Orange Trail, near Philadelphia University

Here are all the important stats you'll need to enjoy your day hiking the Wissahickon Gorge Orange Trail:

Trailhead: The start of the trail is near the gates of Chestnut Hill College. Take the L bus from SEPTA's Chestnut Hill West Station or the Broad Street Line's Olney Transportation Center and tell the driver you want to get off at the college on the corner of Germantown Pike and Rodgers Drive
(not all of the buses stop there, so check the SEPTA schedule here). Conversely you may start the trail from northeast corner of Lincoln and Kelly drives, which is accessible by a slew of buses and Regional Rail at Wissahickon Station.
Distance: 7.5 miles one-way (15 miles out-and-back)
Elevation Gain/Loss: Estimated 100-300 feet (30-90 m). The elevation change is 100 feet (30 meters), but the trail has a lot of ups and downs, so until I can get a GPS reading I've included an estimate here.
Map: Friends of the Wissahickon and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation have just put out a 2013 Map of the Wissahickon Valley Park, which you can pick up at several locations in and around the City of Philadelphia, including at the Valley Green Inn, along Forbidden Drive in the park. You will find more information about the map and where to get it here. Also, find information on the Wissahickon Gorge's geography and geology in this 1997 report.
Hiking Time: 3.5 to four hours, depending on your personal speed.
Best Times to Hike: This hike can be done year round, but snow and ice may impede enjoyment without snowshoes or crampons in the winter. Springtime is mud season, but you can avoid the mud by rock hopping.
Difficulty: Easy

Buses galore return to Center City from the Wissahickon Station

For another scenic hike higher up in the Wissahickon Gorge, check out the White Trail. And for more information on this hike or other hikes discussed in the blog HikeyHikey, feel free to leave a comment below. Check out my other blogs Man of Merit and MyFitLife2Day. Or contact me via my splash page at about.me/brian.schwarz.