The main trail is 3 miles, crushed gravel, multi-use (peds & horses). 1½ miles in, there is a cutoff to a doubletrack on the north side. That runs in a 2-mile loop. At the end of the first trail, there are cut-offs to two other trails, each about 1½ miles long. Both lead to the Walnut Hill Section of Valley Forge Park; one has a little under a mile of decent singletrack.
99% of this trail is strictly beginner - very little technical stuff, but there are long stretches where you can hammer for a few miles at a clip when the trail isn't busy. It's also a beautiful park with lots to look at, making it worth the ride when you just want to turn the pedals for an hour or two without a lot of climbing or stump jumping.
Two special notes:
1) There is another two miles of really decent singletrack hidden in the woods that are marked "no bikes," apparently reserved for the horsey crowd. I asked a park ranger if there was any good singletrack, and HE SHOWED ME THE EQUINE TRAILS! He told me that the rangers typically don't enforce the bike restriction unless they have a horse event or they get complaints about bikes running afoul of the horses. Rule of thumb, if you see a number of horse trailers at the Walnut Hill parking lot, stay off the marked portion of the singletrack. Otherwise, ride at your own risk (or ask a ranger first like I did).
2) This trail runs parallel to, and easily connects to, the Schuykill River Trail and the Perkiomen Valley Trail. Together these two trails are about 44 miles of mixed paved and unpaved surface that runs from center city Philadelphia to northwestern Montgomery County. While not strictly a mountain bike trail, there are definitely sections where a mountain bike makes more sense than a road bike.
 | Betzwood |   | 9 mi |
You have to ride some gravel paths to find the trails. I was able to put together 9 or so miles. Some log crossings and lack of maintenance along the ridge lines but still enjoyable. After heavier rains low lying areas near ponds and river are muddy. No steep climbs or lung busters. Great place for a quick after work ride.
| ThankThe posted picture is not of the "River Trail". The River Trail is a wide gravel, level trail that follows close beside the Schuylkill River. Between it and the SRT is a large network of more challenging single tracks. The picture looks like it was taken from a trail on that network.
| ThankI prefer to go through the creeks and standing water, but you can get around some of it. I've also been going for a long time (20 years) and still enjoy all of the trails.
| ThankDecent technical ride on very extensive trail network. Trails are well kept and accessible from multiple parking areas.
| ThankLove that it is so close!
| ThankSolid trails for a nice XC loop after work or the weekend. There are several different loops to put together a solid 12 mile ride leaving from the Oaks Pa area and you can access the trail from the Perky trail. There are a few stream crossings, plenty of up and overs as well as nice singletrack in the woods and along the railroad tracks.
| ThankThere are tons of entrances to the single tracks in the Bretzwood/River Road/Pawlings Farm area. The trails are dedicated horse trails and there are signs saying no MTBs, but the rangers dont care. Just dont spook the horses are you're good. The trails are at times slow and fast depending on where you go. There are some ridges that you can ride on and also drop down the sides of which can make for some fun riding. You can ride the trails on average a couple hours. But the park has a lot of different trails and starting points so you can make a day of it
| ThankFun trail, we enjoyed it. The trail was windy through the woods, it was pretty neat and fast. Not to many hills, overall pretty flat. There were a couple of logs to jump, nothing to hard. We also saw a drop or two, which kept our attention. Overall probably a low 4, nice for hardtails and beginners to intermediates. Not advanced as stated, but nice and comformable
| ThankThis is my favorite trail at Valley Forge! The 3 mile main trail is a great ride along the river. There are even a couple of historical markers that most people never get to see when they visit the park.
| ThankRode this trail on 9/29/13 and had a blast. This is nothing special...just a lot of fun. There are some climbs, some descents, some jumps, stream crossings, logovers, switchbacks, flat/fast sections and beautiful scenery. It's not an expert trail but it's also not a strictly beginner trail. It's not lung-busting like Wissahickon and it's got more flow than Belmont. It's not super-challenging...just a fun, fun ride.
| ThankI love this park. I usually park at Betzwood park off of Trooper Rd. Ill ride in about a mile down the river path to get warmed up. If you head up this rocky dirt climb you can catch multiple trails. 99% of the trails are about a foot wide. The nice thing about these trails are the obstacles (the ability to go over or around them), the dips down where water has formed a ridge, and the creek crossings. There are two creek crossings that I know of that I have done but they are fun. There are some decently technical sections and some fast tracks. A lot of switchbacks, logs, and all kinds of fun stuff. This park is perfect for all types of riders. There are hard stuff and easy stuff. It all depends on which you decide to do.
| ThankNeed to find your way into the middle of the park to the elevated single-track. Pretty tough and little room for error. Lots of angles roots there to take out back tires. Steep embankments off either side. Some downed trees over parts of the trail. This was a much better ride than expected.
| ThankVery nice trail.Trail has flat sections for speed,Short climbs,log crossings,Creek crossings and is very schenic.Trail goes along with schuykill river.There are also multiple routes to take.I believe this ride is called Schuylkill River Trail.My favorite ride locally.This is a must ride! Connects to Valley Forge and to rail trail ,that will take you all the way to the art muesem. Also has trails that will take you to phoenixville. The woods loop is the best around by far!* Review edited 3/30/2009
| ThankA friend showed me almost 4 more miles of single track, most of it legitimately open to mountain bikes. A little bit of everything: some mud, roots, rocks, stream crossings, log hops from 4 inches to 2 feet. This trail system just got a whole lot more interesting.
| Thank