Best Bike Trails in Philadelphia / Camden / Wilmington
The City of Brotherly Love also gets plenty of singletrack love, thanks in large part to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Trail Riders (SEPTR). In addition to our recommendations here, be sure to read Luke’s excellent roundup of his five favorite Philadelphia-area bike trails.
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Wissahickon Valley Park
Philadelphia mountain biking really doesn’t get any better–or more accessible–than “the Wiss.” The park features a mostly flat, multi-use trail that follows the creek with various singletrack trails (not all open to bikes) branching off along the way. The Wiss offers a good variety of riding and about 200 feet of elevation loss between the high and low points.
Valley Forge Park: Betzwood
Within the Valley Forge Historical Park, the Betzwood trails get high marks for having good flow, making this a popular spot for riding after work. Overall, the trail system doesn’t offer a lot of elevation change and few technical obstacles, making it a mostly beginner-friendly ride.
Brandywine State Park
Located near Wilmington, DE, Brandywine State Park is right at 25 miles as the crow flies from Philadelphia, though during the week the drive can stretch to an hour or more. Still, for those visiting or staying on the southwestern side of the metro area, Brandywine State Park offers 15 miles of rocky, technical trails good for hours of exploring.
White Clay Creek State Park
White Clay Creek State Park is located near Newark, DE and officially, it’s a 45-mile drive from downtown Philly, making it a bit of a stretch as a weekday destination. Still, Wilmington is technically part of the Philadelphia metro area so White Clay is fair game! White Clay State Park offers perhaps some of the fastest, flowiest trails in the area, and every option is well-marked. The $8 entry fee ($4 for state residents) is worth every penny for access to 24 miles of sweet singletrack.
Next up: Toronto, Ontario.
5 Comments
Feb 4, 2019
Jan 16, 2018
It's great to see other people writing about our quiet, humble riding area (Ottawa-Gatineau).
Of course it's FAT season here now. We have some crazy good shared single track is 2 riding areas, plus Kanata, Larose, and city trails.
You can learn more about our fat riding areas here:
https://spark.adobe.com/page/AzlCy3ysfgZGN/
Our local networks are growing by leaps and bounds too. Advocacy over the last 10 years is paying off and our Gatineau Park Trail Network will be growing exponentially as previously limited bike access is increased overall rate next 5 years.
And we have a brand new riding area called Larose Forest that is multi-use, purpose machine built flow trail. Larose has BIG plans to expand and local riders love the first beginner and intermediate trails that are now open. (Did I mention how FUN these trails are?) The Larose management team has a BIG vision for the area.
Larose Forest Primer:
https://spark.adobe.com/page/H1lOIXxhwb0bw/
Have fun everywhere.
Mike.
Jun 19, 2017
Jun 21, 2017
Jun 22, 2017