# Schuylkill River Trail / Valley Forge Nat. Park



## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

It's been a while since I posted a report and I've been itching to so I took a ride on the schuylkill River Trail from Conshohocken up to Valley Forge National Park today while visiting family back home. 

This ride, minus the VF portion, used to be my daily commute to/from work. The trail, or more precisely, what's alongside the trail, has changed a bit over the past 4 years, especially in the Conshohocken portions. LOTS of new development, commercial and residential, along with some minor trail changes along the way.

The scenery along upstream portion of the SRT, from Manayunk out to VF, is mostly industrial and heavy commercial, especially through Conshohocken and Norristown where the steel mill, quarries, chemical plant, sewage treatment plants and even the old Lee Tires plant now turned into an office building. 

The trail itself is the roadbed from an old Reading/Pennsylvania RR line (IIRC) and is about 20 years old in some spots. I remember what was there before the trail... I grew up fishing (and doing other non-cycling related activities) along the banks of the river and used the roadbed to get to some of the best spots. One of the pictures is of a fishing hole I fished at when I was 10 years old. 

It was HOT today and very humid as can be seen by the haze in some of the shots. My ride today was only about 25 miles total -- flat along the trail with some hills in VFNP. I originally planned on doing the entire length of the trail (roughly 60 miles, round trip) but had to cut it short due to time constraints. The trail downstream of Conshohocken takes you through Manayunk then into Philadelphia, ending at the Art Museum... where there is still never a shortage of tourists who MUST run up the steps, ala Rocky. Manayunk is fairly hilly and is all on street. Maybe next time I'll get that part of the trail in a ride report.

Here are the pics in no particular order.....


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## vol245 (Jan 20, 2002)

Beautiful pics and nice report. How many mosquitoes found you? The shot of the lake made me think of them.


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## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

vol245 said:


> Beautiful pics and nice report. How many mosquitoes found you? The shot of the lake made me think of them.


No skeeters today.... all the water shots are of the Schuylkill River. One, however, is of the sewage treatment plant in Norristown, PA. You learn quickly to breathe through your nose, in spite of the stench, knowing where the little flies have been.


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## crisbay (Apr 9, 2006)

Beautiful!! How long is the trail?


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## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

crisbay said:


> Beautiful!! How long is the trail?


The SRT is about 25 or so miles from end to end and you can add about 7 more in Valley Forge Nat. Park if you want. The SRT links up with the Perkiomen trail though, adding another 20 but only about the first 5 miles of the PT are paved.



http://www.montcopa.org/parks/Schuylkill_RiverTrail/Pdfs/SchTraillBrochInterior 06.pdf

http://www.montcopa.org/parks/perkiomentrail/Perkiomen.htm


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## ChuckUni (Jan 2, 2003)

Nice pics! I live in the 'yunk. I used the trail yesterday....out to Valley Forge, through the park and southish to Downingtown to Victory Brewing and back. Was a bit warm! 

Anyhow thanks for the pics, I didn't take any. I'm lame like that. 

I use the SRT as a escape path from the congestion of the city. Once you are out by Valley Forge you can head in almost any direction and find decent roads. Good stuff.


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## Farmertan (Feb 5, 2005)

Great shots!

I live right near the park and my daily commute takes me right through it. You did a nice job of capturing the landmarks.


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## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

Farmertan said:


> Great shots!
> 
> I live right near the park and my daily commute takes me right through it. You did a nice job of capturing the landmarks.


Thanks all. I really wanted to do the whole park but in that heat, I just didn't have the legs for it. 

Next time I'm back home with the bike I'll PM you guys... maybe we can hook up for a ride. I lived in Conshy for the first 31 years of my life.


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## ChuckUni (Jan 2, 2003)

KenB said:


> Next time I'm back home with the bike I'll PM you guys... maybe we can hook up for a ride. I lived in Conshy for the first 31 years of my life.


Yeah, please do. I'm always up for a ride. 

Being newish to the area, I'm sure you know more roads than I as well.


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## Farmertan (Feb 5, 2005)

ChuckUni said:


> Yeah, please do. I'm always up for a ride.
> 
> Being newish to the area, I'm sure you know more roads than I as well.


A good tip - if you're not familiary with the Valley Forge Area and looking for a good ride, follow the white circle-arrows through the park and beyond into the countryside. 

They mark out a nice century route laid out by the Phila Bike Coalition (I think they're the sponsor). The portion out through VF Park and beyond is good for around 30 miles of beautiful Chester County roads and will bring you back to the SRT along the Perkiomen Creek.


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## team_sheepshead (Jan 17, 2003)

I lead a charity ride from NYC to Hershey, Penn., and we went through Valley Forge for the first time last year. Okay, we made a wrong turn and got lost for a few minutes, but once we found our way, it was a great ride. FarmerTan helped us out with a cue sheet; we just didn't read it correctly.

This year, we are riding Stage 2 from Trenton, NJ, to Valley Forge. It turns out we are sort of following G. Washington's retreat from New York in late 1776. This was the point where we nearly lost the Revolution, with 8,000 Redcoats pursuing 3,000 Colonials. Of course, Washington did not stay at Valley Forge until a year later, in 1777, with more than 10,000 troops.


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## ChuckUni (Jan 2, 2003)

Farmertan said:


> A good tip - if you're not familiary with the Valley Forge Area and looking for a good ride, follow the white circle-arrows through the park and beyond into the countryside.
> 
> They mark out a nice century route laid out by the Phila Bike Coalition (I think they're the sponsor). The portion out through VF Park and beyond is good for around 30 miles of beautiful Chester County roads and will bring you back to the SRT along the Perkiomen Creek.



Thanks. I've never paid attention to the markers. I've been branching out. I know a good amount of roads to the south and west of the park, but more so up the Perkiomen. Off the trail, along the river and up to Green Lane. There are plenty more to explore.


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## Route 66 Domestiques (Jun 15, 2006)

*What's in a name?*



KenB said:


> It's been a while since I posted a report and I've been itching to so I took a ride on the schuylkill River Trail from Conshohocken up to Valley Forge National Park today while visiting family back home.
> 
> This ride, minus the VF portion, used to be my daily commute to/from work. The trail, or more precisely, what's alongside the trail, has changed a bit over the past 4 years, especially in the Conshohocken portions. LOTS of new development, commercial and residential, along with some minor trail changes along the way.
> 
> ...


Back when I was a kid, Abe Lincoln (I mean my uncle) was the outdoor sports editor/writer of the old Phila. Bulletin; I spent summers travelling with him all over
PA, MD and NJ including several efforts to fish "The Schuylkill." Do they call it 
"The Schuykill;" or do they call it "The Schuylkill River?" Schuylkill River is redundant.
Is Lee of Conshohocken still in business? And is it called West Chester Pike or is it
Route 202 that goes from Malvern to Paoli? I remember taking the train from Paoli into Suburban Station. And I nearly went to college at Villanova which was walking distance from my aunt and uncle's home. And, years later, I was offered a teaching position at
Temple (1700 North Broad Street). But, I ended up in Laguna Beach that summer.
Ah, thanks for the childhood memories.


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## KenB (Jul 28, 2004)

Route 66 Domestiques said:


> Back when I was a kid, Abe Lincoln (I mean my uncle) was the outdoor sports editor/writer of the old Phila. Bulletin; I spent summers travelling with him all over
> PA, MD and NJ including several efforts to fish "The Schuylkill." Do they call it
> "The Schuykill;" or do they call it "The Schuylkill River?" Schuylkill River is redundant.
> Is Lee of Conshohocken still in business? And is it called West Chester Pike or is it
> ...


It's always been "The Schuylkill" to me and everyone I know. Lee Tires closed down decades ago (sorry) but the old factory is still there, now called Lee Park, and has been converted to commercial office space. Also, "202" is how it's referred to. Always hated that road. 

The area has changed a lot in the four years I've been out of there... I can't imagine how different it'd be to you.


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## Route 66 Domestiques (Jun 15, 2006)

*The day they tore the goalposts down*



KenB said:


> It's always been "The Schuylkill" to me and everyone I know. Lee Tires closed down decades ago (sorry) but the old factory is still there, now called Lee Park, and has been converted to commercial office space. Also, "202" is how it's referred to. Always hated that road.
> 
> The area has changed a lot in the four years I've been out of there... I can't imagine how different it'd be to you.


I remember going to a couple of baseball games at Shibe Park; one game was between the New York Giants and the Phils; I got to sit behind centerfield because I wanted to watch Willie Mays; he didn't play (and I turned down using my uncle's press box pass).
Another night the game was rained out and since I had taken the train into Phila. I walked down the street in the rain to a movie theatre and saw Gregory Peck in Moby Dick. I also remember attending the National Archery Tournament in Wildwood, NJ; fishing the Schuylkill a number of times--very muddy water; and going to Conowingo Dam when they opened the gates. There were numerous trips to a marina (name escapes me) where my aunt and uncle had a powerboat (that never was in the water in any of the trips I attended); but, the motor was a Volvo although I can't remember the make of the boat.
The summers my aunt and uncle rented a cottage on Cape Cod in Hyannis; and, 50 years ago, we were driving through New York City to the Cape the morning following the collision between the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria. I listened to all that news over
WINS on the car radio. And, each summer, my uncle would order a "clam bake" which was in a 50 gallon tin and was delivered by Railway Express. And, since my uncle had once written something favorable about Schaeffer Beer in his column, Trigger and Reel,
there was a case of Schaeffers delivered to the house each month; and, so as to be not outdone, there was a case of Ballentine Beer that started showing up. I was too young to appreciate it. But, the memories are...what they say...priceless.


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