Wissahickon 9

Schuylkill River to Morris Arboretum

Wissahickon Valley, , Special Amenities Access Overview Eating: Valley Green Inn: the last remaining Trip Ideas Public Transit General Characteristics example of the roadhouses and taverns Forbidden Circuit that flourished in the 19th century. SEPTA Rail • Trail length: 7.3 miles Begin at the Northwestern Avenue Trailhead. Manayunk-Norristown Regional Rail Line to Cedars House Cafe: intersection of Head south on Forbidden Drive. • Surface: Crushed stone on Forbidden Drive Northwestern Ave and Forbidden Drive, Wissahickon Station At the end of Forbidden Drive, turn right toward Asphalt on Lincoln Drive trail offers food, art gallery, and massages to St. Martins Station. the Wissahickon Transportation Center. • Forbidden Drive is off-limits to motor Restaurants are plentiful near the Follow Springfield Ave and Valley Green Road vehicles, but cyclists, equestrians, and Chelten Avenue and Wissahickon At the Transportation Center, take SETPA Route into the gorge to connect with the trail. Regional Rail stations 27 toward Plymouth Meeting Mall and descend pedestrians are welcome at all times. Chestnut Hill West Line to Highland Station. at Ridge and Northwestern Avenues. • Follows the between the There are numerous historic sites and buildings Follow Seminole Avenue and then Rex Avenue and Montgomery County including Historic Rittenhouse Town near the Follow Northwestern Avenue back to the down in to the gorge to connect with the Trail Lincoln Drive Trailhead. Historic Rittenhouse trailhead, passing through the Wissahickon • Short on-road segments connect Forbidden Town is the birthplace of paper in America and Environmental Center trail SEPTA Bus Drive with the 20-mile multi-use Routes 1, 9, 27, 35, 38, 61, 124, 125, and R a National Historic Landmark. to the north and Tour length – 6.6 miles active to Wissahickon Transfer Center the to the south. There are three public stables in the Wissahickon. Biking - 43 minutes + 42 minutes in transit Route 27 to Wise’s Mill Road Though trail rides are not offered, horses can be Walking - 2.25 hours + 42 minutes in transit • The Wissahickon has been recognized boarded and arrangements made to take lessons. Routes L and 97 to Northwestern Avenue as a National Natural Landmark for its Historic Gorge Tour extraordinary natural beauty, including Works of art dot the Wissahickon Valley such as Begin the trip at the historic Tulpehocken Train Bicycle dense forests, steep topography, fast artist Jody Pinto’s Finger Span, a steel footbridge that resembles a human finger. Find it on the Station, built in 1878. The Wissahickon Trail begins at the southern running streams, and numerous waterfalls. Creshiem Valley Trail at the end of Livezey Lane. Follow the bike lanes on Walnut Lane and end at its junction with the Schuylkill River Trail • Food, drinking fountatins, and restrooms Wissahickon Avenue to visit colonial Historic at the mouth of the Wissahickon Creek at Ridge are available at most trailheads. The Wissahickon Gorge is a National Audubon Avenue. Refer to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Society designated “Important Birding Area.” Rittenhouse Town. Philadelphia’s regional map for recommended History and Future The beautiful Morris Arboretum to the north of Continue to Forbidden Drive, then head north on-road bicycle routes linking with the Trail. The in are old the trail is the official arboretum of on the trail through the Wissahickon Gorge. roads from when the park was populated by and offers programs that integrate science, art Stop for a bite at the Valley Green Inn, a Vehicle Parking logging mills in the late 18th century. Fairmount and the humanities. Northwestern Avenue: Park acquired 1,800 acres of the Wissahickon traditional roadside inn built in 1850. The Wissahickon Environmental Center offers 40.084494, -75.231971 Valley in 1868 in order to preserve the purity Continue north to the Morris Arboretum to see maple sugaring, moon walks, birding hikes, bug of the City’s water supply. Mills and taverns the garden and buildings that date back to 1887. Bells Mill Road walks and other activities on most weekends. 40.079619, -75.225301 were demolished, and in 1920, the wide road paralleling the creek was closed to vehicular Return to the start by trail or train. Valley Green Road traffic and became Forbidden Drive. 40.054883, -75.218041 Tour length – 7 miles Today, Friends of the Wissahickon works to Biking – 47 minutes active Lincoln Drive restore historic structures, eliminate invasive Walking – 2.5 hours active 40.027569, -75.192825 plants, fix watershed issues, and restore trails.