The Schuylkill River Trail Fact Sheet

Featuring 60 miles of finished trail, the SRT is a multi-use trail parallel to the Schuylkill River, located in Named Best Urban Trail in Southeastern Pennsylvania for bikers, hikers and USA Today’s 10 Best outdoor enthusiasts. Awards - 2015 This ongoing project has a projected length of 130 miles when finished. SRT’s Philadelphia section was voted the best trail in America, beating Sacramento, Atlanta, The SRT consists of six trail sections: Chicago and Boston. • Philadelphia • Philadelphia City Line to Phoenixville • Phoenixville to Pottstown • Pottstown to Reading • Reading to Hamburg Bike Share Program • Hamburg to Pottsville Rent a bike for free to use on the trail! The trail is operated and maintained by separate organizations such as the Schuylkill River Heritage Area and various counties. • Anyone aged 16 and over can rent a bike by providing ID. • Bike Share locations in Pottstown, Hamburg and Phoenixville. • Bikes must be returned to original location. The Schuylkill River Trail Reading Section

• The SRT runs 14 miles from Reading to Schuylkill River Facts Pottstown • Length of river: 128 miles • The SRT sections in Berks are managed by: • Consists of 2000 square miles Runs through 11 counties • Schuylkill River Greenway Association • • Named a Pennsylvania Heritage Reading Area Community College • Area in 1995 City of Reading • More than 3.2 million people live • Trail Keeper Volunteers within the river’s watershed • The one mile section in Reading from Baer Park • The river, or one of its tributaries, to the West Buttonwood Street Bridge section is serve as drinking water for over 1.5 million people the priority of the project headed by Penn State • The Dad Vail, the largest collegiate Berks Center for Service Learning and rowing event in the nation, is held Community-Based Research on the river each year in Philadelphia • Named Pennsylvania’s 2014 River of the Year

Recreation on the River • Fishing • Kayaking • Boating • Stand Up Paddleboarding • River Cruise

Students and faculty from Penn State Berks, in collaboration with many individuals and organizations from Reading and Berks County, have partnered to create a community park along a one mile segment of the Schuylkill River Trail. The Great American Cleanup is the first event in this community-wide effort. This project is sponsored by the Penn State Berks Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research. Works Consulted Schuylkill Banks (Schuylkillbanks.org) Schuylkill River National & Heritage Area (schuylkillriver.org) Philadelphia Water (phillywatershed.org) Schuylkill River Trail Association (schuylkillrivertrail.com) The FREE Community Bike Share Program (bikeschuylkill.org) Schuylkill River Trail in Reading (sites.psu.edu/schuylkillrivertrailreading) Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (dcnr.state.pa.us) Schuylkill Action Network (schuylkillwaters.org) Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission (phmc.ps.gov)

Contact Information Ali Yeager Program Assistant Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research Penn State Berks [email protected] - 610.763.6825