Visiting my sister in Chester Springs PA. I thought I’d do a little ride on the cross bike or mtb this weekend to mix things up. Any nice single track or crushed path stuff around there? Thanks.
Nothing?
Visiting my sister in Chester Springs PA. I thought I’d do a little ride on the cross bike or mtb this weekend to mix things up. Any nice single track or crushed path stuff around there? Thanks.
Check out Betzwood, which is the park across the river from Valley Forge. Lots of great single track in there. For more challenging terrain, but a bit farther from Chester Springs, head to Philly and ride the single track trails around Forbidden Drive along the Wissahickon.
Visiting my sister in Chester Springs PA. I thought I’d do a little ride on the cross bike or mtb this weekend to mix things up. Any nice single track or crushed path stuff around there? Thanks.
Check out Betzwood, which is the park across the river from Valley Forge. Lots of great single track in there. For more challenging terrain, but a bit farther from Chester Springs, head to Philly and ride the single track trails around Forbidden Drive along the Wissahickon.
This.
There’s also some double/singletrack on the VF park side of the river between the RR tracks and the river… get in via the gravel access road to your left before you cross the new ped/bike bridge over the river (coming from the visitor center side). I haven’t ridden there in a while so don’t know what kind of condition the trails are in as far as overgrowth, downed trees etc.
Also, just keep in mind that none of the VF and Betzwood trails are officially open to riding.
ETA: forgot about French Creek State Park… rockier terrain but lots of singletrack with more elevation change than the other places mentioned. Easy to connect the various trails using the (mostly paved) park roads. Legal to ride too.
Oh also Marsh Creek State Park is practically IN Chester Springs and has some great single track. Not a huge park, but plenty of trails to get a solid hour or two of riding.
I am most likely to be out on the lake at Marsh Creek on my SUP at some point this weekend…
My wife just reported that the River Trail at Betzwood along the Schuylkill is a mess from the storms on Wednesday. The single track might be OK but that low trail is covered in downed limbs. At least it was yesterday when she did a transition run down there.
head to Philly and ride the single track trails around Forbidden Drive along the Wissahickon.
If you are a Strava user you can check out a lot of this area.
Thank you everyone. That is great stuff. Anyone know anything about the Chester Valley Trail?
Can you tell me more about Marsh Creek. This definitely looks like a great option. Would this be good stuff for like a cross bike? fast flowy single track kind of stuff?
Can you tell me more about Marsh Creek. This definitely looks like a great option. Would this be good stuff for like a cross bike? fast flowy single track kind of stuff?
It should be good for a cross bike. I have only ridden my MTB through there (poorly, I suck at it), but it’s mostly flowing dirt trails and bridges. Not much in the way of obstacles like logs, or any steep climbs, but there are some places with larger rocks stuck in the trail.
If flat water paddling is at all your thing too there is a place to rent SUPs and kayaks also.
Thank you everyone. That is great stuff. Anyone know anything about the Chester Valley Trail?
The Chester Valley Trail is great for running. It is paved from Exton to Valley Forge. It sucks for cycling because there is a road crossing that you have to stop at every half to full mile or so. So you can never really get up to speed. And it’s a bit narrow with walkers/runners. It’s great for running on and I do almost all of my running on that trail mostly due to convenience.
If you are looking for a good place to get a flat paved ride in, the Schuylkill River Trail is excellent for that. Flat, paved, and 17 miles long from Phoenixville to Manayunk. Only a few road crossings to deal with on that one.
Alternatively if you want hills, you have access to a ton of fantastic riding right out of the Chester Springs area. I would be happy to share some of my favorite routes in the area (I live about 4 miles from Chester Springs)