Wissahickon Valley Park || Philadelphia, PA

As much as I love living in the city, sometimes I miss the green spaces I was surrounded by growing up. Thankfully when I need that breath of fresh air, I don’t even have to leave the city to get it! Nestled in suburban-esque Northwest Philadelphia you’ll find Wissahickon Valley Park. It’s the second largest park in Philadelphia behind nearby Fairmount Park, which it actually had been considered a part of from 1867 until 2010. Managed by the Friends of Wissahickon (a partner of the Philadelphia Parks and Water departments), the massive park stretches from Chestnut Hill in the north down to the edge of Wissahickon and East Falls. The Wissahickon Valley gorge, which takes up about 1,200 acres of the park, was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1964.

Fun Fact: The park and its 50+ miles of trails sits on 2,000 acres!

Activities

While I’ve only ever gone hiking through Wissahickon Valley Park, there are so many other activities you can do there including biking, bird watching, fishing and even horseback riding! Wissahickon Creek runs through the park and is a popular spot for fishing, as it’s stocked with trout every spring. The park has also been deemed an Audobahn important bird area thanks to its status as one of the largest urban parks not just in Pennsylvania, but the entire country. Birdwatching enthusiasts can find birds ranging from wood ducks and songbirds to the more exotic Acadian Flycatcher and Red-Eyed Vireo.

The trail markers throughout the park let you know which paths you can take based on your mode of transportation – by foot, bike, or on horseback. Personally I don’t think many of the paths are very bike friendly and I’m always surprised by how many bikers I see on the trails. I’ve twisted my ankle multiple times hiking, so I can’t imagine how I’d manage on a bike. If you’re looking to go horseback riding, that is generally limited to Forbidden Drive and the upper trails. There are three public stables in the area where you can take lessons or board horses.

Trail Highlights

Wissahickon Valley Park has 7 major trails: Forbidden Drive, Orange, White, Yellow, Lavender, Lincoln Drive, and the Andorra Meadow Loop. Every year Friends of Wissahickon holds the All Trails Challenge from August through October. The goal is to explore all 50+ miles of trails in the park in just 10 weeks! The best we’ve managed so far is a small portion of 3 different trails (Orange, Lincoln, and Yellow) in the handful of years we’ve lived in Philadelphia.

Orange Trail

This particular trail is my favorite of the ones we’ve explored so far! It’s a little over 5.5 miles long and runs along the east side of the park. The best part of this trail is the variety of terrain and points of interest you’ll come across. I didn’t realize beforehand that some of the trail is a little rough and not recommended for inexperienced hikers. Being the clumsy person that I am, I managed to twist my ankle on the way back to the car. This was after I also smashed my shin and got a nasty bruise attempting to climb onto Climbers Rock for a photo!

You’ll also find Fingerspan Bridge on this trail, which was the first permanent work by world-renowned environmental artist Jody Pinto. Not too far away you’ll also come across Devil’s Pool. The water level was low when we went, making it more of a puddle than a pool! During the summer it’s apparently a popular swimming spot – even though it is illegal to do so.

Wissahickon Bike Trail

The entirety of this bike trail runs from Ridge Avenue to Forbidden Drive, but since we don’t have bikes (yet) we’ve only seen part of it. It’s part of the Lincoln Drive trail and exits by the Wissahickon bus station, making for easy access to public transit. We’ve personally just used it as a scenic way to walk from the Wissahickon neighborhood down to both East Falls and Main Street in Manayunk. Two of the more famous features of this part of the trail include the 100 Steps and the Wissahickon Creek Viaduct Bridge. The 100 Steps, built in 1901 from Wissahickon granite, are super popular with fitness enthusiasts. The viaduct on the other hand is closed to pedestrians and has carried trains for as long as the SEPTA Norristown line has existed.

Yellow Trail

The Yellow Trail is the longest of the major trails at close to 8 miles long. We haven’t managed to walk the entire thing yet, but we’re working on it! It’s where we came across one of the weirdest sites in the park – Kelpius Cave. Was I too creeped out to go inside? Yes. Why? Besides the obvious (I mean, look at it), it allegedly belonged to a group in the 17th century who thought the world was going to end. Supposedly they were the first doomsday cult in the United States! On the opposite end of the historical spectrum, walking under the Henry Avenue Bridge will remind you that you’re still in the big city. While some people don’t like graffiti, I personally think it’s pretty cool.