Friends of the Cresheim Trail

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Friends of the Cresheim Trail

The Friends of the Cresheim Trail’s mission is to promote community building and health by creating multi-use trails for recreation and transportation.

The Friends of the Cresheim Trail is a non-profit, volunteer, community initiative working to build a multi-use trail in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties primarily along an old rail road right-of-way. (See Maps page for details.) Our current focus is on connecting the Cresheim Trail (in the Wissahickon Woods) in Fairmount Park Philadelphia with neighborhoods long separated from the park through the progress of development, county boundaries, roads and the ebb and flow of the region.

08/19/2026

Next up in Cresheim Trail profiles: the Cresheim Rail Trail! Rough Draft North, that is.

Rough draft as in, this rugged trail is an open but unofficial preview while FOCT, the City of Philadelphia, and our engineering consultants work to complete the design and seek construction funding for the official trail. Rough draft as in, this summer’s extreme storms and heat have made coordinating mowing the rail trail difficult. But as of Sunday, it is once again usable, albeit with caution and a promise to check for ticks. North as in, this is the section *north* of Germantown Avenue: 0.62 miles of the former Pennsylvania Railroad Fort Washington Branch right-of-way to Stenton Avenue, currently owned by PECO.

When complete, this segment will be part of The Circuit Trails network — separated from traffic, accessible, and with a 10-foot crushed gravel surface. All remaining segments of the Cresheim Trail to be built will be on The Circuit as well.

In March 2024, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation helped FOCT open this rough draft. While that work transpired, volunteers from FOCT created a quarter-mile long, single-track loopback of the trail. (That trail, Ed’s Loop, will be the subject of the next profile.)

On the northern end, the trail will eventually continue into Montgomery County via a future tunnel under Stenton Ave. On the southern end, it will have a primary trailhead at Germantown Ave, and will cross the former rail trestle over the Avenue when it is rehabilitated. That timeline is TBD.

Roughly halfway between the two ends, the trail passes through the tunnel of the iconic Reading Railroad bridge crossed by the SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) Chestnut Hill East Line.

In addition to the trailhead next to the former Trolley Car Diner, this section makes connections to the Wissahickon East Park trails, as well as to the Crittenden Connector, which leads to a future crossing of Cresheim Valley Drive.

While much of the greenery in the corridor is invasive — knotweed, porcelainberry, and reeds — there are some native plants like h**p dogbane, tall tick-trefoil, virginia spiderwort, and lots of goldenrod. Foxes, groundhogs, and hawks are common here too.

08/17/2026

Look good, feel good. That was the theme for yesterday’s workday as 19 volunteers made the Cresheim Trail look good, and as a result, everybody felt good. So, THANK YOU to everyone who came out for some peak summer work in reasonable summer conditions.

Among other things, we pulled a lot — A LOT — of porcelainberry, which has been extra aggressive this year. We worked primarily between the Outdoor Classroom and the trailhead at Lincoln Drive and Allens Lane, pulling porcelainberry and encroaching vegetation (especially near the Richard Allen Lane train station), and opening sight lines. We also hauled out three bags of trash, Dan fixed up a jump landing and added a few grade reversals, and Lance and Roger operated a satellite mission to finish up a trim of the rail trail.

On the latter point, this summer’s extreme storms and heat have made coordinating mowing the rail trail corridor frustratingly difficult. But, Parks & Rec made a big cut between Stenton Avenue and the Chestnut Hill East tunnel two weeks ago, and over the past week, we reopened a usable pass from Ed’s Loop to the upper end of the rail trail and the section closest to Germantown Avenue. It’s still on the rougher side — we do call it the “rough draft” while planning design and construction on the real trail continue — but it is usable. Please use caution and check for ticks, but please do use the trail! The more people using it, the better the tread.

Our next scheduled volunteer outing is coming Saturday, September 19th. More on that soon. In the meantime, get out and see the cup plants blooming while you can. 🌻

08/14/2026

SUNDAY: The August Cresheim Trail volunteer workday is SUNDAY.

The weather as of this writing looks to be cloudy for most of the morning, with a chance for rain later, and heavier rain later in the afternoon. With that in mind, we are going to proceed, and should anything drastic appear on the radar before Sunday morning, we’ll make the call.

So! Please join us this Sunday, August 16th at 9AM. We’ll meet where Cresheim Trail crosses Cresheim Road and get out for some hacking, wacking, shellacking, and stacking, all in the name of a better trail corridor.

If you’re driving, please park on the downhill (westbound) shoulder of Cresheim Road. You’ll see us there.

08/10/2026

Raise a glass for the cup. 🌻

The cup plant, Silphium perfoliatum, is a tall herbaceous perennial native to eastern North America, reaching heights of up to 8 feet. The pretty yellow flowers seen here are good for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and skippers. And there’s a real nice stand of them on the Chestnut Hill West Trail, leading down from Richard Allen Lane Station to the mainstem Cresheim Trail.

Why not come get a good look at it this Sunday at our August volunteer workday. We’ll meet at 9am just around the bend where the Cresheim Trail crosses Cresheim Road. If you’re driving, please park on the downhill (westbound) shoulder of Cresheim Road. You’ll see us there.

A sampling of the stuff we’ll be doing includes the usual sightline clearing and invasive plant removal, some trailhead improvements at Lincoln Drive & Allens Lane, maybe some trail work, maybe some sealant application on the outdoor classroom benches… a little something for everyone. Join us?

That’s THIS SUNDAY, August 16th, at 9am. The early forecast is looking good. The next scheduled workday after this one is Saturday, September 19th.

08/05/2026

🚨 BOARDWALK PSA 🚨

What a pain in the ash. Today's brief but wicked storm dropped an ash tree on the boardwalk, and along the way it took down several sizable beech branches, the top half of one of our star pawpaw plantings, and the protective cage around a healthy young red maple. (The maple survived.)

We've removed most of the deadfall, but we left the main log because it damaged one of the long planks of the boardwalk and draws attention to the obstacle. Please do not move this log until we are able to repair the plank. We will do that as soon as possible, but in the meantime, please use caution when crossing the boardwalk.

08/03/2026

Workday incoming! As promised, the next Cresheim Trail volunteer service day is coming Sunday, August 16th. We’ll meet at 9am where Cresheim Trail crosses Cresheim Road (by the Outdoor Classroom).

We’ll have a variety of trail tasks to tend to, particularly after relocating last month’s workday on account of the storms. Some grade reversals, some sightline trimming, a little attention on the trailhead at Lincoln Drive & Allens Lane… All this and more, in two Sundays.

If you’re driving, please park on the shoulder of westbound (downhill) Cresheim Road. The weeds are mostly invasive there, they won’t mind.

07/28/2026

Next up on the trail profile series: The Outer Loop. Not to be confused with the slightly older Upper Loop (to be profiled in a future post), the Outer Loop is one of the newer segments in the Cresheim Trail network.

Opened in 2021 as an outgrowth of covid downtime, the Outer Loop provides a spur off of the mainstem Cresheim Trail’s segment on the unbuilt portion of Lincoln Drive — to a close-up of the retaining walls that support it. (See our post from July 6 for more on the Lincoln Drive business.) The “stairs to nowhere” (pic 8) are a quirky byproduct of this era too, connecting the mainstem CT with the Outer Loop about halfway between their two main junctions.

In late 2022, a storm blew down two neighboring trees in opposite directions, creating the need for a small reroute and an opportunity to make it interesting. Pics 5 & 6 show the result, with a small armoring, a close look at two big root balls, and an MTB up-and-over route for the adventurous.

Large stands of native tulip poplar trees, umbrella magnolia, and northern spicebush line the trail in this area. There’s also at least one very large white oak tree (pic 9).

07/23/2026

Continuing our series of Cresheim Trail profiles, we visit a small but mighty segment: the Wissahickon Connector.

Arguably the most critical one-tenth mile in the CT corridor, this trail provides the direct connection between the Cresheim Trail network and the 50 miles of trails in Wissahickon Valley Park. As such, it is the Cresheim Valley’s gateway into and out of the Wissahickon.

The Wissahickon Connector descends roughly 40 feet via two switchbacks on its way to the crossing at Emlen/Cresheim/Cresheim Valley*. This brief section features a number of native species, including a nice stand of Eastern White Pine trees, lots of northern spicebush and sycamores, and several Carolina Silverbell trees.

This important trail, the first spur from the mainstem CT, was built around the same time in 2012.

As one of the oldest portions of the Cresheim Trail network, it has become pretty worn, and as of summer 2026, FOCT has plans to make improvements to the alignment and drainage.

*It’s worth noting that this crossing, which currently has only painted stripes and pedestrian crossing signs, happens where Emlen Street turns into Cresheim Valley Drive at the intersection of Cresheim Road. The ruins of the Buttercup Cottage barn lie on the Wissahickon side of the crossing.

FOCT is working with the Streets Department and other local stakeholders to make much needed safety improvements at this crossing. We hope to share updates on this soon. In the meantime, as always, exercise caution when crossing this busy road.

07/20/2026

After stops and starts, poor air quality, and threats of storm… Sunday arrived, all was well, and we had an *outstanding* volunteer workday on the Cresheim Trail. Many thank yous to the 40 volunteers who came out for a tag team trail work extravaganza.

National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Mountain Biking (PICL) deserve a special shout for organizing the Team TTC (Teen Trail Corps) weekend, designed for kids and coaches to give back to the communities where they ride and learn. PICL members from Lower Merion Trailblazers composite MTB team and Independence Youth Cycling, including our regulars from SoMont Cycling Youth Mountain Bike Teams and Philly Wiss Youth MTB Team, all pitched in, and Friends of the Wissahickon was on hand for some crew leadership too.

All in all, a terrific day for the Philly MTB and trail communities for not only a successful volunteer outing, but a celebration of why we do it — boots on the ground care for the trails and natural lands that give us so much, partnership, stewardship, and gratitude.

Among the duties: We repaired the boardwalk and replaced some of the planks; on the Upper Trail, we completely rebuilt the rock roll and a new alternate line, we widened the corridor in a section that needed it, and we added some rolling grade dips and improved drainage; we hauled out four bags of trash and did some maintenance on the tree enclosures affected by recent flooding; and a crew led by Amelia from FOW roamed the corridor and made drainage improvements and other trail tasks.

Excellent stuff all around. Thanks again to all who came out, and thanks to John and Nick for the pics.

The next scheduled Cresheim Trail volunteer workday is coming Saturday, August 16th at 9am, but stay tuned in case we decide to roll another one out before then.

07/16/2026

🚨 NEW DATE ALERT 🚨

Okay, third time’s the charm, for real for real. Due to the awful air quality and the now-100% chance of rain on Saturday, we’ve decided to exercise the rare Cresheim rain date. Therefore, this month’s volunteer workday is now officially this SUNDAY, JULY 19TH, 9AM.

We’re stoked to be joined by our friends from LM Trailblazers MTB team and Independence Youth Cycling for a morning of trail work, boardwalk work, and other general work in the area including tending to tree cages affected by flooding, trash removal, and more. As brutal as this summer has been (and continues to be), it’s important that we tend our trail, so please join us if you can!

We’ll be meeting at the classic Cresheim Trail meetup spot, on *northbound* Cresheim Valley Drive opposite Navajo Street. There’s plenty of room to park safely on the shoulder — look for the tree cages and you’re in the right place. Please do NOT park on southbound CV Drive.

Our next planned workday after this will be Sunday, August 16th, when we’ll be joined by David Bower and the Friends of the Wissahickon Q-Team.

Address

Philadelphia, PA

Website

http://cresheimtrail.org/

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