Explore the best rated trails in Norristown, PA, whether you're looking for an easy walking trail or a bike trail like the Palmer Township Recreation Trail (Towpath Bike Trail) and D&L Trail . With more than 173 trails covering 914 miles you're bound to find a perfect trail for you. Click on any trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
We made our annual pilgrimage to the Lehigh Gorge section of the D&L trail. As usual we had a wonderful ride. Rode 48 miles round trip from Jim Thorpe to White Haven and back. Waterfalls were flowing and rapids were high, providing for some of the best scenery PA has to offer.
To add to the excitement, we saw a large rattlesnake crossing the trail. It had to be at least two feet long. Quite an exciting afternoon.
On a practical side, the White Haven renovations are complete with some of the best bathroom facilities I have seen on a trail anywhere.
Dinner on the porch of Molly McGuire’s in Jim Thorpe capped off the day.
So glad we decided to keep of the tradition of an annual visit.
I discovered this after I got my gravel bike last year. It is short however this is one of the few places you are right by the Schuylkill River for a significant amount of trail and can actually see the river. Most of the primary right of way for the SRT is either along the canal or you cannot see any scenery. There is a reason Schuylkill in Dutch I believe means "hidden river".
If you want to do a longer gravel ride under a treed canopy, park at the Longford Road Dog Park at the end of Longford Road and take the canal trail from there through Mont Clare. After crossing under PA Rt 29 you will come to the paved section of Lock 60. Go a short way and cross the little bridge on the right and that's where this trail officially begins. Worth the trip.
Note: the trail is often closed for a short duration after flooding events.
This is a local trail for me. I used it twice a week when working in West Goshen, Chester County. The trail is in very good shape and Chester County is to be commended for the trail. Today I use the trail to go deep into the hills of Chester County on my roadbike and get back to where I live not far from Valley Forge.
The good: It provides non-car connectivity! The surface is very good and provides the ability to get in and out of the area without cars. The canopy of trees as you get towards Montgomery County is great on hot days.
The not so good: There are a significant number of road crossings. The trail also parallels US 202 and is noisy in many spots.
I can't wait until the trail is extended further into beautiful Chester County. It is a shame it doesn't connect directly to Malvern, Paoli or Downingtown Boros.
This is, generally, an enjoyable ride, an unexpected green oasis in a congested urban landscape. However, at the southern end, between Torresdale Av. and State Rd., the trail is in pretty poor condition, especially in the amount of mud that has been allowed to accumulate on it. That stretch just projects an indifference on the part of the city to what was a really nice civic resource when it first opened.
Awesome trail available to me locally. Very high quality facilities. This is the best trail my wife and I agreed we ever used.
We have ridden the section that connects with the Schuylkill River Trail several times and that section is fine. We went to ride the other two sections. First we stopped at the Hopewell Furnace Visitor's Center. there is lots of parking and clean rest rooms, however we could not find the trail. We asked a park ranger and he directed us to the trail. It was down a steep hill covered with large stones (for biking over) followed by an unmarked turn. Finally there was a sign and the trail was wide and paved most of the way to the pool where we turned around although a wide gravel path continued on. Next we drove to Elverson and rode that section of trail. Other than being short, part of the trail was little more than a single track.
We rode this trail on a sunny spring Sunday. The trail is beautiful, the only problems are its total lack of shade and its short length. Looking forward to when this trail is completed.
This was a well maintained trail with sprinkled with many benches throughout the route. The trail is mostly paved except for a mile of the northern most section. Many scenic bridges across the creek.
Rode 10 miles north from Jim Thorpe parking lot today. Very nice ride along the Lehigh River. Parking lot was 2/3rds full so easy to off load bikes and pay the $8 at the kiosk. Trail is well marked and easy to navigate. The only issue is the compacted stone has turned into several inches of loose sand in some areas. Between miles posts 110-112 it was most noticeable. My wife and I have regular 2 inch mountain bike/cruiser tires, so the sand slowed us down but did not stop us. Roadbikers may have more trouble. All in all it is a great section and worth Another vists. And some really nice old trains to He k out.
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