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Valley Forge Park River Trail Mountain Bike Trail
Audubon, Pennsylvania
MTB TRAIL STATS
Avg Rating:   |
3 trail reviews |
| Status: |
Difficulty:  Intermediate |
| Length: 8 miles | Global Rank: #1731 |
| Tread: Doubletrack | Configuration: Out & Back |
| Ridden: 11 | Wishlist: 8 |
| Avg. Speed: 8.39 mph | Avg. Time: 1hr 37min |
Directions:
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Description: The main trail is 3 miles, crushed gravel, multi-use (peds & horses). 1½ miles in, there is a cutoff to a doubletrack on the north side. That runs in a 2-mile loop. At the end of the first trail, there are cut-offs to two other trails, each about 1½ miles long. Both lead to the Walnut Hill Section of Valley Forge Park; one has a little under a mile of decent singletrack. 99% of this trail is strictly beginner - very little technical stuff, but there are long stretches where you can hammer for a few miles at a clip when the trail isn't busy. It's also a beautiful park with lots to look at, making it worth the ride when you just want to turn the pedals for an hour or two without a lot of climbing or stump jumping. Two special notes: 1) There is another two miles of really decent singletrack hidden in the woods that are marked "no bikes," apparently reserved for the horsey crowd. I asked a park ranger if there was any good singletrack, and HE SHOWED ME THE EQUINE TRAILS! He told me that the rangers typically don't enforce the bike restriction unless they have a horse event or they get complaints about bikes running afoul of the horses. Rule of thumb, if you see a number of horse trailers at the Walnut Hill parking lot, stay off the marked portion of the singletrack. Otherwise, ride at your own risk (or ask a ranger first like I did). 2) This trail runs parallel to, and easily connects to, the Schuykill River Trail and the Perkiomen Valley Trail. Together these two trails are about 44 miles of mixed paved and unpaved surface that runs from center city Philadelphia to northwestern Montgomery County. While not strictly a mountain bike trail, there are definitely sections where a mountain bike makes more sense than a road bike.
Description: The main trail is 3 miles, crushed gravel, multi-use (peds & horses). 1½ miles in, there is a cutoff to a doubletrack on the north side. That runs in a 2-mile loop. At the end of the first trail, there are cut-offs to two other trails, each about 1½ miles long. Both lead to the Walnut Hill Section of Valley Forge Park; one has a little under a mile of decent singletrack. 99% of this trail is strictly beginner - very little technical stuff, but there are long stretches where you can hammer for a few miles at a clip when the trail isn't busy. It's also a beautiful park with lots to look at, making it worth the ride when you just want to turn the pedals for an hour or two without a lot of climbing or stump jumping. Two special notes: 1) There is another two miles of really decent singletrack hidden in the woods that are marked "no bikes," apparently reserved for the horsey crowd. I asked a park ranger if there was any good singletrack, and HE SHOWED ME THE EQUINE TRAILS! He told me that the rangers typically don't enforce the bike restriction unless they have a horse event or they get complaints about bikes running afoul of the horses. Rule of thumb, if you see a number of horse trailers at the Walnut Hill parking lot, stay off the marked portion of the singletrack. Otherwise, ride at your own risk (or ask a ranger first like I did). 2) This trail runs parallel to, and easily connects to, the Schuykill River Trail and the Perkiomen Valley Trail. Together these two trails are about 44 miles of mixed paved and unpaved surface that runs from center city Philadelphia to northwestern Montgomery County. While not strictly a mountain bike trail, there are definitely sections where a mountain bike makes more sense than a road bike.
added on November 21, 2007 by 
TRAIL REVIEWS review this trail
reviewed by Tempobon on July 30, 2010
Need to find your way into the middle of the park to the elevated single-track. Pretty tough and little room for error. Lots of angles roots there to take out back tires. Steep embankments off either side. Some downed trees over parts of the trail. This was a much better ride than expected.
Similar Trail: Core Creek is similar in Bucks County
reviewed by allen_moffat on March 19, 2009
Very nice trail.Trail has flat sections for speed,Short climbs,log crossings,Creek crossings and is very schenic.Trail goes along with schuykill river.There are also multiple routes to take.I believe this ride is called Schuylkill River Trail.My favorite ride locally.This is a must ride! Connects to Valley Forge and to rail trail ,that will take you all the way to the art muesem. Also has trails that will take you to phoenixville. The woods loop is the best around by far!
* Review edited 3/30/2009
Similar Trail: Blue marsh
reviewed by LVolz on January 9, 2008
A friend showed me almost 4 more miles of single track, most of it legitimately open to mountain bikes. A little bit of everything: some mud, roots, rocks, stream crossings, log hops from 4 inches to 2 feet. This trail system just got a whole lot more interesting.
