The Schuylkill River Trail ( , ) is a multi-use trail along the banks of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Pennsylvania. Partially complete as of 2018, the trail is ultimately planned to run about from the river's headwaters in Schuylkill County to Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia.
Completed portions of the trail include a section from Auburn to Hamburg, a portion from Reading to Pottstown, and a portion from Oaks to where Christian Street would meet the Schuylkill River, just South of Center City Philadelphia and East of University of Pennsylvania.
Large stretches of the trail are rail trails. Parts of it belong to the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile trail system connecting Maine to Florida.
On many maps and street atlases, and on some of the trail's signage, the segment between Philadelphia and Valley Forge is still identified by the older name Philadelphia–Valley Forge Trail.
Trail description
Auburn to Pottstown
The Schuylkill River Trail begins at a trailhead at the Kernsville Dam in Auburn just above Hamburg. The trail runs through Reading to Pottstown until it reaches the Riverfront Park on College Drive near the Reading Railroad Pottstown Station. This section passes through the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area, an area generally known for recreational fishing.
In lower Berks County, the trail follows the existing Thun Trail, named for industrialist Ferdinand Thun, who founded the Textile Machine Works in Reading in 1892 (later moved to the borough of Wyomissing, a suburb of Reading, in 1896). Plans are underway for a connection from Reading, north to Hamburg. The current northern edge links the trail with the Union Canal towpath.
The trail begins in North Reading, along Riverview Drive, then quickly crosses an old railroad bridge into West Reading. It then continues as a mixed-surface path of macadam, gravel, coarse stone, and chalk to Gibraltar where it becomes a poorly marked on-road bicycle route following Old River Road and Schuylkill Road to Birdsboro. From there, the trail follows the old concrete industrial collector, Armorcast Road, to the rear entrance of a ballfield. The trail then goes off-road as a gravel path to the county line where it meets the paved Schuylkill River Trail, which currently terminates in Pottstown.
Pottstown to Phoenixville / Mont Clare
Two routes have been proposed for this stretch. One would come down the right bank (Chester County side) and end near Cromby Generating Station, above Phoenixville, then use borough streets and the Mont Clare Bridge (PA29) to connect with the trail section along the Canal in Mont Clare. The other plan would bring the trail down the left bank to Mont Clare. It appears that both options may eventually be built, with the Chester County trail proceeding first and carrying the main SRT designation.
In April 2011, the Spring City-to-Cromby segment opened on the Chester County side. This segment includes a new trailhead on Township Line Road, near the Cromby Power Plant.
Until 2020, there was a disconnect in the official SRT between Phoenixville and Mont Clare, although foot and bicycle traffic easily used the Mont Clare Bridge sidewalk to connect. In 2019-2020 the sidewalk was replaced with a 10 foot wide, barrier protected trail segment, officially closing the gap.
Mont Clare to Oaks
The stretch of trail from Mont Clare to the Perkiomen Creek near Oaks opened in the spring of 2008. In the first phase of construction the southern section of the trail between Longford Road at the present watered end of the Oakes Reach of the Schuylkill Canal and the Oaks intersection with the Perkiomen Trail was constructed. This section follows much of the filled portion of the Oakes Reach and is paved except for a gravel segment of about half a mile (which also includes a short trail detour). To cross the three streams in this section, two new culverts were constructed and the trail temporarily routed over a historical aqueduct from the Canal at Crossman's Run. A new bridge was built across Crossman's Run for the trail and the paving was completed.