USA Today Names Schuylkill River Trail To National '10Best' List

SOUTHEASTERN PA — To the millions of motorists passing on I-76, it may seem but a break in the trees. But from the docks of south Philadelphia glittering in Franklin Field's shadow, to the thrush woodlands of western Schuylkill County, a serpentine turnpike wends the waterside.

Haven to runner and rider, walker and wanderer along its 75-mile length, the Schuylkill River Trail is once again receiving national attention.

USA Today has named the trail to its national 2021 "10Best" list. Readers have the next two and a half weeks to vote on the list of 20 riverwalk trails in order to determine the winner. The Schuylkill River Trail won the contest in 2015.

Officials with the Schuylkill River Greenways Heritage area, which manages parts of the trail, said it was well-deserved.

“The Schuylkill River Trail is truly a regional and national treasure," said Elaine Paul Schaefer, executive director of the group. "The trail highlights the historic Schuylkill River, the spine of the National Heritage Area. This region is the birthplace of movements that shaped the nation including the American, Industrial and Environmental Revolutions."

There are plans for the multi-use trail, which links up dozens of riverside communities, parks, retail centers, and historic areas, to ultimately run the river's entire 120-mile length. There are still significant patches in the western parts that need to be constructed, but the trail presently runs uninterrupted from Philadelphia to the Limerick area, before picking up again shortly thereafter in Pottstown.

Several key extensions and additions have been made in the last five years, since the trail last won the USA Today award.

As of Thursday, the Schuylkill River Trail sits in third place out of 20, trailing only Detroit's International RiverWalk and the Wilmington Riverwalk in North Carolina. Vote here through Feb. 15. Votes can be cast daily.

Winners and final results will be announced Feb. 26.