National Trails Day 2016: Top Trails In the Pottstown Area

Saturday, June 4, is National Trails Day.

Fortunately for Chester and Montgomery County residents, there is no shortage of amazing trails around the area to on which to celebrate the day.

Here's a look at some of our favorites.

Black Rock Sanctuary - Phoenixville

Hidden amidst developments and golf courses, nestled in the hillls above Phoenixville is one of the area’s little known gems of nature. The Black Rock Sanctuary is an important stop for migratory birds and a variety of waterfowl. Open grass fields surround the parking lot on Black Rock Road, and visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the park’s aerial biodiversity can take a stroll through the open fields, following dozens of feeders and passing through different habitats uniquely suited to different birds.

Hikers proceeding straight ahead from the lot will enter the woods. The forest is thick here, and the air is thick with the calls of songbirds and frogs. The area is marshy, and trails become wet the closer you progress to theSchukyll River.

An interpretive, ADA-accessible, paved trail is perfect for a more casual hike, and includes picture exhibits for children.

The narrower footpath along the Schukylll River will eventually take you all the way to the Black Rock Dam, just half a mile from downtown Phoenixville.

Park benches and nooks in the trails provide perfect spots for snack breaks or picnic lunches. Mosquitos and gnats may become troublesome in the spring and summer as dusk approaches or after a significant rainfall.

Other more well-known, can’t miss trails in the area include:

Valley Forge

Schukyll River Trail

Cynwyd Heritage Trail - Lower Merion

Rolling Hill Park - Lower Merion

Perkiomen River Trail - Collegeville

Lock 60 at the Schuylkill Canal Park - Mont Clare

Great Valley Nature Center - Devault

Norristown Farm Park - Norristown

Evansburg State Park - Collegeville

Enclosed by dense woods, with sloping fields and scraggly cliffs overlooking a steel-colored racing stream, Evansburg is a miniature wilderness running through the heart of Montgomery County. Trailheads that lead into the center of the park are just a few miles from downtown Norristown and bustling suburban areas.

Skippack Creek is the centerpiece of Evansburg, entering the park near it’s northern tip and running its length to its terminus at the Perkiomen Creek in Collegeville. Surrounding the creek on either side is an active riparian habitat. Hikers can partake in one of the many creekside paths that snake along the water, just feet away from the rapids and babbling brooks of the Skippack. Some double back on themselves, some come to dead-ends, others spill out onto rock beds that force the hiker to either turn around or ford the creek. The creek lies in a small valley, so steeper and more challenging trails can almost always be found by heading inland from the water.

Vigilant hikers can expect to encounter white-tailed deer, red foxes, squirrels, groundhogs, beavers, frogs, turtles, and the occasional snake.

The Skippack is stocked with brown trout and rainbow trout. A variety of panfish, bluegills, smallmouth bass, catfish, carp, and freshwater eel have all been caught by fishermen.

Ticks and poison ivy are two dangers in Evansburg. Always stay on the marked trail. Poison ivy is most common along trail edges and near areas of recent human disturbance.

Horse-Shoe Trail - from Valley Forge to Harrisburg

Due to the presence of the iron industry in 18th and 19th century southeastern Pennsylvania, there are many furnaces and forges scattered throughout the region. The skeleton of trail networks that eventually popped up to traverse between these locations would later become the basis for the Horse-Shoe Trail, a 148 mile path from Valley Forge to the Appalachian Trail.

The trail is heavily shaded, though hilly and rocky at points. Deer are common, as are beavers and many different kinds of birds. Several creeks intersect the trail, crossing and re-crossing it, and in Montgomery County, this includes Valley Creek.

Hikers can access portions of the Horseshoe in Valley Forge Park, just across from Washington’s Headquarters. The trail runs from the park into Chester County, cutting through green spaces in Malvern and towns north of Route 30 before making it’s way west. It eventually connects to the Appalachian Trail near Harrisburg.