Stretching your Legs- Worthy Stroller Walks
I will admit it- I am an outside exerciser – always loved a
good, brisk paced long walk. But, for Mother’s Day 2013 I asked for
a one month trial membership at the local Athletic Club so I could get a little
time alone (they have free babysitting- WOOHOO!) to stretch my legs and clear
my head and get a jump on my spring “fit-mommy” effort. I won’t lie to you- it was AWESOME… no
kids, no pushing almost 100 pounds of stroller and “stuff” up and down hills
and it was air conditioned, and did I say yet that I didn't have my wonderful, gloriously freaking out kids yet? Anyway, it was a nice month of having the luxury of going to the bathroom by myself
AND showering without wondering when the kids were going to wake up from their nap or kill each other Things,
which I haven’t had the chance to really do in well...too long.
But the month ended (all too soon) and since we weren’t
going to invest in the monthly membership fees (which are the equivalent of
leasing a Honda b.t.w) I had to pull myself up by the boot straps and get back
out into the great wide open to pound the pavement. Which was GREAT!!! I love outdoor walking more than anything as the scenery changes…and for the record if you have forgotten- the scenery on the treadmill video screen doesn't count.
Since we have only moved to our area in the late fall of 2012 a lot of
the time in those first few months was spent getting settled into our new digs. I didn’t get a chance to
explore the area for great walking trails so this spring it has been and continues to be a labor of love
to try and track down paved paths suitable for pushing a double stroller, and or cruising with kids on ill-equipped bikes, scooters or whatever heir ridiculous mode of transportation may be at the time - OH, and close enough to areas where the boys can get their yayas out (playgrounds).
I have a few criteria when looking for a great place to
walk.
- I prefer it to be around 20 minutes of our house (West Bradford). This is the tough part. But asking the boys to spend more in the car then a good 45-60 minutes strapped into the stroller is just too much, plus I risk the littler one falling asleep on the way home. So, the closer the better so I can get the full range of workout without toeing the line of major meltdown.
- We walk 3 – 4 miles most mornings so the path has to be at the least 1 ½ miles long so the kids don’t get bored staring at the same thing before we have to turn around and meet our mileage mark.Plus I like a single turn around rather than feeling like I am doing laps on a nascar track- just saying'- not for me.
- It has to be flat enough that I don’t have a heart attack or send my muscles into spasm trying to climb what can feel like Mt. Everest when pushing a double. But it also has to be challenging enough that I feel that I accomplished something.
- Preferably it has to be close to things to do with the kids and places to let them run around afterwards (playgrounds). I will candidly tell you that I tend to work on a 100% bribery works system – "I get to do this and then you get to do that” type of approach so having a nearby playground to the trail is key. It doesn’t have to be onsite it just has to be close enough by that I can be there inside of 10 minutes.
So with that Criteria I have been searching and searching
for places to go. So far I have not found too much which is disconcerting - some great paths (which are listed below) have become part of a regular rotation but there
doesn’t seem to be any comprehensive info on the Internet that I have found. So
added to the compiled list of things I want to do each spring/summer/fall will be resourcing and reviewing walking
trails and paths that fit the above criteria as if, like me, you haven’t found any true info then
hopefully this will help.
Some of
these can also be cross-referenced in the PLAYGROUND REVIEW PAGE.
Happy strides,
Pippa
Struble Trail- Downingtown, PA
East Branch of the Brandywine Greenway Trail / Harmony Hill
Nature Center
- West Bradford / East Bradford Townships
Applebrook Park - East Goshen Township
Shadyside Park Trail West Chester PA
* West Goshen Park Path West Chester PA
Shadyside Park Trail West Chester PA
* West Goshen Park Path West Chester PA
* Wilson Farm Park Malvern PA
Chester Valley Trail – Exton – Malvern PA
Uwchlan Trail - Downingtown PA
Uwchlan Trail - Downingtown PA
STRUBLE TRAIL
Downingtown, PA
A multi-use rail trail The STRUBLE TRAIL starts in the heart
of Downingtown and goes all the way to the edge of Marsh Creek State Park.The trail follows along the Brandywine River. It is a work in progress as eventually there are plans to extend the trail to connect to Marsh Creek trails as well as others - although I have seen zero forward motion on that save for hear-say.
TRAIL MAP: Click Here
TRAILHEAD(S): 1) Via Norwood Road Downingtown, PA 2) Via Kardon Park Downingtown 3) there is a trailhead with parking at the intersection where Dowlin Forge Rd / Shelmire Drive meet (this is the 1.75 mile marker on the trail btw)- it is a semi weird intersection but if you look on google maps it is easy enough to pinpoint. 4) there is also a trail end access point on Shelmire Drive closer to Marsh Creek State Park and across from the Welsh Ayers development.
TRAILHEAD(S): 1) Via Norwood Road Downingtown, PA 2) Via Kardon Park Downingtown 3) there is a trailhead with parking at the intersection where Dowlin Forge Rd / Shelmire Drive meet (this is the 1.75 mile marker on the trail btw)- it is a semi weird intersection but if you look on google maps it is easy enough to pinpoint. 4) there is also a trail end access point on Shelmire Drive closer to Marsh Creek State Park and across from the Welsh Ayers development.
Note- Trail mileage officially starts at the gated entrance on
Norwood Road and NOT from the parking lot so if you are looking to hit a
certain mileage then you will need to accommodate for that.
PARKING: Each parking area is either gravel or paved but all have limited spaces.
Additionally you can also park at KARDON PARK / THE PONDS on Pennsylvania
Avenue and walk the approx. 1/3 of a mile to the Struble trailhead.
POTTIES: The Norwood Rd. entrance has a porta potty and as far as I can tell thats about it- I haven't seen port potties or anything else at the other trailheads.
LENGTH OF TRAIL: 2.6 miles end to end.
LENGTH OF TRAIL: 2.6 miles end to end.
CONDITION OF TRAIL: Paved - smooth
DIFFICULTY: Mostly flat with a few slight uphill grades here and there.
EXPOSURE: VERY shady - yay!
CROWDS: This trail is BUSY BUSY BUSY. It is a primary trail
for stroller walks, dog walkers, bicycles, and runners. If you don’t get there
early you will not only be lucky to find a parking space but will battle with
chatty moms walking 2 or 3 wide with their side by side double strollers (poor
manners in my book for those out there looking to get a sweat on.)
PROXIMITY TO PLAY: You are a very short car ride away from Kerr Park in
Downingtown if you park on that side. I have also hoofed it from the trailhead
to the Park via the streets to cut off the Pond section. This means walking on
the shoulder of the road a little from the trailhead to Wallace Ave. where a
sidewalk picks up near the Firehouse. But, it is a wide shoulder and I didn’t
feel uncomfortable doing that at all. in general you are a max 2 - 4 minutes from Kerr Park if you park at either The Ponds or the Norwood Rd Entrance / Trailhead.
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| Rope Swings- Throwback to being young and stupid! |
EAST BRANCH OF THE BRANDYWINE CREEK GREENWAY
Downingtown, PA
#1: Route 322 Downingtown (almost
under the train trestle bridge near the open grate bridge
#2: You can also start at he
covered bridge located on Harmony Hill Road – this is a one way bridge going
out to 322 though so unless you are coming from the West Chester direction it
probably isn’t your best bet.
#3: This trail also feeds into /
connects to the Harmony Hill Nature Center so you can start there too it seems
but I am not sure how yet as we haven’t done that part yet.
CONDITION OF TRAIL: Paved
DIFFICULTY: Mostly flat with at least one good uphill grade
to make you sweat.
EXPOSURE: Mostly very shady and woodsy, a great bridge that
crosses the river with a few open meadow areas on the Downingtown side. In
general though from the river crossing to the covered bridge the trail is
protected by dense woods.
CROWDS: We do this trail a few days a week because of its
proximity to our house and each time we go we see a number of runners, cyclists,
stroller walkers and dog walkers out- it has never been what I would consider
crowded though by any means which makes it great in my book.
PROXIMITY TO PLAY:
There are a lot of playgrounds within minutes of this trail and almost
in any direction. In Downingtown you have Kerr Park, the East Ward School Playground(limited use); in West Bradford you have
Shadyside Park or Broad Run Park and in West Chester a bit further out you have
a wealth of play areas.
** UPDATE / NOTE: We tacked on an additional 1/2 mile to our usual walk the other day and will probably never do it again. Oddly when we crossed over to the East Bradford side of the path we were absolutely attacked by mosquitos- ATTACKED! My eldest son looks like he has some sort of disease he has so many bug bites from this side of the walk- I was literally shooing them away by the handful so be warned!!! Oddly we have never even gotten ONE bug bits from the West Bradford side- just sayin'!
*****
East Goshen Township, West Chester, PA
This Park is 3 Miles of open pathways on 100 acres of nature
preserve and sanctuary. It is located on Paoli Pike directly across from East
Goshen Township Park in West Chester and next to Applebrook Country Club and
Preserve. Use is limited to walking/jogging/running & cycling. There are
benches for bird watching and relaxing and some pretty views of the meadow-like
landscape.
TRAILHEAD(S): The path winds around Applebrook
Golf Course and the development of Applebrook Preserve – there is no
traditional “trailhead” as you would think it for a more woodsy path so it can
be accessed from Paoli Pike or from the Chester County Chamber of Commerce
Building.
PARKING: Paved
Parking is available at the Chester County Chamber of Commerce Building or you
can park at East Goshen Park and walk over (crossing Paoli Pike) to access the
path.
SHADYSIDE PARK PATH
Shadyside Park has a great paved path that circumnavigates the park's 31+ acre perimeter. I am not going to lie- this trail will KICK YOUR REAR if you are not ready for it. It has a fantastically huge hill that if you are pushing 100 pounds of boot camp worthy double stroller you may pass out- I nearly do when I walk it. I am pretty sure it is the reason why I ended up in Physical Therapy for a month this spring when I tried to tackle it early on when the weather broke enough to get out and walk.
TRAILHEAD(S): You can start this path from the parking lot - even though the parking lot is in between you pretty much get 2 directions to go- right or left.
PARKING: Paved Parking lot with ample space provided there is not too much going on at the park I have never had any trouble finding a prime spot.
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CHESTER VALLEY TRAIL
TRAILHEAD(S): BATTLE OF THE CLOUDS PARK has direct access to the trailhead. It is located on Phoenixville Pike in East Whiteland. If you have problems google mapping Battle of the Clouds (I did for some reason) then try Philadelphia Memorial Park - it is right across the street.
UWCHLAN TRAIL
TRAILHEAD(S):
Struble Trail - Dowlin Forge Road Parking lot (Trail Mile Marker 1.75) where Dowlin Forge splits off and turns into Shelmire Road.
Dowlin Forge Park - on Dowlin Forge Road
Shamona Creek Park - Dowlin Forge Road.
TRAIL MAP: CLICK HERE
I started out doing this whole trail to Pennypacker Country Club from the Struble Trail but I found that the last bit of the trail tends to be more a sidewalk at the end rather than the pretty woodsy trail I was enjoying the majority of the way up.
So recently I have been parking in the Struble Trail lot that is on Shelmire Road (across from the Welsh Ayers development) walking down the path the Struble, up the last 1/2+ mile of Struble and then back to the 1.75 mile marker- then turning onto Uwchlan and walking to the Shamona Creek Park where I let the kids play before turning around. This full walk gets my just shy of the 5 mile mark but my kids are none the wiser because they get to play DURING the walk rather than having to suffer through a long stroller ride all at once.
Uwchlan is great - while it is narrower than Struble, it is FAR less busy so it is very enjoyable. Add to that the hills, the quiet woods, the rushing of Shamona Creek and the fact that the trail is marked with neat historic markers it is a worthy walk for the serious walker.
MANAGED BY:
East Goshen Township
LENGTH OF TRAIL:
Approx. 3 miles but the options are endless as there are a lot of loops.
CONDITION OF TRAIL: Paved
DIFFICULTY: I won’t lie to you- this trail gave me a good
workout. There are some good hills here that have a long enough and steep
enough grade that I had to rest at the top.
EXPOSURE: Wide open. There is little to no shade here so
going first thing before the heat and beat of the sun settle in is key unless
you are looking to get scorched.
CROWDS: Being next to the Applebrook Preserve development increases the traffic on this path as it can be directly accessed by residents
there and you will see a lot of dog walkers but it doesn’t feel crowded and you
can almost see people coming a mile away due to the openness so you wont be too
surprised by a cyclist whizzing past you.
PROXIMITY TO PLAY:
This is directly across from East Goshen and their great play areas so
despite the almost 1/3 of a mile trek to get to the Applebrook path you can actually
park in the lot near the East Goshen playground, walk over then finish up at
the playground- a good deal in my book as there is no in/out of the car
multiple times.
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West Chester, PA
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| I know you cant really see the hill I am referring to but its there - trust me. |
MANAGED BY: West Bradford Township
TRAILHEAD(S): You can start this path from the parking lot - even though the parking lot is in between you pretty much get 2 directions to go- right or left.
LENGTH OF TRAIL: 6 feet short of 1 mile (why they couldn't come up with another 6 feet to make even is a mystery to me too).
CONDITION OF TRAIL: Paved - not too wide though so if you are walking with a buddy be prepared to give right of way when needed.
DIFFICULTY: As I said above- the hill on this path might kill you or it could make you super mom.
EXPOSURE: Wide open. There is little to no shade so it gets HOT when the sun is truly up. There is however a great breeze at this park as it is up higher so you will have that going for you. That also means though that in the fall and winter it is BITTER.
CROWDS: This path gets a fair amount of traffic as it is a great local hub so you will see a lot of dog walkers, a number of other stroller mommies (never once has one done anything other than say "hi" back...kinda weird but whatever) and some joggers, etc.
PROXIMITY TO PLAY: The playground right there makes this a key walk. I can;t wait until my kids are old enough to play on the playground while I walk the path although I would probably get some stink eyes for doing that but hey- sorry people.
EXTON, PA to MALVERN, PA
Where do I begin with this one...first of all it has taken me weeks to even figure out what is up with this trail. If you aren't a close by resident and are stuck looking for info only on the web you will no doubt, like me, have a dickens of a time figuring out 1) where it starts and stops and 2) how the HECK you get to a parking lot/trailhead- whew!
This review is going to be a bit different as it will eventually be in multiple parts- this specific review will be for an approx. 2 mile section starting at the Battle of the Clouds Park and heading towards Malvern. Sorry, I go for 2 miles then turn around so this is what you get until I eventually complete the trail.
It is a multi use trail that spans through a number of Townships and is far from complete. So essentially some townships have their you know what together to pave and finish it, other sections- not so much making it hard to figure out. I am not the only one either, I have asked a number of other walkers and no one really seems to know what the deal is.
MANAGED BY: Multiple townships
This was the easiest trailhead I could figure out and the closest to me as far as I know. Apparently you can access the trail further up towards Exton and even up into Downingtown but, since it is so choppy and is far from completed I picked this trailhead.
There is also another parking area/ trailhead at the East Whiteland Township Building - parking here will give you a longer stretch deeper East towards the Main Line and you would still have paved access west towards Exton for a fair bit. This maybe the safest parking lot on the planet as the Township Building is also the police station.
TRAIL MAP: CLICK HERE
PARKING: See Trailhead access notes just above.
EXPOSURE: It is a nice mix of shady and open spots so that you should still load up on the sun screen but it is generally nice and shady.
NOTE #1: The noise factor of this trail is a little high in places as it parallels Route 202. I wont lie- I was impressed with how much those noise barriers actually diffuse the racket from the highway but none the less- there are stretches that are not nice and peacefully quiet.
NOTE #2: There are road crossings on this trail In the stretch reviewed here we crossed two roads- once at MILL LANE which is a snap because it is a quiet road but the other at CONESTOGA ROAD - YIKES! Aside from the fact that there ARE pedestrian signals to stop the traffic so you can cross safely we did see that both times crossing there were near accidents from idiots not paying attention to what was going on in front of them so be on guard.
NOTE #3: There is a small section under the Route 30 overpass that is currently being redirected around some trail construction so the path narrows briefly. But if your kids are like mine they will be overjoyed with the machinery so close by.
LENGTH OF TRAIL: Good question. I haven't yet figured out how much of a paved stretch there completely is in this section but I am estimated about 6 - 10 miles. I say this is such a wide range as we started between mile marker 10 and 9.75 and turned around at mile marker 8.0 so I am assuming that past where we walked it is still paved...maybe.
CONDITION OF TRAIL: Paved trail of a decent width to allow for a fair amount of traffic.
DIFFICULTY: EASY...this is pretty much an all flat trail and when it is done (if ever) you are technically supposed to be able to walk essentially from Downingtown to King of Prussia. Hopefully I am still alive by then.
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| East Whiteland TWP Trailhead |
CROWDS: We walked this section around 9:30 am on a wednesday and it was getting some decent traffic- lots of cyclists and runners (don't these people have jobs?) but because of the decent width of the trail it was never a problem and I never felt like I was going to get clobbered. I did like that I saw a tons of moms with kids who were riding bikes / scooters out - makes me have pleasant thoughts of how things will be in the future...maybe I wont have to push 100 pounds of gear and boys everywhere I go.
PROXIMITY TO PLAY: As I mentioned above- the BAttle of the Clouds Park is the trailhead we used- this means that there is a playground practically in the parking lot so you don't have to pack up and move to the next location for this one- let them out of the stroller to run!
NOTE #2: There are road crossings on this trail In the stretch reviewed here we crossed two roads- once at MILL LANE which is a snap because it is a quiet road but the other at CONESTOGA ROAD - YIKES! Aside from the fact that there ARE pedestrian signals to stop the traffic so you can cross safely we did see that both times crossing there were near accidents from idiots not paying attention to what was going on in front of them so be on guard.
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Downingtown PA - LIONVILLE PA
I am a HUGE fan of the Uwchlan Trail. It has multiple access points but the best part is that it dumps into the Struble Trail at Mile Marker 1.75 which means that the potential for a serious walk is huge. This trail essentially parallels Dowlin Forge Road for the most part and has tons of crossings of the Shamona Creek and Dowlin Forge Road.
MANAGED BY: Uwchlan Township
Struble Trail - Dowlin Forge Road Parking lot (Trail Mile Marker 1.75) where Dowlin Forge splits off and turns into Shelmire Road.
Dowlin Forge Park - on Dowlin Forge Road
Shamona Creek Park - Dowlin Forge Road.
PARKING: Each of the trail access points listed above have parking. The Struble lot however is very small and is shared with Struble Trail users so parking may be hard to come by.
LENGTH OF TRAIL: approx. 1 7/8 mile.
CONDITION OF TRAIL: Paved trail that is somewhat narrow and which crosses back and forth over Shamona Creek and Dowlin Forge Road - Road crossings are well marked and we have found vehicles to mostly be very attentive tot he signs.
DIFFICULTY: Moderate- there are lots of ups and downs on this trail meaning the slow increase / decrease in the grades will allow for a killer workout.
EXPOSURE: For the most part this trail is wooded and shady however towards the Lionville side it follows the road and is basically a sidewalk so you are much more exposed.
EXPOSURE: For the most part this trail is wooded and shady however towards the Lionville side it follows the road and is basically a sidewalk so you are much more exposed.
CROWDS: We usually only see a smattering of people when we do this trail which is nice.
PROXIMITY TO PLAY: Just about at the halfway part of this trail is Shamona Creek Playground which is great because you can pause and let the kids run before finishing up the walk (this buys me time to do a little more than just the 1 7/8ths of the trail's mileage.)
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| a horrible pic of the Struble trail access point |
NOTES:
This increasingly has become one of my favorite walks locally.I started out doing this whole trail to Pennypacker Country Club from the Struble Trail but I found that the last bit of the trail tends to be more a sidewalk at the end rather than the pretty woodsy trail I was enjoying the majority of the way up.
So recently I have been parking in the Struble Trail lot that is on Shelmire Road (across from the Welsh Ayers development) walking down the path the Struble, up the last 1/2+ mile of Struble and then back to the 1.75 mile marker- then turning onto Uwchlan and walking to the Shamona Creek Park where I let the kids play before turning around. This full walk gets my just shy of the 5 mile mark but my kids are none the wiser because they get to play DURING the walk rather than having to suffer through a long stroller ride all at once.
Uwchlan is great - while it is narrower than Struble, it is FAR less busy so it is very enjoyable. Add to that the hills, the quiet woods, the rushing of Shamona Creek and the fact that the trail is marked with neat historic markers it is a worthy walk for the serious walker.
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