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THE COUNTY’S OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION NETWORK
Preserved Open Space
Temporary Open Space
Recreation Facilities
Trails and Pathways
Trails and Pathways
Montgomery County offers its residents and visitors a
premier trail system. The county’s current proposed trail
system is comprised of sixteen interconnected trail segments
shown in the 2005 County Comprehensive Plan. The plan
illustrates a total of 165 miles of trail that will crisscross the
county and bring a trail within three to five miles of all
county residents.
Additionally, half of the county’s proposed trails will
provide an opportunity for trail connections to
neighboring counties further strengthening an intergraded
regional trail system.
Currently, 55 miles of county-built trails exist connecting
greenways, heritage corridors, and points of interest within
Montgomery County. Most noteworthy are the Schuylkill
River and Perkiomen Trails. Combined, these two
nationally recognized trails provide over 40 miles of multi-
use trail experience. Annually, more than 800,000 people
visit/use Montgomery County trails.
Although the county has constructed over 50 miles of the
network, municipalities and partnership agencies have
developed an additional 15 miles of the proposed county
network. By 2005, all 62 municipalities updated their open
space plans, with some local governments incorporating
detailed trail development components. A sampling of
notable municipal trail plans include Cheltenham, Upper
Merion, Lower Merion, Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd, Upper
Dublin, Worcester, Lansdale, and Lower Salford.
Without the incorporation of comprehensive trail planning
and extreme foresight, the additional network mileage would
never have been built.
What’s New
How many trail miles has the county blazed since 2000?
The figure is quiet impressive, equating to 41 miles.
Paramount trail projects include:
•
Schuylkill River Trail
-
9.5 newly constructed
miles were added to the existing 14 miles of this
nationally-recognized trail system. Notable
extensions include connections to Berks County
from Pottstown and linking Oaks to Phoenixville.
•
Perkiomen Trail
- An ambitious and outstanding
20 mile trail system was constructed in four years.
Typically, it takes four years to build 4 miles of
regional trail. The trail connects to the Schuylkill
River Trail in Oaks at the southern end while
connecting to the county’s Green Lane Park at the
northern end.
•
Cross County Trail
- 3.5 miles were developed
through intense industrial and commercial
complexes. The trail connects to the Schuylkill
River Trail in Conshohocken near SEPTA’s
regional rail line.
•
Wissahickon Green Ribbon Trail
- A scenic 3
miles of meandering trail were built parallel to the
Wissahickon Creek. The trail alignment weaves
through Fort Washington State Park and county
park and open space lands.
•
Pennypack Trail
- Two miles were installed along
a segment of inactive passenger rail line. The trail
traverses through the county’s Lorimer Park and
intersects with the Pennypack Creek at the
northern end.
•
Chester Valley Trail
- A majority of the trail
alignment will follow the old Chester Valley
Secondary rail line in Chester and Montgomery
Counties. PennDOT built one mile of the trail and
installed a long span bridge over the Schuylkill
Expressway I-76 in Montgomery County.
PLANNING ISSUE
One-third of the county’s
primary trail network is
complete. A solid start,
however a majority of the trail
network is still conceptual.
Planning, engineering,
acquisition, and construction
are the critical steps to move
towards the goal of 165 miles
of regional trails.
