Cresheim Trail: 2025 in review, 2026 in preview

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2025: ON THE TRAIL, ON THE BOOKS

The Friends of the Cresheim Trail wanted to put it on the record one more time: THANK YOU. Our sincerest gratitude goes out to each and every one of you who’ve helped us make 2025 a terrific year on the trail, and a transitional one for the organization.

In February, Brad Maule (right) stepped down after three years as board president to become FOCT’s first-ever executive director. Six-year board member John Raisch (left) stepped up to become interim president. We added two members to our all-volunteer board of directors, and everyone contributed in huge ways — at volunteer workdays, at community events, and behind the scenes. The board also introduced four new committees to focus respectively on trail work, community outreach, fundraising, and executive matters.

We applied for and received a two-year capacity building grant from the William Penn Foundation that will help us move the rail trail between Germantown and Stenton Avenues — our first phase of Circuit Trail — from planning and design to construction. We also applied for and received a Two for the Trails grant from Athletic Brewing to build on our progress in the Quarry Rock Garden and restore a long forgotten community asset.

And as for what happened on the soil and stone of the trail itself…

 

 

CRESHEIM TRAIL, 2025 BY THE NUMBERS

VOLUNTEERS ROCK

  • 11 official volunteer workdays (2 weather cancellations)

  • 384 volunteers (35 per event!)

  • 6 special volunteer outings

  • 1,321 total volunteer hours

  • Volunteer partners: Friends of the Wissahickon, David Bower & the Q-Team, Independence Youth Cycling, Mt Airy Trash Team, Wissahickon East Park Friends, Chestnut Hill Community Association, Chestnut Hill Rotary Club, Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation

TRAIL WORK IS WHAT WE DO

  • In April, we extended the Friends Loop trail by ¼-mile, doubling its length.

  • In July, Damien led a crew to armor up a reroute near the trail crossing of Cresheim Road, while another crew regraded chunky parts of the trail tread near the Lincoln Drive & Allens Lane trailhead.

  • In August (and again in December), we installed 12 new trail posts, bringing the familiar Wissahickon wayfinding to the Friends Loop and rail trail.

  • In December, we built 400’ of new trail to (re)connect the rail trail to the southern end of Wissahickon East Park.

  • Throughout the year, Dave, Dan, and supporting crews cut and cleared at least 11 fallen trees from trail corridors.

ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION, CONT’D & ONGOING

  • We had several dedicated tasks for removing invasive plants: near the Germantown Avenue trailhead, in the Quarry Rock Garden, around the boardwalk, and at the Lincoln Drive & Allens Lane trailhead.

  • We planted 289 new native trees and shrubs, primarily in our ecological focus zone (south of Germantown Avenue between the boardwalk and Cresheim Valley Drive, on both sides of Cresheim Creek), and some in Wissahickon East Park.

  • Ecological partners: Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Fairmount Park Conservancy, PA Interfaith Power & Light.

CLEANUP STATS ARE THE BEST STATS

As usual, we hosted two dedicated cleanups of Cresheim Valley Drive (northern half in May, southern half in October), along with regular litter pickup during monthly volunteer workdays. Among other things, we collected…

  • 158 bags of trash

  • 28 hub caps

  • 17 tires

  • 8 bumpers

  • 1 boomerang, 1 ladder, 1 nitrous oxide tank, lots of scrap, and lots of miscellany

  • Cleanup partners: Philadelphia Streets Department, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Mt Airy Trash Team

OUTDOOR CLASSROOM, NOW WITH MORE KIOSK

One final accomplishment of the year came courtesy of the tradition of scouting. Ethan Ravasco, of Troop 334, completed his Eagle Scout service project by creating a new kiosk for the Outdoor Classroom. He assembled it at home and installed it onsite in August, and at a ceremony in December, he dedicated it to his Lola (grandmother). The event was attended by Henry Houston School principal Dr. LeRoy Hall, Houston STEM teacher, FOCT board member, and Outdoor Classroom champion Christine Bush, and Houston student Peter, who happened to be celebrating his birthday, there with his mom, dad, and sister for the occasion.

Keep an eye on the kiosk in the months to come for new info and plant maps.

 

 

IN THE MIX FOR ’26

Now then, let’s see if we can get more done in 2026. We’ve got all the usual stuff lined up, but let’s bullet point a few of the major highlights, starting with two that are technically not our projects. Both will impact us temporarily and benefit us greatly.

GERMANTOWN AVENUE: WE’LL CROSS THAT BRIDGE

  • Our most Frequently Asked Question is easily, “what’s up with the bridge over Germantown Avenue?” Well, it’s original to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Fort Washington Branch whose right-of-way the Cresheim Rail Trail will traverse, built in the 1890s and meant to last. SEPTA plans on rehabilitating it for their trucks and equipment to access the Chestnut Hill West Line, the end result of which will be shared use across the bridge for SEPTA and trail users. The actual timeline remains to be determined as SEPTA and PECO (who owns the rail corridor) work out the details. A long-planned gateway mural project may follow after the rehabilitation is complete.

PSA: PWD @ WEP

  • The Philadelphia Water Department plans to complete design in 2026 for the Upper Cresheim Tunnel Outlet Project, an important City investment in both civil infrastructure and ecological restoration. The project, PWD’s third in the Cresheim Valley in the last five years, will fix the mess created by erosion and an exposed water main along Cresheim Creek in the northern end of Wissahickon East Park. This work will likely require the closure of the (current) upper end of the rail trail for 3–6 months. Construction is estimated to begin in late 2026–early 2027. We will share details as we know them.

GERMANTOWN–STENTON: #ONTHECIRCUIT AT LAST

Okay, here’s where it gets real. With our partners at the Philadelphia Streets Department and our engineering consultants at NV5, we have a plan and a timeline for 2026 to complete the design documentation for the segment between Germantown and Stenton Avenues. This includes fun stuff like field surveys, utility coordination, and cost estimates — all of which will lead to:

  • 0.62 miles of trail (actually a little more when you consider the approaches) that will meet Circuit Trails standard: 10 feet wide, accessible, and paved with crushed gravel

  • A safe pedestrian/bike crossing of Cresheim Valley Drive at Crittenden Street

  • An improved trailhead at Germantown Avenue, at the ramp between the bridge and new condo building at the former Trolley Car Diner

  • A public meeting to discuss all of the above, ETA July/August

  • Note: This planning will not include a tunnel under Stenton Avenue… yet.

QUARRY ROCK GARDEN, CONT’D & ONGOING

  • As noted in the opening section, we’ve made good progress in the former quarry and rock garden since the Friends Loop’s first pass through it in 2023. With a grant from Athletic Brewing, we’ll build on that progress and engage partners and neighbors to help us not only restore a local curiosity, but transform it into a beautiful, welcoming, and lasting place.

HELLO, IVY HILL / SPRINGFIELD / CHELTENHAM / MONTCO NEIGHBORS

  • Concurrent to the above work, conversations will continue with the respective neighbors, stakeholders, and agencies in East Mt Airy (north/east of Stenton, particularly along Ivy Hill Road), Springfield Township (Wyndmoor), Cheltenham Township (Laverock), and Montgomery County to plan the phases beyond Stenton Avenue.

VOLUNTEER WORKDAYS — JOIN US?

  • And of course, the most tangible work to be done in the year ahead lies in the stewardship that turns familiar faces into friends and keeps the trails and park in good shape. As usual, we’ll host monthly volunteer workdays, mostly on the third weekend of each month and with a good mix of Saturdays and Sundays. We also plan on sprinkling in some weekdays here and there, which we’ll announce as we know em. In the meantime, put a little CT logo on your calendar for these dates.

 

Thanks again from FOCT

That’s Greg, Nick, Christine, and Sam above — 4/10ths of the team driving the CT bus. They’re pictured at Trail to the Future, our fundraiser in April at the Venetian Social Club. It was such a blast and a success that we reckon we’ll host another party like it, sometime in the spring. Stay tuned for those details, and for all details, as things settle into place for the year ahead.

As always, keep an eye on our Instagram/Facebook for the latest news, hang tight for the next newsletter, and until then, see you on the trail.

– Brad and the FOCT team

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