Interested in a first look into the future? Join us! On Saturday, March 16th at 9AM, we’ll host a volunteer workday to do early work on the official next phase of the Cresheim Trail: the section between Germantown and Stenton Avenues.
This section will follow the alignment of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Fort Washington (AKA Cresheim) Branch, opened in 1891 and last used for passenger rail service in the 1950s. It passes through the tunnel under the SEPTA Chestnut Hill East Line, built by the Reading Railroad in the 1930s.
The section of railroad history was brought into agreement between PECO and the City of Philadelphia (with Friends of the Cresheim Trail as stewardship partner) in 2018, thanks to legislation from 8th District Councilmember Cindy Bass.
This will eventually become an official part of the Circuit Trails network — a project FOCT is actively working on. Currently, the corridor is passable from the ramp at Germantown Avenue (next to the Trolley Car Diner construction site) to roughly Crittenden Street, with a side connection into Wissahickon East.
At this workday, we will make it passable to Stenton, where there will be a turnaround and a loop back through small woods adjacent to Cresheim Valley Drive.
PARKING: If you’re driving, you can park carefully along *northbound* Cresheim Valley Drive in this area. Please do NOT park on the southbound side. There is also a large parking lot one block away at the Acme (7700 Crittenden St). If you park there, use extreme caution when crossing CV Drive.
