Summer 2023 news: Cresheim Trail now has wayfinding! Friends of the Cresheim Trail installed trail posts on our volunteer workday July 15th, followed by directional tiles on August 1st. (See our Instagram feed for photos.) The posts follow standards in the Wissahickon created by Friends of the Wissahickon, who helped coordinate this project, and approved by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.
The posts include the Cresheim Trail logo at the trailheads on Germantown Avenue (pictured) and at Allens Lane & Lincoln Drive, where one of FOW’s kiosks has stood since 2016. They stand at most junctions and signify our multi-use trail system for hikers/runners and cyclists and include wayfinding directions for:
- Allens Lane: I.e. the trailhead at Allens Lane & Lincoln Drive
- Allen Lane Station: SEPTA’s regional rail station now called Richard Allen Station. (Unfortunately FOCT’s order was placed before this change and we will update the tiles with our next phase, soon.)
- Germantown Avenue: I.e. the trailhead on Germantown Avenue next to the old train trestle which will carry the next phase of the trail.
- Cresheim Creek: Specifically, the Cresheim Creek kiosk in Wissahickon Valley Park proper (on the other side of Cresheim Valley Drive/Emlen Street, past Buttercup Cottage).
- Upper Loop: The Cresheim Trail spur which takes the high, exposed route with views of the old rail corridor and New Covenant Campus.
- Outer Loop: The newest trail spur, parallel to Cresheim Valley Drive and below the WPA retaining wall constructed for the never-built section of Lincoln Drive.
We are already planning for the next phase of trail posts, to be installed at the Buttercup Cottage crossing, the junction with the rail trail phase, the new Friends Loop and more. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to stay tuned, and save the date for our fundraiser, Friday, September 22nd. Details TBA.
[August 1 note: 14 of the planned 15 posts have been installed, owing only to a yellow jackets nest on the last. FOCT will install that one at a near future date.]
