Wissahickon Valley Park, Philly, PA

robcleary

robcleary

Well-Known Member
Reviving a dead-thread to report that most of Wiss is in good shape after Ida (incredibly, and thanks to some hard work from the park's crew). Some down trees and you could see some damage to railings and gravel washed out a bit in spots, especially on Forbidden Drive, but the MTB trails were fairly good. Pretty much all of the trees were hike-able (or at least the ones I came across)

Edit:
I added my ride log, so context this is what I've ridden and found it "okay" minus a few down trees. There definitely might be parts that are damaged from the storm.
 

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1speed

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
Iggy95 said:
Reviving a dead-thread to report that most of Wiss is in good shape after Ida (incredibly, and thanks to some hard work from the park's crew). Some down trees and you could see some damage to railings and gravel washed out a bit in spots, especially on Forbidden Drive, but the MTB trails were fairly good. Pretty much all of the trees were hike-able (or at least the ones I came across)
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I'm curious to get back out there later this week. I want to see if the steps on the way to the Lincoln Drive overlook are now like four feet tall instead of two, and I'll bet Tightrope took a beating. Some spots in Wiss are more or less immune to storms, but others change every time it rains (like Fisherman's, aka Rock Vegas.) I'm also curious to see what happened to the creek crossing on the Wises Mill trail.
 
JDurk

JDurk

Well-Known Member
1speed said:
I'm curious to get back out there later this week. I want to see if the steps on the way to the Lincoln Drive overlook are now like four feet tall instead of two, and I'll bet Tightrope took a beating. Some spots in Wiss are more or less immune to storms, but others change every time it rains (like Fisherman's, aka Rock Vegas.) I'm also curious to see what happened to the creek crossing on the Wises Mill trail.
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Cresheim Creek crossing as well.
 
robcleary

robcleary

Well-Known Member
JDurk said:
Cresheim Creek crossing as well.
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I did use the crossing on the lower half of Cresheim Creek, near Devil's Pool. Looks pretty much exactly the same as it was before, still gotta hop the rocks but nothing was blown out for the most part. There is a fairly large tree down just after you cross going towards the Valley Green lot, kinda have to walk through some bushes to get around it.
 
N

Nolabean

Member
Has anyone been here recently to report conditions? I am going to be going on a trip next week and this trail is sort of on my route. I have wanted to check it out for a while, can anyone pin a good parking location to start? Thanks!
 
JDurk

JDurk

Well-Known Member
@Nolabean Trails should be good a day after any rain and are probably pretty close to perfect right now. Heading there tomorrow. Parking at the United Artists movie theater lot is your best bet. Safe and plenty of space. Cadence Cycling Center is also located in the same spot. 2 trailheads are a short ride down Ridge Ave on each side of Wissahickon Creek. Forbidden Dr is paved/gravel and runs parallel to the creek from end to end. Riding early avoids the walking crowd. Note, there are 2 bridges under construction that require climbing detours.
Regal UA Main Street Theatre
(844) 462-7342
maps.app.goo.gl

Regal UA Main Street · 3720 Main St, Manayunk, PA 19127

★★★★☆ · Movie theater
maps.app.goo.gl maps.app.goo.gl
 
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N

Nolabean

Member
JDurk said:
@Nolabean Trails should be good a day after any rain and are probably pretty close to perfect right now. Heading there tomorrow. Parking at the United Artists movie theater lot is your best bet. Safe and plenty of space. Cadence Cycling Center is also located in the same spot. 2 trailheads are a short ride down Ridge Ave on each side of Wissahickon Creek. Forbidden Dr is paved/gravel and runs parallel to the creek from end to end. Riding early avoids the walking crowd. Note, there are 2 bridges under construction that require climbing detours.
Regal UA Main Street Theatre
(844) 462-7342
maps.app.goo.gl

Regal UA Main Street · 3720 Main St, Manayunk, PA 19127

★★★★☆ · Movie theater
maps.app.goo.gl maps.app.goo.gl
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That is really helpful thank you! I will probably go this week in the morning to try to avoid most of the hikers.
 
1speed

1speed

Incredibly profound yet fantastically flawed
Just a heads-up for anyone thinking of riding Wiss and/or Belmont anytime soon: both are dealing with some aggressive yellowjacket or wasps nests in a few areas. There are two I know of in Wiss right now - one about halfway up Twisty-Turny (the climb up to the meadow from the south side - not The Monster, the other side) and I think the other one is near a log above the golf course. (I was attacked on Twisty-Turny, but not the other so I'm not 100% sure where that one is.) In Belmont, one of them is at the corner of Mighty Mouse - near the drop-offs and I think there is another on the other side along Trolley. All are pretty large nests and pretty aggressive according to what I'm hearing.

But perhaps more importantly, if you do go use bug spray. A co-worker of my wife's was just diagnosed with West Nile and he's convinced he got it from mosquitoes in Wiss. That's completely unconfirmed, but why take a chance? I'm planning to just avoid the whole place until cooler weather hits.
 
JDurk

JDurk

Well-Known Member
1speed said:
Just a heads-up for anyone thinking of riding Wiss and/or Belmont anytime soon: both are dealing with some aggressive yellowjacket or wasps nests in a few areas. There are two I know of in Wiss right now - one about halfway up Twisty-Turny (the climb up to the meadow from the south side - not The Monster, the other side) and I think the other one is near a log above the golf course. (I was attacked on Twisty-Turny, but not the other so I'm not 100% sure where that one is.) In Belmont, one of them is at the corner of Mighty Mouse - near the drop-offs and I think there is another on the other side along Trolley. All are pretty large nests and pretty aggressive according to what I'm hearing.

But perhaps more importantly, if you do go use bug spray. A co-worker of my wife's was just diagnosed with West Nile and he's convinced he got it from mosquitoes in Wiss. That's completely unconfirmed, but why take a chance? I'm planning to just avoid the whole place until cooler weather hits.
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I spotted a nest after climbing the Monster on Sunday. At the top, trail towards the Meadows. Right-hand side, there's a log pile, saw a lot of bee activity and stayed to the left.

There's always a bee issue this time of the year on Mighty Mouse.
 
Hair Face

Hair Face

Well-Known Member
If wasps and mosquito's weren't enough, I just read about a string of recent car break-ins in the lot I normally park at (Western Stables). Be vigilant about keeping things out of sight and locking up your cars well.
 
JDurk

JDurk

Well-Known Member
Hair Face said:
If wasps and mosquito's weren't enough, I just read about a string of recent car break-ins in the lot I normally park at (Western Stables). Be vigilant about keeping things out of sight and locking up your cars well.
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That's pretty much a possibility at any location around Wiss and Belmont. Parking at the United Artist movie theater lot in Manayunk has been where many, including myself, regularly park when riding either location. Bonus, Cadence Cycling Center is there too.
 
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