The Wissahickon Trail, also known as the Green Ribbon Preserve Trail, will run from the Liberty Bell Trail in the North Penn area to Philadelphia’s Forbidden Drive Trail in the Fairmount Park System. The trail is currently an existing walking path that stretches along the Wissahickon Creek from Stenton Avenue in Whitemarsh Township to a point near Lansdale Borough.
The Wissahickon Trail will be developed for multiuse between Forbidden Drive and Fort Washington State Park, where it will intersect with the Cross County Trail. Beyond Fort Washington, the trail will remain a walking path to protect the environmentally sensitive nature of the Wissahickon Valley. This portion of the creek valley passes through a serene landscape, with few road crossings, which has been substantially preserved through the efforts of the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association. Additional acquisitions and easements will be necessary to fully implement the multiuse and walking path portions of the trail.
A demonstration section, along Northwestern Avenue in Springfield Township, is being designed and implemented with funding from a PADCNR grant. By 2008, the five-mile stretch of the Lower Wissahickon Green Ribbon Trail, which will connect Fort Washington Park to Fairmont Park’s Forbidden Drive, should be constructed.
