Route ideas through Philadelphia
 

Does anyone have any route suggestions between Trenton and Wilmington that provide a good compromise between good scenery, less traffic, and shorter distance?

Which Trenton? There's one in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.... And I assume Wilmington, Delaware? I would suggest you try the regional section of the forum. You may be able to reach more users who live in the NE part of the USA.

http://www.bikeforums.net/northeast/

Yes, Trenton, NJ to Wilmington, DE which is, from my perspective, mostly just Philadelphia. I'll give the other forum a shot. Just hoping to get a touring perspective since I'll be on tour at the time.

If you don't get an answer here contact someone on warmshowers. Ridewithgps shows nothing ideal. All surface streets. There may be no other options through Philadelphia.

Check out East Coast Greenway, perhaps.

East Coast Greenway » Maps and Cue Sheets

I live in Philly.


It's a roundabout way, but from Trenton, take the D&R Feeder Canal Path (good, crushed limestone surface) to Lambertville, NJ then follow Adventure Cycling's Atlantic Coast route to Conshohocken, PA and then take the spur into Philadelphia. (I am leaving for a tour out west next week, but if I can find the time I could map the L'Ville to Philly portion for you.)


Don't know of any good options from Philly to Wilmington. There is the East Coast Greenway (East Coast Greenway), but, IMO the part through PA mostly sucks as it passes parts of Philly with heavy street traffic and through places like Eddystone, Chester and Marcus Hook using roads that can be very busy. PA 291 isn't called "Industrial Highway" for no good reason.


Where are you ultimately heading? If further south, why choose somewhere like Wilmington or even Trenton? The ACA route mentioned above goes from Maine to Florida. The parts in NJ, starting near Port Jervis, NY, are wonderful and include the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. In Philipsburg, NJ, you could stray over to Easton, PA and take the D&L canal path to New Hope, PA, which is across the river from L'Ville, although I prefer the roads, and the trail starting in Frenchtown, NJ, to the PA side.

This is the second half of a two-part tour that starts in Trenton and I am ultimately heading west from there to Martinsburg, WV where I will catch the train home to Chicago. What about generally following the ECG Route in NJ until the Ben Franklin Bridge. Cross the river there and continue on the ECG until well into MD where it turns south. At which point I would continue west to WV. My only requirements are that I ride in NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, and WV.

Once you are in Lambertville, head to Doylestown, about 10 miles. From there you can take the rout 202 bike path toward the city. When the 202 Trail ends, you can take the Wissahickon Trail to Forbidden Drive. Forbidden Drive will take you to the Schulykill River Trail. That can take you into the city or west out into the countryside. All these trails are easy to find in Google Maps. It's not a direct line, but it's a pretty ride with mostly little traffic through an otherwise very populated area.

Heading dead south from Philadelphia will be a drag, like the other poster said. Heading west on the Schuklykill Trail will take you to Pheinixville and then into farm country pretty fast. South of the city is densely populated with busy roads that are no fun in a bike. Head west young man!

Also, you can go Phenoxville-Lancaster-Gettysburg-Hagerstown MD, then to the C&O Trail. That's a fun and pretty ride.

Wut?

Not familiar with the ECG in NJ, but as noted, the ECG south of Philly into Wilmington sucks big time unless you like riding on busy highways. I certainly would not do it during a weekday.

tough route, most of it will be an urban experience. Not sure if staying in NJ until the Ben Franklkin Bridge would be much fun either. From Philly to Wilmington, Take Baltimore Avenue from West Philly and then follow route 13. As others mentioned it will take you through Chester, Markus Hook, etc.

Yea, it's just little road rides from Trail to Trail, and there're nice roads for the most part.

Sensing a trend. :)

With this feedback, I've come up with a different plan. Backtrack a bit to Lambertville to pick up the ACA Atlantic Coast Route. Follow that to the BicyclePA -
Route L. Take that south to DE where I pick up the proposed USBR 1 to Newark, DE. From there take DE273 to MD.

Do your homework on the PA bike route. Our routes are notoriously poor. Almost like someone that does not ride put them together. ;)

Agreed. The PA bike routs are bizarre.

Thanks for the heads up. I did a little research and found this favorable review:Bike Route L Review

So, looks like this section should be OK.