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The Wissahickon Review
Read our Philadelphia sights reviews. Or post your own.
The Wissahickon
- Category: Parks
- Location: Fairmount Park
Fodor's Review:
Of the Philadelphia areas that William Penn encountered, the Wissahickon has changed the least. In the northwestern section of Fairmount Park, this gorge was carved out by the Wissahickon Creek -- 5 1/2 mi of towering trees, cliffs, trails, and animals. You can easily visualize the Leni-Lenape who lived here and gave the creek its name. Many inns once stood along the banks of the Wissahickon; only two remain. One is now a police station; the other is the 1850 Valley Green Inn (Springfield Ave. and Wissahickon Creek, Fairmount Park. 215/247-1730. www.valleygreeninn.com). You can sit on a bench alongside the creek, look at the stone bridge reflected in the water, and savor the tranquillity of this spot. Forbidden Drive, a dirt-and-gravel pathway along the west side of the creek, is a haunt of joggers, bikers, horseback riders, anglers, and nature lovers. There are foot trails along both sides of the creek and interesting statues along the route. Walking less than 1/2 mi south of the Valley Green Inn brings you to Devil's Pool; Shakespeare Rock, with a quotation carved on its face; and Hermit's Cave, where German mystic Johannes Kelpius and his followers came in 1694 to await the millennium. A visit to Historic RittenhouseTown, America's first paper mill, requires a 3-mi hike south. To the north of the inn are Indian Rock and a covered bridge that was built around 1855, the last still standing within the boundaries of a major American city.
You'll need a car to get here: to reach Valley Green Inn from downtown, take the Schuylkill Expressway west to the Lincoln Drive-Wissahickon Park exit (Exit 32). Follow Lincoln Drive to Allen's Lane, then turn right. At Germantown Avenue turn left, go about a mile, turn left at Springfield Avenue, and follow it to the end. A map of the Wissahickon showing all the trails and sites can be purchased for $6 at the Valley Green Inn's snack-booth window, open daily in warmer months from 9 to 5, weekends only the rest of the year.
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