Getting to the Manayunk Bridge Trail by Bicycle

[Editor’s note: This is the second of several blog posts about the Manayunk Bridge Trail, which will open on October 30th.]

When the Circuit Trails’ Manayunk Bridge Trail opens at the end of this month, it will link the Cynwyd Heritage Trail in Lower Merion with the Manayunk section of Philadelphia just 3 blocks (uphill) from the Manayunk Canal Towpath which is part of the Schuylkill River Trail network. One more critical piece of the Circuit puzzle will be in place.

The new bridge connection means that the Cynwyd Heritage Trail is no longer a local stub end trail that goes nowhere. BCGP volunteer and long time supporter James Kahn has proposed a mostly on road route that allows bicyclists to ride across the bridge in a loop from Central Philadelphia. Kahn also helped the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia raise money to pay for signage from MLK Drive to the Cynwyd Heritage Trail, which leads to the bridge.

We have made a map of this route and a request for route signage has been submitted to the Streets Department and Mayors Office of Transportation and Utilities. Hopefully, signs marking this route will appear soon.

As a loop, you may prefer to travel clockwise due the number of right turns and the downhill slope from the bridge to the Manayunk Canal Towpath.

The route begins at MLK Drive and Sweetbriar Cut Off then following Lansdowne to the Please Touch Museum along the S. Concourse Drive through the Centennial District of Fairmount Park.

A worthy side trip is to visit the Centennial Recreational Loop, a well paved and marked route through many of the attractions in the district.

The route then travels through the large 19th century homes in Wynnefield and Overbrook on Bryn Mawr Avenue. Crossing City Ave into Lower Merion to the Cynwyd Heritage Trailhead at the Cynwyd SEPTA Station.

Get excited for the Manayunk Bridge trail ribbon cutting #onthecircuit on October 30th at 11am!