Delaware River WATERFRONT

About the Trail

• DRWC designs, builds, and manages the Delaware River Trail from Pier 68 in the south to Allegheny Avenue in the north, a distance of 5.5 miles; at Allegheny, the trail will meet another completed section of the Delaware River Trail under the management of Riverfront North which will continue the trail to the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, line.
• The Master Plan for the Central Delaware recognized the strong public desire for a continuous Waterfront trail with close connection to the river where possible. Because of this and varying riverfront land conditions, DRWC’s designers began to develop several types of trail layouts -- in the south where land was available from Washington Avenue to Pier 68 with an off-road asphalt bicycle path and adjacent walking trail. In the center where piers and roadways dominate, a fully separate bicycle track and pedestrian walkway built “on-road” adjacent to Columbus Boulevard and where land becomes available north of the Penn Street section.       
•  Trailbuilding takes many years and funds incrementally. In 2009, the first constructed segments of this trail south of Washington Avenue came online to Pier 70. In 2013, DRWC constructed another segment -- the Penn Street Trail north of Spring Garden Street-- which linked with a public section of trail built by then-Sugarhouse Casino; the Casino further lengthened this trail as part of it’s 2016 expansion. The trail was improved in the south from Tasker Street to Pier 70 in 2018 and a northward connection from the Casino through acquired riverfront land to Penn Treaty Park occurred in late 2019. Construction on the central segment began in 2020. 
• The trail segment is part of the East Coast Greenway and the Circuit, which provide a crucial bicycle network connection for the city and region.  It also creates an important connection to Spring Garden Street, the site of a planned bike trail connecting the Delaware River to the Schuylkill River.
•  DRWC works closely with partners at the City of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, as well as philanthropic supporters to conceive, design, and construct each segment.
• Have a trail-related question? Email our team at  trail@drwc.org.