Inside the western city limits of Philadelphia is a natural retreat hidden in a rugged gorge, with a covered bridge, an old inn, and a statue that commemorates the last Native American chief in the Wissahickon Valley, a really cool, old arched, stone bridge and sights unseen by most people who dare not to venture this far into the wild. The park system has a great mix of paved paths, gravel and dirt for walking/jogging/biking/hiking. It also has a lot of single track for mountain biking (permit needed for certain areas). The trail from Northwestern Drive to the Valley Green Inn and back is a scenic 5 mile loop (that's 2.5 miles each way).
I really love this place despite getting lost several times. The Wissahickon Valley also called the Wissahickon Gorge, offers both challenging hikes and short walks. There's also intermittent access to the huge, fast-running stream, and lots of historic sites scattered in all sorts of hard to reach places. Most impressive were the rocks and rock formation both in the creek, along the myriad trails and high above on the cliffs. Due to a fault line that runs nearby, the area has shifted significantly over the millennia. The rock we see today was once more than 10 miles below the surface. The tectonic plates lifted and convoluted the strata of rock with pressure and heat so great that the nature of the rock changed from a granite bedrock formation into a waving and blistered schist. It can be seen everywhere along the creek. The good news is that this geologic action created a treasure trove of crystals to be found with a little effort. Mica, garnet, Tourmaline, and kyanite and others minerals are everywhere. So, it is a great place to go with a bucket, strainer, and geo hammer. The garnets are a rich cranberry red, the tourmaline red, brown and green, and the kyanite a rich sky blue.
A good place to start your visit is Forbidden Drive, named back in the 1920s because cars were and still are largely banned. Head to Valley Green where you can park your car and stretch next to a rustic inn that serves full meals and snacks, before heading onto Forbidden Drive. From this gravel path you can access trails with more strenuous and steeper terrain for hiking, trail running, mountain biking, and even horseback riding. SOURCE
Official Philadelphia Tourism Narrative
There are 57 miles of trails in this lush, 1,800-acre gorge, crossing forest and meadow before plunging down to the sun-dappled waters of the Wissahickon Creek. You’ll find yourself lost in a feeling of wilderness as you walk, bike or ride your horse through this undisputed gem of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park system.
Relax along Forbidden Drive, the low-lying gravel road that follows the creek, or venture up the steeply wooded paths for a more challenging hike or off-road cycling adventure. If you’re thirsty, or you need a snack, visit the historic Valley Green Inn, the last remaining example of the many roadhouses and taverns that once flourished here.
The Wissahickon, blessed with a fairly stable resident population of owls, chickadees and titmice; five species of woodpecker; nuthatches; blue jays; Carolina wrens; mourning doves; goldfinches and cardinals, was recently named and “Important Birding Area” by the National Audubon Society.
Despite the feeling of quiet wilderness, you’ll find plenty of history in this lush valley. A series of stone bridges and huts date back to the WPA era; two beloved statues pay tribute to the Leni Lenape tribe of Native Americans and the early Quaker settlers who once loved these grounds; and the now-crumbling dams offer gurgling memories of industrial mills that once drew power from the creek.
The Wissahickon Gorge belongs to the Piedmont Province of Pennsylvania, a strip of sloping land rising from the Atlantic coastal plain on the eastern side of the Appalachian Mountains. The creek drops more than 100 feet in altitude as it passes through the gorge, before it finally merges with the Schuylkill River.
The Fairmount Park Commission acquired the 1,800 acres of the Wissahickon Valley in 1868 in order to preserve the purity of the City’s water supply. Mills and taverns were demolished, and in 1920, the wide road paralleling the creek was closed to vehicular traffic and became Forbidden Drive. SOURCE
History
Before European settlers arrived in the late 1600s, the Wissahickon Valley had been undisturbed for thousands of years. Native Americans hunted and fished in the area. They were respectful of nature and did no permanent environmental harm.
When Europeans settled in the valley, they soon began using the Wissahickon's water to power dozens of mills. Logging and quarrying removed trees and stone from the valley and altered the landscape forever. Mills and outhouses polluted the creek and its tributaries. Construction of dams, roads, houses and other structures led to problems with erosion and trash. Non-native plant species were introduced. Many species of animals were hunted and trapped until they were exterminated. By the mid-1800s, the Wissahickon had become an industrial valley, disturbed and polluted by humans.
In the mid-1800s, the City of Philadelphia began to acquire land in the Wissahickon Valley. The Fairmount Park Commission was created in 1867 and restoration of the Wissahickon Valley began shortly thereafter. SOURCE
Thomas Mill Covered Bridge
The Thomas Mill Bridge, built in 1855, incorporates a Howe Truss in its construction and has the traditional wooden planks which are set in as a crosswise plank pattern. There are stone abutments on either end as well as wingwalls to complete the portals. I also spied shingles laid on wide sheets of board, perhaps plywood? The bridge is a single span only open to pedestrian traffic only and is 86½ feet long (26.4 meters) and 18.66¾ feet wide (5.69 meters). Safe access to the stream where are manner of adult and child play can only be had from the east end of the bridge where there are several small trails leading down to the water near the bridge.
The sides are of course covered with typical barn red, vertical board and batten siding. The portals are also painted red instead of the usual white I have seen in other counties. The portals also display a weird looking saw tooth design as well. The rushing water here affords a much better view than any other covered bridge I have ever visited yet sadly, no windows were built into the bridge. Unfortunately its builder is unknown. In 1939, the bridge was rebuilt as part of the Works Progress Administration. The rebuilding of bridges seem to be the case with many of the covered bridges in southeastern PA, although not usually with the Works Progress Administration. In 1999, It underwent a $420,000.00 rehabilitation which included a new stainless steel roof, deck, siding, and repairs to the beams at each of the four corners at the abutments. Additional information about the restoration project can be found HERE
The bridge was added to the NRHP on December 1, 1980 add charms and beauty to this valley. The bridge is also a Contributing Property of the Chestnut Hill Historic District.As stated this is a bridge of ONLYS and LASTS as in the only covered bridge within the city limits of any major U.S. city and the last covered bridge within the city limits of Philadelphia. While these things are definitely a site to see they are becoming more rare each year due to arson, vandals and other nature. The true reason for covering bridges was to extend the life of the bridge by protecting the side supporting timbers (not necessarily the floorboards) from exposure to the weather, thus lowering maintenance costs of the bridge. Beauty had nothing to do with the original design of these covered bridges, but, today it is all that matters (well that and structural integrity).
And what waymark this old would be complete with out the American Guide Series listing?
Farther on the OLD COVERED BRIDGE (2), known also as Thomas Mill Road Bridge - relic of a day when the valley was the industrial center of Philadelphia leans uncertainly over the water. Its dim recesses, lighted here and there by sunlight sifting through openings near the roof, conjure up the shades of long-departed pioneers. --- Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, 1940; page 615
Location
I truly consider this bridge a best kept secret; how else can you explain why it has never been waymarked yet every other covered bridge in the immediate region has been done to death. There are several ways to get here and none of them are good. I Came in from a playground almost half a mile away and walked well over a mile to get there. Eventually, if you can traverse the huge boulders and loose rocks of shale, schist, quartz, granite and all other manner of metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks and make it down to stream level. Then there is the matter of walking on the hard packed road which is easy enough; it's just getting there is difficult. The Wissahickon Valley is ripe for about 5 or so earthcaches and is known as one of 600 National Natural Landmarks of the United States. A tremendous variety of geology is evident along Wissahickon Creek. Three of the geologic regions that the stream passes through are the Newark Basin of Triassic sandstone and shale, the limestone and dolomite of the Chester Valley, and the Wissahickon Formation where the waters of the stream flow into the Schuylkill and eventually the Delaware Rivers.
Getting back was a nightmare and I got lost for about 40 minutes and all together hiked about 2 miles. A number of trails climb out of the valley from Forbidden Drive to the "upper trails" which run along the precipitous walls of the valley. Many of these upper trails have been marked with colored blazes. The green blazed trail has been designated a multi-use trail approved for mountain bikers with permits. The blue blazed trail has been designated a hiking trail only. All trails in the Andorra Natural Area are prohibited to all bicycles. I was just worried about making it out alive!
Forbidden Drive, also known as Wissahickon Drive, is the gravel road which follows the Wissahickon Creek from Lincoln Drive to the County Line and is the most popular point of access to explore the stream valley. Originally known as Upper Wissahickon Drive, it received its current name in the 1920s when automobiles were first banned from the road. As stated above, Forbidden Drive is the only trail open to bicyclists and equestrians without a permit. SOURCE
I made a video of a walk-through so visitors to this waymark can also do a virtual visit to the covered bridge as well. That video is hosted on YouTube and can be found HERE