The Wissahickon’s Forbidden Drive is the 2018 Pennsylvania Trail of the Year

The best trail in Pennsylvania is right here in Philadelphia: Forbidden Drive in Wissahickon Valley Park.

The five-mile trail was just crowned the 2018 Trail of the Year by Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn called Forbidden Drive “a gem” and a trail that “shines brightest for the thousands of hikers, bikers, anglers and others who travel it each year.”

The trail is by far one of the most popular trails in Philly and the Wissahickon Valley Park, which alone has 50 miles of trails. It actually dates back to the Lenni Lenape, which used the land for hunting and fishing. By the 1800s, it was home to dozens of mills, and a bunch of taverns were built along the Wissahickon Turnpike—today known as Forbidden Drive.

Forbidden Drive got its name when the turnpike was closed to cars. It’s remained that way ever since, and is now open to just pedestrians, walkers, runners, and cyclists.

Go on a visual journey of the Trail of the Year below! (It looks good in all seasons, doesn’t it?)