Outdoor adventures in and near Philadelphia

Outdoor adventures in and near Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — Visitors to Philadelphia need not limit their interests to Ben Franklin and the Liberty Bell. There are a host of outdoor adventures as well, from kayaking and biking in the city to a zipline tree canopy tour nearby.

For urban kayaking, several day and nighttime trips leave from the Schuylkill Banks at Walnut Street, either north to the Philadelphia Museum of Art or south to Bartram’s Garden. Also within city limits, you’ll find Livezey Rock, 35 feet high and 60 feet long, on the eastern slope of the Wissahickon Valley.

A 28-mile bike trail will take you from the Philadelphia Museum of Art along the Schuylkill River to Valley Forge, or you can go mountain biking in the Wissahickon Valley Park portion of Fairmount Park, where the trails around Forbidden Drive are considered suitable for first-time mountain bikers.

In nearby Montgomery County, about 30 miles from Philly, Spring Mountain Adventures offers a series of zipline and rope challenges to sweep you through the treetops. And about 40 miles from the city, camping in French Creek State Park ranges from tent sites to cabins with private bathrooms and showers, and the park also has a self-guided orienteering trail.

Details at tinyurl.com/nnqu7w.