Running the trails in Ridley Creek

On Friday afternoon, Riley and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather we've been experiencing with a trip to Ridley Creek State Park for some trail running. My friend, Andrew, convinced me to sign up for a Tough Mudder (which I will be counting as a "road race" for the purposes of #19), so I've been hitting the trails in my new vibram treksports to help prepare for the arduous hills I'll be running in May.




We took to the white trail, a 3.9 mile loop through a  large part of the park. I've been doing most of my trail running in Wissahickon lately, and although I love it, it had not prepared me for all the hills of Ridley Creek. It was a fun, but exhausting run... for me at least. Riley seemed to bounce her way up and down the trail, stopping frequently to turn back, tongue wagging, with an expression that could only mean "COME ON!"

This is the first park I've visited as part of #35: Visit all the state and federal parks in Philadelphia and its countryside. I added this task to my list for two reasons: 1) I love spending time outdoors - hiking, camping, canoeing, etc. - and found myself always saying that I wanted to do more of the aforesaid activities; and 2) Pennsylvania really is a beautiful state and has done a pretty darn good job preserving some of the commonwealth's natural beauty. Ridley Creek is no exception. It's a mere 10 minutes from my hometown, and I know I must have gone there a handful of times as a boyscout or with my family, but I didn't realize how beautiful the park really is. It has a number of different hiking trails; a paved 5-mile all-purpose path for biking, walking, and running; a trail for horseback riding; a gorgeous mansion that can be rented out for events, weddings, and parties; a colonial plantation for all you history nerds out there; and horse stables, which offer a number of really cool services. I'm sort of ashamed that I didn't take advantage of the park more frequently when I was living so close to it!

I've finally compiled the full list of parks I need to visit. As far as federal parks go, there are a number of things that classify as a park: historic sites, battlefields, national memorials, etc. Given my goal of getting outdoors, I'm using the term as I originally stated to mean either "national park" or "national historic park," which leaves me with two federal sites to visit in the Philly area.

There are 15 state and federal parks in all, and to be completely honest, I'm more than excited to visit each of them.

Philadelphia County
Benjamin Rush State Park
Independence National Historic Park

Bucks County
Delaware Canal State Park
Neshaminy State Park
Nockamixon State Park
Ralph Stover State Park
Tyler State Park

Chester County
French Creek State Park
Marsh Creek State Park
White Clay Creek Preserve

Delaware County
Ridley Creek State Park

Montgomery County
Evansburg State Park
Fort Washington State Park
Norristown Farm Park
Valley Forge National Historic Park