malcolmxpark.org

One of the remarkable things about an old city like Philadelphia is that it is such a great place for bicycling. It’s relatively flat and compact, so it’s not much of a chore to get virtually anywhere in the city by bicycle. And for longer fitness rides, Martin Luther King Drive and Kelly Drive (formerly West River and East River, respectively) along the Schuykill River provide a safe and scenic corridor out of the city to some nice suburban and even pastoral landscapes. Granted, there are legitimate gripes. Most everyone I know has taken a spill on the trolley tracks or busted a tire (at least!) in an unmarked pothole. And sometimes the sewer grates seem designed specifically to trap an unsuspecting cyclist. Drivers, it goes without saying, can occasionally be hostile.

The Cobbs Creek Recreation Path is a symptom of that better, more cyclist-friendly Philadelphia. It’s a beautiful off-street path that runs about 4 miles along Cobbs Creek from Market St. to 70th Street, hugging the westernmost boundary of West Philadelphia. Compared with other paths, Cobbs Creek doesn’t actually get all that much use. Indeed, in the course of a brief ride on Sunday, I observed only one other cyclist and just a handful of walkers. That’s a shame, because the route harbors some lovely scenery and some great facilities for picnics and other activities.

To get to the path from Malcolm X Park, I rode west on Spruce St. which has a nice wide bikepath. At Cobbs Creek Parkway (also known as 63rd Street for much of its length) I turned right and headed up to Market St. where I started my tour. Technically this is the “end” of the Cobbs Creek Recreation Path (CCRP). My first stop, heading south was the Laura Simms Skate House. The skate house opened in 1985, and it has the distinction of being the first Olympic size ice-skating rink to have been built in a predominately African-American neighborhood. A sign out front announces a variety of summer programs going on now. Just south of the skate house is the Cobbs Creek Recreation Center which features a pool, baseball field and large gravel track. A short ride south of the Rec Center, at 63rd and Catharine, the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center (Link is to a cached site since they seem to have let their hosting agreement for www.cobbscreek.org lapse…). Departing from the path, a steep drive leads down behind the old stone building to a clearing and an old iron bridge over the creek. Back to the path and more recreation facilities: several new tennis and basketball courts, along with some attractive playground equipment. The water fountain, sadly, hasn’t worked for awhile. Continuing south, the path takes a curve away from the creek temporarily, passing some of my favorite West Philly houses with their inviting sun porches and Spanish tiled roofs, and picking up 61st street down the hill to Baltimore Ave.

At the intersection, there’s a great Caribbean restaurant called Taste ‘O Home. With its expansive deck and low prices, it’s a tough call whether to get your food to go and settle into one of the many picnic sites just across Baltimore Ave. or to enjoy the view from the deck. South of Baltimore Ave. the CCRP departs from the road and gets nice and scenic. A butterfly garden sits off to the left, while views of the creek emerge through the brush on the left. Snaking under a beautiful iron train trestle, the path then climbs a steep hill before rejoining Cobbs Creek Parkway past several more basketball courts and picnic sites. The path is mostly down hill until it arrives at Mount Moriah Cemetery. The cemetery is truly extraordinary. It occupies both sides of the road along this stretch of the parkway, and it is wide open and fun to explore. Though much of the place is run-down and a little eerie, there are some signs of regular upkeep, and the cemetery is still accepting new burials, as evidenced by the recent headstones.

The path continues a little further south from Mount Moriah, but at 70th St. it continues on the road as the Cobbs Creek Bikeway. Apparently, a study (pdf) has been completed to determine the feasibility of connecting the CCRP to existing trails in the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge using an additional stretch of off-street path. I’ll be sure to update any progress on that project here.