Refurbished Philly Trolley Trail leads to hidden gem bridge in West Fairmount Park

For years, unlucky hikers, bikers and runners have wandered onto a trail off Chamounix Drive in West Fairmount Park, following the path through woods and ravines only to get lost amid numerous cutoffs, I-76 rumbling in the distance like a taunt.

But the lucky have stumbled upon Skew Arch Bridge, a unique structure of stone and spiraling bricks built for a trolley line that opened in 1897 and was operated by Fairmount Park Transit Co. — one of those hidden histories of Philadelphia’s forgotten past. The trolley line went bankrupt and closed in 1946.

Now, the Trolley Trail is more clearly marked and manageable. Since 2017, Fairmount Park Conservancy has worked with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Belmont Plateau Trails Alliance to more fully develop the 4.5-mile, multipurpose loop that roughly follows the former trolley line that once whisked visitors across Fairmount Park to Woodside Amusement Park, which closed in 1955.

» READ MORE: A hidden trolley network in Fairmount Park is set for revival

Signs now mark entrances to the trail through multiple locations: a main parking lot on Chaminoux Drive and two locations opposite each other at Chamounix Mansion Hostel.

The Fairmount Park Conservancy is hosting a ribbon cutting for the improved trail at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by a guided hike of a segment of the trail along the route of the trolley.

On a walk along the trail this week, Kevin Roche, Fairmount Park Conservancy’s director of institutional giving, said the $250,000 project to clear and reroute the trail, stop erosion, and make it more visible and accessible was also aimed at bringing its history to life through signs along the way. An additional $100,000 will go next year toward work on the bridge. Roche gives guided hikes one weekend day a month, with reservations available through the Conservancy’s events page.

Roche started at a trail head immediately to the west of the hostel. The opening is marked with a large sign and bike rack. Almost improbably, there’s a sign that says ‘Bus Stop & Food Store’ directing people onto the path. The sign was for those who stayed at the hostel and did not have cars. They could conceivably make their way to Conshohocken Avenue, and eventually, City Avenue. Chamounix Mansion Hostel, the nation’s first urban youth hostel, is now lodging only groups.

Roche started down the cleared path, walking for about 10 minutes before stopping at the top of the Skew Arch Bridge, which overlooks a tree-filled gorge and is named because it was built to skew, or angle, to accommodate a curve in the road. Roche picked a route along an unmarked path off to the side, skirting down and around, until he came to the base of the arched bridge.

“One of great things about the trail is — and it depends a little bit on who you are — is that it’s fun to get lost on and explore,” Roche said, “We’re trying to make it a lot easier with the signage, but my experience back here is that it’s really about kind of popping into the woods somewhere and seeing where you end up. Pick a direction and you might come out by the tennis courts.”

There is no trailside sign directing hikers to the bottom of the six-foot-wide bridge that runs 32 feet and is comprised of 15 skewed brick arches.

“We have signage every half-mile and we have trail markers that are more turn-by-turn,” he said, noting the trail is a mix of nature and history.

For example, a former park road, Johnson Lane, once ran along the trail. The bridge was built so the trolley could run under it.

The Trolley Trail is within the 1,400-acre West Fairmount Park, which hugs the west side of the river and is home to the Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia Zoo, Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Horticulture Center, Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, and Concourse Lake.

The city began building Fairmount Park in the 1860s, but its roots have been trace to 1812 with the founding of the Fairmount Water Works, next to the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the east side of the river, and now part of East Fairmount Park.

West Fairmount Park came into prominence in 1876 when it was host to the Centennial International Exposition, where many iconic structures were built for tourists in an area that came to be known as the Centennial District. The Conservancy, which moved its headquarters to Ohio House in the district in 2021, is leading an effort to revitalize and reimagine West Fairmount Park.

» READ MORE: Extra ticket fees at the Mann Center and the zoo could help cash-strapped West Fairmount Park, group says

The Trolley Trail is a natural fit.

Roche said the bulk of the trail renovation was performed in 2019 and during the pandemic in 2020, and completed by 2021. But it took a while to finish and install the signs. The trail couldn’t follow the exact path of the trolley for various reasons, but it hews close enough.

The Fairmount Park Trolley ran through both East and West Fairmount Park. It had stations at ornate, pagoda-like buildings on the east side at Dauphin Street in Strawberry Mansion and, on the west side, at Parkside Avenue. But 14 of its 16 stops were in West Fairmount.

“The trolley line closed for various reasons, including the rise of the automobile, coming of buses, and overall declining use of the trolley,” Roche said. “But there is really a lot of remnants of infrastructure still there. If you’re hiking the trail, you’ll bump into some bridges, bridge abutments, and a platform for the old Woodside Amusement Park Station. You’ll start to uncover all these layers.”