Does Pennsylvania Have America's Best Bike Trail? | Schuylkill River Trail (SRT)

Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail takes me more than 50 miles from Reading toward Philadelphia — through forests, riverfront communities, old industrial corridors and increasingly urban landscapes. But is it good enough to challenge the best bike trails in America? This is Episode 16 of 50 Bike Trails in 50 States, my journey to ride what I believe is the best paved bike trail in every state, score each one, and build a national leaderboard to find the best in America. For Pennsylvania, I’m riding the Schuylkill River Trail (SRT), starting in Reading and following the Schuylkill River toward Philadelphia. This isn't one simple rail-trail. Along the way, the route connects paved trail sections through woods, towns, historic industrial areas and busy urban communities. There are also a few stretches of gravel — including some I deliberately added to the ride to experience more of the SRT. In this episode: 🚴 Ride 50+ miles of the Schuylkill River Trail 🌳 Experience the changing scenery along the Schuylkill River 🏭 Explore Pennsylvania’s industrial and railroad history 🏙️ Follow the trail toward Philadelphia 🪨 See the paved and unpaved sections of the route ⚠️ Find out where the SRT falls short 🏆 Score Pennsylvania and add it to the national leaderboard Every trail in the series is scored out of 50 across five categories: Scenery • Ride Quality • Variety • Amenities • Memorability Where will Pennsylvania rank? One trail. One state. One leaderboard. Subscribe for a new cycling adventure every Saturday as I continue riding across all 50 states. #BikeAcrossAmerica #SchuylkillRiverTrail #Pennsylvania #SRT #Cycling #BikeTrails #Philadelphia #BicycleAdventure