Effective immediately, a short portion of the Chapel Trail, beginning 1/2 mile east of the Washington Memorial Chapel to the intersection with the Sullivan's Bridge Trail, will be closed through Summer 2020 due to the U.S. 422 Schuylkill River Bridge construction project and additional construction along Cinder Lane.
As an alternative, visitors can use the Joseph Plumb Martin trail that parallels the approximate route of the Chapel Trail - on the south side of Valley Forge Park Road / PA Route 23. You can find almost 30 miles of additional trail options on our trail map, available at https://www.nps.gov/vafo/planyourvisit/maps.htm
An unauthorized social trail on Mt. Joy will be permanently closed and remediated beginning on July 10th. A map of the trail closure, along with authorized neighboring trails on Mt. Joy, is available here.
The trail is being removed because it crosses over some of the original earthworks built by the Continental Army in 1777-78. Repeated walking, erosion, and wear is damaging these historic earthworks. Additionally, the trail cuts through a forest restoration area, allowing for invasive species to spread and eliminating any natural regeneration that was occurring. This repeated trampling destroys vegetation and compacts any remaining soil leaving the area bare. The current trail is too steep and serious soil erosion is occurring, washing soil and nutrients onto park roads and trails.
Please help us protect the natural and cultural resources in your park and stay on the 35 miles of official park trails. The official trails are designed to provide access to the different habitats and cultural sites in the park, to connect to other trails and allow users to make loops, to be of varying difficulty, and to be sustainable and manageable by the park.