Friends of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail

The Friends of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail was founded in 2008 by a group of dedicated volunteers committed to supporting the construction of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail. Currently, the Friends focus on supporting the volunteer efforts in expansion, maintenance and beautification of the trail park. To learn more about the Friends, please see our Membership page.

Our stewardship group has been very active on the trail and the link below will show all the information, pictures and videos that have been collected. In the future this information will be part of the updated Friends of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail website. Enjoy!
Click Here!

Trail Photography Contest

The Friends of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail is pleased to announce a photography contest for the 18 years and under set. The theme of the photography contest is “contrasts,” and photographs should be taken on the trail. There are three age categories and prizes will be awarded at the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Cynwyd Heritage Trail in November, 2022. The deadline for submissions is October 16, 2022. Contest rules and the application form can be found on the attached link here.

Landscape Improvements on the Trail

A National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant from the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund to the Lower Merion Conservancy will be used to improve the quality of the landscape along the trail. Plans include converting lawn to meadow and planting thousands of trees, shrubs and other plants. You can view the plan as designed by landscape designer Bob Gray as well as follow the progress of the project on the stewardship portion of our website.

A few ways to Volunteer helping the Cynwyd trail

Community Service
The main mission of the Friends is to help maintain the trail itself. If you would like to support the local and regional trail system by committing to volunteering on the trail see the information for individuals and groups on our Volunteer pages.

Cynwyd Trail Extensions
The Cynwyd Heritage Trail may seem like a stand alone trail. But you probably noticed the gigantic bridge that connects lower Merion to Manayunk. You’ve probably also see how our trail connects to West Laurel Hill cemetery, Cynwyd Park and Cynwyd Station Park. And it doesn’t end there, as Lower Merion seeks to extend the trail from Cynwyd station to City Ave, City Ave to the Mann music Center; to Westminster Cemetery; and finally through the Connelly connection to the Schuylkill Riverfront. For more information email cynwydheritagetrail@gmail.com or call Bryan at 215-280-7958.

Committee and Board Opportunities
Our friends group has reached our teen-age years. Our board is expanding at an ever increasing rate. As we come out of COVID our board is expanding, our committees are taking on more and more projects on and along the trail. We need your help to re-fill positions on our committees. The committees we have are Volunteer, Capital Projects, Communications, Membership & Development, Trail Maintenance and Stewardship. Please contact Harry Conry at harryconry@comcast.net for more info.

General Considerations when in West Laurel Hill Cemetery

We are fortunate that the Cynwyd Heritage Trail connects directly to historic West Laurel Hill Cemetery at Barmouth. The cemetery, established in 1869, is 187-acres filled with history and remarkable stone artwork. Did you also know that West Laurel Hill is an accredited arboretum with several Pennsylvania state champion trees?

While visitors are welcomed by the cemetery to enjoy their grounds for walking and biking, it’s important to remember that West Laurel Hill is still an active cemetery and all users must respect those who are grieving. Please avoid biking or walking in the presence of a funeral procession, graveside burial or memorial ceremony. Please also abide by the cemetery’s speed limit of 15 mph at all times.

We are also very fortunate that the cemetery is dog-friendly, but please remember to keep your pet on a leash at all times and to leave no trace.

It is a privilege to have this beautiful resource adjacent to our trail. Please be respectful of those who are mourning and to cemetery staff, who maintain this National Register property day in and day out. We are sure you would expect the same deference to be given to you.