Poquessing Creek Trail
By Rich Ortlip
Trail User
I walk the Poquessing Creek Trail every day with my 3-year-old Yorkie-Poo, Bubba. He is very active and wants to play all the time, and I began taking him to the trail soon after he joined our family. We both love the trail–sometimes I’m not sure which one of us loves it more. This is the story of our daily journey.
The trail starts at Junod Playground where many children play. Bubba has fun with them as we walk past. It is a nice macadam trail paved in black (which matches Bubba’s color). The parking lot at the trailhead has handicapped parking, and a curved ramp that leads to the trail for people in wheelchairs.
We head straight to the bridge, which crosses Black Lake Run, a stream that feeds into Poquessing Creek. Here we usually meet a Rottweiler named Ruckus, who has become Bubba’s friend on the trail and taught him how to get along with other dogs. Bubba and Ruckus love to run through the stream and drink the clean water, especially on warm summer days. One day we saw a snapping turtle on the bank of the stream. We have seen other wildlife including deer, snakes, frogs, birds, butterflies, and more. Past the bridge there is a bench, which is a good spot to rest and take in a nice view of the bridge, the trail, and the woods.
Further along the trail there is a horse farm. Part of the farm is a section for handicapped and underprivileged kids, where they have the chance to ride horses and interact with other farm animals like donkeys, pigs, chickens, and goats. It assists the children in their therapy and seems to really help them.
Just down a hill from the horses is a small bridge to the right that crosses the Poquessing Creek into Bensalem. This makes the trail accessible to the people who live there. The trail turns to the left, a good thing because a lot of cats live in Bensalem. I try to keep Bubba from going that way!
Up a hill to the left we go. As we walk the trail we pass joggers preparing for a 5k run, friends hiking together, and other dog walkers. The trail is clearly a great place for people in the community to exercise. Bubba likes to investigate the people we encounter, to see if they have any treats.
We pass a pond near the hill to the National Archives building. There are cutout shapes of wolves to keep the geese away, but they don’t seem to fool the ducks and geese swimming around in the pond right below them. They do attract Bubba’s interest, though.
At the top of the hill we come to another “T” in the trail, which is where it ends. To the right is another route to Bensalem, across an old bridge built long ago that is being restored by the Historical Society. To the left is an overgrown pathway to Benjamin Rush State Park. We take the path because there is a good spot for Bubba to swim in Poquessing Creek in the park.
After Bubba swims in the creek, we turn around and head home. Tomorrow we will be back on the trail again.
