Note that the Woodlands closes sometime between 5 and, um, 9, depending on the mood of the groundskeepers and/or police. My wife once got caught in there when they locked the gates on her. She had to jump the fence. During the fall and winter, it generally closes at or near 5, but stays open later in the summer.

Other than the Woodlands or the Schuylkill River Park, you've got intersections and traffic wherever you go. That's that.

I was told UCD was in charge of locking and opening that place up.

My mistake. UCD is closing it up now, whether or not they were before. I don't know how they decide when to, though.

The entrance to the Woodlands is at about 40th and Woodland, right across the street from the Trolley Depot.

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- George -

http://www.barackobama.com

So you run through the cemetary? Thats odd...I'll have to go check it out. Also, how safe is this. I don't want some punk kid trying to rob me when I'm running.

Another option for fewer heavy street crossings is to head north on 44th street, cross over Market where it dumps you onto Powelton, then follow Powelton all the way through Drexel's campus, up to Spring Garden then over the bridge to the Art Museum. You can take another street back (like Spring Garden or Barring (?) for a change of view. Or you can keep going past the Art Museum to where the Schuykill Path connects to Kelly Drive and take the Path back to UCity.

I know it sounds complicated but it's actually a pretty straightforward loop

I get the sense that Woodlands is pretty safe. The couple times I've been there in the morning the only other people there were an handful of runners and gardeners.

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The Good Reverend

I found out about the google pedometer which can't necessarily help you plan a route but can help you figure out how long your route is:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

The river paths look pretty nice and well-used even in the evening. Accessing that through Locust Walk and Walnut would make a nice route and you could avoid fumes much of the way.

Does any one know if you could get away with xskiing in the cemetery? If not, is there another place that might be an option?

Another good site is:

www.mapmyrun.com

You can register and save different routes, plus see other members recommended routes. It uses gmaps, too, so you still get the benefit of the hybrid maps.