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Jay Lloyd's Getaway: The Nearby Schuylkill River Trail

By Jay Lloyd

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (CBS) -- Want to avoid traffic and crowds this holiday weekend, but still get into the great outdoors?

Get off the traffic-clogged main highways.  Here's an ideal getaway just minutes from home.

Rack the bikes on the car, or, if you're close enough, ride them to Valley Forge Park for a fun, relaxing day on wheels and water -- with a picnic along the way.

Head for the Schuylkill River Trail and begin an odyssey at the historic Revolutionary War encampment.  Stop at George Washington's headquarters (below) and see the rolling countryside.

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(George Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge. Photo by Jay Lloyd)

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Then, bike along the river trail to Port Providence, Pa., to rent canoes or kayaks where trail trekkers love the solitude.

"See lots of wildlife along the river -- lots of greenery," notes one cyclist we spoke with.

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(Canoeing along the Schuylkill Canal. Photo by Jay Lloyd)

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Then, when a lunch craving takes over, just find a spot along banks of the Schuylkill Canal and lighten your picnic basket.

Or, head back to the bikes for a short ride to restaurant-enhanced Phoenixville, for a choice of eateries -- pubs to posh.

For a complete set of trail maps, just navigate to schuylkillrivertrail.com.

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