American Pilgrims on the Camino - Philadelphia Chapter

Join us for a 6.2 mile loop along the Little Lehigh Creek in Allentown, just about an hour from Plymouth Meeting/Western Suburbs. This is a flat, gravel trail that is a true gem. We'll walk past a fish hatchery, covered bridge, historic buildings, and lots of green. There are several restrooms along the way.

A group lunch in the area will follow for those who are interested in checking out the culinary scene of the Allentown area.

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This meetup group is hosted by the Philadelphia Chapter of American Pilgrims on the Camino (APOC). APOC is a national non-profit organization dedicated to fostering the enduring tradition of the Camino by supporting its infrastructure, by gathering pilgrims together, and by providing information and encouragement to past and future pilgrims. All our events are free, but we encourage you to support the work of this organization by becoming a member.

Please note that all our events are dog free.

We’re posting this event here in case anyone might be interested in signing up for a BIG hike! The Mammoth March is an annual, “20-miles in 8 hours” hike set in multiple locations throughout the US. The Delaware Valley location (Elkton, MD) is closest to us, and is scheduled for Saturday, May 30th, 2026.

20-miles is about 32kms, and this would be equivalent to a big day on the Camino. But signing up (and training!) for an event like this could be the perfect preparation for a summer Camino!

We are sharing the event here with an understanding that anyone who signs up takes responsibility for their own hike. This is not a group event like our other hikes! We already have a few members registered, and depending on who signs up we can look into carpooling, cheering each other on at the start (and maybe celebrating at the end). Some members may choose to walk together but this is very much a ‘hike your own hike’. For an event this long, people will have different paces and may have their own individual goals. If you decide to participate, please be comfortable with the possibility/likelihood of doing this hike on your own.

When registering you can pick whichever start time works best for you; 8:00am is the recommended start time for those who want to gather as a group and start the walk together! UPDATE It looks like 8:00 am time slots are already sold out. If you want to start with the group, go ahead and sign up for 8:30 - as we discovered last year, starting times are somewhat flexible, and if we all assemble around 7:45, we likely will be able to start earlier.

We'll hike 10-11 miles on the Elephant Swamp Trail. It's a gravel and dirt rail trail and completely flat. The terrain is easy and the scenery is very relaxing and beautiful, passing farms, swamps, and quiet greenery

There are bathrooms at the start, finish, and mid-way.

After the hike, Nadine and Roy will be going to a concert in Monroeville, NJ at 5pm to see South for Winter and anyone is welcome to join us. More information about the concert is below. Please note the concert is NOT an American Pilgrims on the Camino sponsored event.

Meeting Location & Parking - The trailhead is in a small park with little league fields. Park at the very back, near the Elephant Swamp Trail trailhead sign. My car is a white Fiat 500 with a Camino shelll sticker on the back.