Campus Compass

Chestnut Hill College, by bike.

Chestnut Hill College sits about 9.9 miles north of Philadelphia's center, so a trip into town is a proper ride rather than an errand. Philadelphia is an approachable place to start riding, on gentle ground. It's a campus of roughly 800 undergraduates. Here's the rundown — whether to bring a bike or buy one, and the kit that matters.

Chestnut Hill College is a small private university in a city.

See something off? Tell us →

What riding Philadelphia is like

The lay of the land

The quick read on getting around Philadelphia by bike — terrain, weather, and how far you can go.

TerrainGentle

CalmSolidlow-stress riding

WelcomingStrongeasy to start

ConnectedStronggetting around

Good riding6 moof the year

Campus → center9.9 minorth · straight line

Undergraduates800private

The ride between campus and town

Chestnut Hill College to the middle of Philadelphia is about 9.9 miles in a straight line — the real route will be a little longer, and the ground is flat. Rideable, but plan it: this is a commute, not a hop. Worth checking whether transit takes bikes for the days you would rather not.

Source · Campus location, enrollment and setting from the US Dept. of Education College Scorecard · read 2026-07. Distance is straight-line from the campus to the point the Compass uses as Philadelphia's center — not a routed distance.

Open the full Philadelphia Compass →

Campuses we cover in Philadelphia

How Philadelphia's campuses compare

Cycling here is mostly a fact about Philadelphia itself — the same terrain, weather, and network serve every campus in town. What differs school to school is where you sit in it: how far out, which way, and how big a student body shares the racks. Chestnut Hill College and its nearest neighbours:

Among the 8 campuses we cover in Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill College is the seventh-closest to the center of the 8, and is the smallest of them by enrollment.

Campus	To center	Which way	Undergrads
Drexel University	1.3 mi	west	13k private
University of Pennsylvania	1.5 mi	west	11k private
Temple University	2 mi	north	21k public
Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia	4.8 mi	northwest	4,900 private
La Salle University	5.9 mi	north	2,000 private
Chestnut Hill College you're here	9.9 mi	north	800 private
Holy Family University	12 mi	northeast	2,500 private

See all Philadelphia campuses and the rest of the Campus Compass →

Distances are straight-line to the point the Compass uses as Philadelphia's center — not routed. Campus location, enrollment and control from the US Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Bring it or buy it there?

At Chestnut Hill College, campus sits a long way out from Philadelphia's center, so a bike earns its keep locally first — around campus, to the nearest shops, to the bus. If you already have a bike you like and it's in good shape, bringing it is usually worth it — you know it fits and you trust it. If you don't, buy after you arrive, not before: a local shop will size you properly and do the first tune-up, and a campus or town bike co-op (most college towns have one) is the cheap, friendly way to find a sound used bike and learn basic repairs. Skip the big-box "bike-shaped object" — it costs more in repairs and frustration than a decent used bike.

The ground is flat, which is the cheapest advantage there is: a simple, sturdy bike is genuinely enough here. And check whether the local buses carry bikes: a bike-and-bus trip beats both a car and a long ride you keep talking yourself out of.

The theft reality — lock like it matters

A small campus doesn't make a bike thief-proof — it just makes the racks quieter. Bikes still disappear from college towns, most often the ones locked with a cable "because it's only for an hour." In a city this size, lock it properly even for the ten-minute stop — that's the theft, every time. Get a hardened U-lock, always lock the frame and rear wheel to a fixed rack, account for quick-release wheels and your saddle, and register your serial number with campus security or a national registry. A good lock used well is the single biggest thing between you and a bad week.

Locks & theft prevention →

The ride into town needs planning

A ride this long into town is a fine thing on a bright afternoon and a miserable one in cold rain at night. Around campus and the nearest shops, the bike is still the best tool you have. For the trip into Philadelphia, plan it properly — daylight, charged lights, a way home — or pair the bike with a bus and skip the worst of it.

A note for parents

The most useful send-off isn't the flashiest bike — it's the boring kit that keeps a student riding safely all year: a serious lock, lights that stay charged, fenders for the wet months, and a rack so they'll actually carry books and groceries. Given how far campus sits from the middle of town, lights and a rack matter more here than they would at a school you can walk across. Run the Assessment together in Philadelphia and it'll turn your student's real situation into a short kit list — and flag the one item worth spending real money on.