Lackawanna River Heritage Trail (Erie, Reading: school, live, costs)

[GreenRidgeGuy]

My wife, dog, and I walked the downtown Scranton section of the trail today and were both very impressed. The section we walked begins across the street from Scranton Highschool and continues along the river to E Elm St in South Scranton. The first section of the trail is paved and lit. It was a wonderful way to get out and see some of the city on this beautiful spring day. Kudos to the LHVA.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

How long has the trail been around? A decent trail system is a great addition to any city. I've got a five-mile paved, well-lit, riverfront trail basically at my front door and I use it every chance I get.

In a related note I wish Pennsylvania would do more canal preservation. NY has turned most (all?) of theirs into state parks & trails.

[jimazee]

There are multiple sections open and more to come. This is/will be very nice.

Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority

[W-B proud]

It nice to see Scranton following Wilkes-Barre's lead in developing a river trail. The one in the Wyoming Valley has been very popular for years and has heritage markers and resting areas along it's length. It is one of Wilkes-Barre and the west side's best features in my opinion. Check it out! http://www.rivercommon.org/

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by floor9

In a related note I wish Pennsylvania would do more canal preservation. NY has turned most (all?) of theirs into state parks & trails.

To be fair PA has been much more active than NY at rail trail conversions, NY usually turns its transportation enhancement funds into walkability around highway projects rather than into trails. The Erie Canal in NY is something of a special case because it never closed so the ownership wasn't broken up 100+ years ago as it was for, say, the Union Canal from Middletown over to Reading.

[GreenRidgeGuy]

Originally Posted by floor9

How long has the trail been around? A decent trail system is a great addition to any city. I've got a five-mile paved, well-lit, riverfront trail basically at my front door and I use it every chance I get.

The downtown section of the trail opened last July.

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

Originally Posted by jimazee

There are multiple sections open and more to come. This is/will be very nice.

Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority

Does anyone have any information IF the trail will continue from it's Southern terminus at Pittston through the Wyoming Valley to Wilkes-Barre and hopefully Nanticoke and further South???

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA

Does anyone have any information IF the trail will continue from it's Southern terminus at Pittston through the Wyoming Valley to Wilkes-Barre and hopefully Nanticoke and further South???

I think that's the plan, it just comes down to money, it's a lot more expensive to convert an old railbed to a trail than to place a trail on top of a levee already constructed by the USACE. It seems like it costs a few million just to convert a mile or two of rail RTW to a trail. I can see the trail eventually going to Berwick or Danville, following the Susquehanna.

There's another trail, the D & L (Delaware and Lehigh) trail, that when it's completed will go from Wilkes-Barre down to Bristol, PA, just northeast of Philly, a distance of 165 miles. About 70% or more of the trail seems to be completed, here's a link to their website:

The D & L Trail

It would nice if they can try and connect the D & L trail to the levee trail in Wilkes-Barre/Kingston, which would eventually tie into the Lackawanna Heritage Trail. Like one of the previous posters said, PA is big into converting old Railbeds into trails, and there is some sort of master plan to connect numerous trails throughout the state from east to west and north to south. Western PA and southcentral PA, has even more trails than eastern PA, I think.

[jimazee]

Since there is interest in the general trail topic, here is a related item from the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA) web site. They have a subscribable email list that sends out announcements of activities, etc. such as this:

The Heritage Explorer Bike Tour | Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority

For those interested in trails and other plans, there is info and contacts on the web site. One entry says "The trail begins at the river’s confluence with the Susquehanna River at Duryea and Pittston in Luzerne County." Someone wondered about this IIRC.

I believe there is a rough but passable section from South Scranton (Elm St.?) through to Taylor that is planned for near term development. It may not be 'officially' open so don't expect a refreshment stand but for 'explorers', walkers, and trail joggers it may be interesting. If you choose to try this (or similar areas), it is probably prudent to bring a friend or at least a cell phone for a first time visit.

As I was clicking about the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA) | Where Americas Story Lives web site, it occured to me that it is worth visiting for anyone interested in NEPA, from prospective residents, visitors, and even 'natives'. It is still 'work in process' (e.g. there are some 'to be completed' pages, etc.) BUT it has some good links to follow. It may be worth bookmarking, sharing, returning, subscribing etc. If they continue to add local info, links while also delivering results on some projects (like the trails), it is all good.

The "LVHA" probably welcomes inquiries on anything they do including the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail (LRHT). As always, groups like this also seek volunteers. Bottom line, this stuff all looks like a + for NEPA.

[Moosicman]

Originally Posted by jimazee

I believe there is a rough but passable section from South Scranton (Elm St.?) through to Taylor that is planned for near term development. It may not be 'officially' open so don't expect a refreshment stand but for 'explorers', walkers, and trail joggers it may be interesting. If you choose to try this (or similar areas), it is probably prudent to bring a friend or at least a cell phone for a first time visit.

I don't know if I'd walk the section in Taylor. Canadian Pacific is trigger happy with their bean bag guns if you are on their property. If you take one wrong turn you might have a nice welt to show off.