D&L Trail - Allentown to Easton (Lehigh & Northampton Counties) - Day Trip

August 18, 2023

Nothing compares to the pleasure of a bike ride. 

- John F. Kennedy

The weather on August 18th was expected to be cool (in the mid to high 70s), so we packed up the bikes again to go for another ride on the D&L Trail.

The Delaware & Lehigh National Corridor was established to preserve the historic pathway that was used to carry coal and iron from Wilkes-Barre to Philadelphia. The D&L Trail is a 165-mile long multi-use path stretching between Wilkes-Barre and Bristol, near Philadelphia. It passes through 5 counties and is nationally recognized for its scenic landscapes and waterways, picturesque towns and remnants of historic canals. We've been riding portions of the trail since 2019, slowly working our way south.

We had to skip a section of trail from Cementon to Allentown due to bridge construction and parts of the trail being on road. So we started our ride at the Lehigh Canal Park in Allentown, and headed south on our quest to reach Easton, Pennsylvania and complete another chunk of the trail. Our round trip this time would take us 32 miles and put us at a total of 59 miles of the trail completed.

As the trail exits the parking lot at the Canal Park trailhead, you can see the remnants of the canal on your left along with the active rail yards for Allentown on the other side. Expect to hear a lot of rail-yard noise as you cycle this section. The trail here is the typical wide gravel we've come to expect, but it narrows down to a single track for a short distance just before entering Bethlehem.

D&L Trail Signpost Along the trail Along the trail

On the trail Canal lock along the trail

At Bethlehem we entered Sand Island Park. The park is located in central Bethlehem, across the Lehigh River from the famous "Steel Stacks" of the former Bethlehem Steel factory. We had been to the park before back in August 2021 when we participated in a kayaking/bicycling tour with Historic Bethlehem River Tours. If you are interested in an easy guided kayak and bike ride on and along the Lehigh, we can highly recommend this tour. In our opinion, the best way to get good views of the Steel Stacks is from the water.

Trail heading into Bethlehem

Bethlehem Steel Stacks (2021)

Sand Island has a historical lock and you can get a nice view of the Lehigh River through the trees as well as a somewhat obstructed view of the Steel Stacks from the trail.

Old Lock at Sand Island Park Lehigh Canal Aqueduct across the Monacasy Creek

Lock at Sand Island

Bethlehem Steel Stacks

Bethlehem Steel Stacks Bethlehem Steel from across the river

The trail continues south to Freemansburg. Freemansburg is a classic example of a canal town, with a restored locktender's house, mule barn, lock, gristmill, and coal yard. There is also a reconstructed barn along with all the buildings built up along the waterway.

Deer Crossing!	Freemansburg, along the trail
Grist mill & lock at Freemansburg along the D&L Trail

Next we passed the Bethlehem Boat Boating Club boat ramp before heading off onto a very narrow portion of the trail that was recently restored after before washed out during a storm. Further along we arrived at Palmer Township's Riverview Park where the path became paved for the rest of our day's journey. While there we saw the Lehigh River Waterfall and the Chain Dam fish ladder, then stopped at a bench along the trail to eat our packed lunch.

Along the D&L Trail

Lehigh River Water & Chain Dam

Lehigh River Waterfall & Chain Dam

After exiting the park, we crossed over the Lehigh River to the other side on an old steel truss bridge and entered Easton's Hugh Moore Park, home of the National Canal Museum. There is a lot to see and do at the museum. We definitely plan on returning sometime without our bikes so we can enjoy the museum and ride the horse-drawn canal boat.

Trail on an iron truss bridge  crossing the Lehigh River

Lehigh River Hugh Moore Park

We continued south on the trail with the river to our left and the canal on our right. We could hear the roar of rushing water and were surprised to see a raging waterfall fall from an outflow pipe of the canal which was above above us at that point. Continuing on we passed over the well-preserved lock and under an abandoned rail trestle, following the trail past several bridges and into. 

Along the trail View from the trail

Unexpected waterfall

Lock on the Lehigh Canal

View from the trail View from the trail

Heading into Easton

Heading into Easton

Finally we arrived at the Delaware Canal State Park. The endpoint of our ride south that day was conveniently located at the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. The park stretches from Easton to Bristol, a total of 58.89 miles, and the trail runs along the length of it. We were happy to finally have reached the Delaware River part of the trail. We spent some time there exploring the twin locks, the dam on the Lehigh River, and the fish ladder located near the locks. We took a quick look at the trail heading south between the canal and Delaware River before getting back on our bikes for the ride back north to Allentown.

One of the twin locks at Delaware Canal State Park

Delaware Canal State Park The confluence of the Lehigh & Delaware Rivers at Easton, Pennsylvania One of the twin locks at Delaware Canal State Park

Lehigh River at its confluence with the Delaware River Trail crossing over the twin locks

Fish ladder next to the twin locks End of the trail for the Lehigh Canal Beginning of the trail for the Delaware Canal

We had a great time riding this section of the trail. There was a lot to see along the way. We're looking forward to our next ride on the D&L as it winds its way south toward Bristol, although we're not sure when we'll get to ride it again from this end. We still have the northernmost off road section above White Haven to ride and are hoping to do that sometime this fall.

* All Photos and videos are the property of the authors except where otherwise noted. *