The trail winds through Pennsylvania’s northeastern mountains and along the banks of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. This coal and other goods helped to fuel America’s 19th century industrial revolution. Beginning in Luzerne County, the D&L Trail passes through towns, dormant industry, farmland, and alongside remnants of the Lehigh and Delaware canals. It travels through Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties before ending in Bucks County. From Easton, the Delaware Valley portion of the D&L Trail carries you through land unlike that to the north. The southernmost portion of the trail is a peaceful journey that travels through historic villages, gentle land and suburbia in Northampton and Bucks County. Trailheads are located at regular intervals between Easton and Bristol (please see note below). No mining occurred here but anthracite-laden canal boats passed this way en route to the Philadelphia and New York. As a result, this is a more expansive landscape, where a free-flowing river and harnessed canal waters shaped the bucolic countryside. Vibrant small towns and modern suburbs are today’s result. This blend of new and old is beloved by artists, past and present. Delaware Canal State Park maintains and protects the 60-mile canal and D&L Trail (or towpath) that follows the Delaware River. Canoeing, hiking, biking, fishing, birdwatching, horseback riding’most traditional state park-type recreational activities are available. You’ll encounter bustling villages, clusters of 150-year-old fieldstone houses, and fertile farmland that have withstood wars, floods and the progression of time. Recreation on the Delaware Canal (a National Historic Landmark) is nothing new. Back in the 1800s and early 1900s, folks fished and canoed the canal. Traveling along this towpath trail today, you see historic suspension bridges linking Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as towns with names like, Raubsville, New Hope, Washington Crossing, Morrisville, Yardley and Bristol. A number of parks are in close proximity (and in some cases, a part of) a varied system of county and state parks that preserve this region. They include Wy-Hit-Tuk Park, Fry’s Run Park, Delaware River Islands Natural Area, Nockamixon Cliffs Natural Area and Theodore Roosevelt Recreation and Conservation Area. Pennsylvania Route 32 is also known as the Delaware River Scenic Drive. A note to trail users: due to 2006 flooding and subsequent reconstruction, the D&L Trail is closed in several portions of Delaware Canal State Park.
Please check for updates at www.dcnr.stste.pa.us/stateparks/parks/delawarecanal.aspx
Additional Information
- Hours of Operation:
Open Year-round
- Cost/Fees:
no
