Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: Pennsylvania’s Delaware & Lehigh Trail
As the country turns 250, the historic D&L Trail reveals the many ways Americans are still coming together to form a more perfect union.
This article was originally published in the Spring-Summer 2026 issue of Rails to Trails magazine and has been reposted here in an edited format. Subscribe to read more articles about remarkable trails while also supporting our work.
Tiffany and Tricia Dreher are excited about the future. In just a few weeks, they’ll take over as co-owners of Central Lunch in Weissport, Pennsylvania, a riverside hamlet of about 400 people perched at the southwestern edge of the Poconos. Known in town for their hearty breakfast—especially their fresh-cut home fries—the diner has been in the sisters’ family since 1968, when their grandmother became its owner at just 27 years old. Tiff and Trish, 40 and 37 respectively, beam when they talk about their “Nan”—a young, female entrepreneur back when that kind of thing was rare.
Now they’re following in her footsteps. They’ve signed all the paperwork. They’ve ordered boxes of T-shirts they designed themselves. “We’re feeling really optimistic,” Tiff said on an overcast March morning.
They have good reason to feel that way. The diner, housed in the remnants of a 19th-century rail-road station, sits adjacent to the Delaware & Lehigh Trail, a soon-to-be 165-mile multiuse trail that stretches from the bucolic mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania to the bustling suburbs of Philadelphia. More than 4.6 million people utilized the trail in 2025, with an average of almost 400,000 a day. Before or after their walks, jogs or bike rides, lots of them pour into nearby shops and cafés, locally owned places like Central Lunch.
A middle-aged couple from a downriver town bike up for breakfast each week, Trish said. During the fall months, tourists from Jim Thorpe, a popular weekend getaway 5 miles north, arrive after a morning of leaf-peeping, hungry for a snack. On the weekends, when the trail is packed, Central Lunch is too. It’s not unusual for a line to form around the tiny diner. In the spring, when the sun reemerges after a long cold season, “it is out of control,” added Tiff, her eyes wide. “Just nonstop.”
Love for the trail is another thing that runs in the Dreher family. When Tiff and Trish were little girls, they watched their dad build birdboxes to place along the banks of the Lehigh River, improving the former coal-mining area for humans and wildlife alike.
It’s just one of the many examples you’ll find along the D&L of “community building trails building community,” as one trail advocate told me. “It’s such a full-circle thing.”
A recent journey to the towns that line the trail revealed the pivotal role it’s playing in the region’s economic and environmental comebacks, health and wellness initiatives, and even semiquincentennial celebrations. As the country celebrates the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and its promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, trail advocates here are still engaged in the most American project of all: working to build a more perfect union—for their families, their communities and the nation.
A Revolutionary Journey
History abounds along the D&L Trail, with many sites that played a significant role in the fight for American independence. Here are five historic stops (from north to south) for those who want to relive that era.
ALLENTOWN’S LIBERTY BELL DISPLAY: In September 1777, as British forces advanced on Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell was whisked away to Allentown and hidden beneath the floorboards of Zion’s Reformed Church for nine months. In time for the nation’s 250th birthday, a 6-foot, 1,500-pound replica of the bell will be on permanent display outside the church.
BETHLEHEM’S HISTORIC MORAVIAN DISTRICT: In Bethlehem, the Moravian community played a vital role during the Revolutionary War, providing medical care to wounded soldiers, despite their pacifist philosophy. The town’s Moravian district, recently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, includes Gemeinhaus, which served as the Continental Army Hospital.
THE FURNACE THAT FUELED THE WAR EFFORT: Located near Riegelsville, the 18th-century Durham Furnace produced iron used for cannonballs and other military supplies for the Continental Army. Today you can visit the site, where iron master and Declaration of Independence signer George Taylor once worked.
WASHINGTON CROSSING HISTORIC PARK: Washington Crossing Historic Park marks the site of George Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Day, 1776. One of the region’s most iconic Revolutionary landmarks, the park features multiple historic structures and hosts reenactments throughout the year.
BRISTOL’S KING GEORGE II INN: The D&L ends in Bristol, a strategic military post during the Revolution. The King George II Inn—which was founded in 1681 and is still operating today as a restaurant/venue—served as the headquarters for Gen. Cadwalader in December 1776, when he and 3,000 soldiers prepared to assist George Washington with his Christmas night attack on Trenton.
Economic Rebirth in the Anthracite Region
“This trail has kept this town alive. It’s been our anchor.”
— Chuck Stoffa, White Haven Blueprint Community Team Lead
When I planned a trip to the D&L in mid-March, I was daydreaming of sunny blue skies and unfurling daffodils. When it was time to ride, though, the month was still acting more like a lion than a lamb, with rain, sleet and snow soaking through the forecast—and the threat of tornadoes to boot.
But being forced inside had its benefits. Instead of logging miles on the trail, I shook hands and heard stories in the cafés, shops and museums that surround the mostly crushed-gravel path, which follows the19th-century railroad and canal beds that once connected the mines of Appalachia to the markets of the mid-Atlantic. This vital transportation corridor carried the ingredients of the Industrial Revolution—coal, iron, steel and textiles—as quarries, lumber yards, mills and coal furnaces rose beside its path.
Today, that path carries bikes and strollers and is surrounded by parks and vibrant communities. It’s overseen by the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (DLNHC), a nonprofit that convenes 29 local landowners across five counties to build and maintain the trail, “while telling the story and connecting people to the heritage that fueled the American Industrial Revolution,” said Liz Rosencrans, DLNHC’s director of trails and conservation. DLNHC was established by Congress in 1988, and the trail traversing the corridor has been developing steadily since then, restoring prosperity in communities that suffered after manufacturing withered in the mid-1900s.
In 2017, according to the most recent data available, the trail generated $474.7 million in economic impact and $32.3 million in tax revenue and supported more than 5,000 jobs.
These are figures that excite Chuck Stoffa, who is leading revitalization efforts in his hometown of White Haven, a former railroad hub located 10 miles from the current northern terminus of the trail in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, through the Blueprint Community program that works to revitalize communities with populations under 30,000.
Anthracite coal was discovered in the region in 1791. Known as “hard coal,” anthracite burns hotter, more slowly and with less smoke than charcoal, making it ideal for iron and steel production. At first, canals constructed along the Lehigh River carried this valuable new mineral to markets downstream, but by the middle of the 1800s, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was laying tracks through places like White Haven, creating a population boom as the coal mining industry expanded.
But the good times didn’t last. In the 1950s, as the market moved away from anthracite as a heat source and the railroads began to shutter, White Haven’s population shrank. Then, two days before Christmas 1987, a fire destroyed much of the town’s historic business district. It’s been trying to get back on its feet ever since.
“This trail has kept this town alive,” Stoffa said. “It’s been our anchor.”
Now Stoffa and other town officials want to improve it in a bid to bring more visitors.
The D&L utilizes White Haven’s Main Street, which we could see from where we were sitting in the borough office, as a cold rain pelted the windows. Julie Fallon, a local real estate agent and borough council member, had joined us. They told me about their plans to create an 8-foot-wide protected bike lane for the trail as a part of downtown revitalization efforts.
“By making the trail feel safer, making it easier to push the stroller, easier to walk the dog, people will be more likely to slow-roll it, to stop for a bit,” said Fallon. “I think that will bump our retention rate up.” But Stoffa and Fallon don’t envision visitors staying put for long.
“We want to be the outdoor recreation hub for Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Stoffa, a 55-year-old commercial pilot.
It won’t be a hard sell. White Haven is situated inside the state park and perched on the trout-filled Lehigh River. And when visitors are done hiking, biking, birding, rafting, fly fishing, snowshoeing or skiing, Stoffa and Fallon believe, they will return to White Haven and spend money on gear, dinner and a place to stay.
“There are not many other avenues for economic growth here,” Fallon argued. “We’re not slapping factories in these towns anymore. And with 1,100 residents, no matter how we work the math, no matter how loyal we are, we cannot support businesses year-round. The trail is what brings people to our businesses. The trail is our lifeline.”
In 2025, more than 100,000 people hit the trail in the anthracite region, the northern third of the D&L. Many arrived aboard the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway, a 25-mile ride from Jim Thorpe that drops visitors off in White Haven for a scenic, all-downhill ride on the D&L back to town. Others came for the Jam Below the Dam, a two-day music festival held in White Haven every July that features local bands, food trucks and craft vendors.
Stoffa believes so much in the economic potential of the D&L that last year he launched Trail Town Bikes, a self-service bike rental kiosk adjacent to the White Haven trailhead. “I kept seeing bike kiosks in cities and thought, ‘Why not trail towns?’” Stoffa said. “The opportunity was obvious.”
On the Path to Wellness in the Lehigh Valley Region
The next day, I woke up in Bethlehem, where overnight thunderstorms had knocked out the power in my hotel. Outside, the mercury had plummeted to well below freezing. But I was eager to see what impact the D&L is having in the Lehigh Valley region of the trail, which follows the former Lehigh Canal and spans some of the trail’s largest cities and the factories that supplied iron and steel for the Golden Gate Bridge, the Chrysler Building and World War II warships.
While old blast furnaces, coke ovens and cement kilns still dot the landscape, today those cities—Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton—are some of the fastest-growing in the country, fueled by industries like health care and higher education. What the trail offers in this increasingly crowded region, I learned, was peace, quiet and a safe place to exercise.
“We usually direct visitors straight to the D&L,” said Lisa Ronca, who has owned Cutters Bike Shop for 17 years. The power was still off in the downtown Bethlehem retail, repair and rental shop, but her face lit up as she talked about the trail. “It’s so user-friendly for everybody, and you don’t have traffic; you don’t have elevation.”
Ronca leads a weekly ride on the D&L for a dozen or so riders, where they often pass another group coming west from Easton. The bike shop owner said she knows lots of friends who use the trail for their daily commute. Instead of a backed-up interstate, they enjoy a scenic ride next to the river, where ospreys circle and blue herons stalk the shoreline—not to mention a great workout—all before clocking in.
Helping people of all ages and abilities meet their personal fitness goals was the impetus behind one of the trail’s signature programs, Get Your Tail on the Trail. Since 2013, St. Luke’s University Health Network and DLNHC have teamed up to offer the health and wellness initiative, hosting seasonal challenges, walking tours and fun runs to encourage local residents to take advantage of the trail and improve their health a mile at a time. In the last 13 years, more than 8,000 participants have logged thousands of miles and burned 191.7 million calories, or the equivalent of 162,776 pints of ice cream.
According to Brit Kondravy, a DLNHC walk leader, many participants are surprised by the outdoor resources in their backyard. “A couple that joined one of my walks said, ‘We had no idea this green space was here in Allentown; we thought we had to go to the Poconos to experience something like this,’” Kondravy recalled.
To promote trail patronage, DLNHC has also launched its Trail Friendly Business program, which promotes and connects people with businesses that cater to the needs of trail users, providing amenities such as bike racks, restrooms and outdoor seating, plus water bowls for pups. On my way out of the region, near the Freemansburg trailhead, I stopped by one of the newest members, Cherry’s Caribbean Palace. Cherry’s, beloved for its oxtail and jerk chicken, is run by Pauline “Cherry” Aitcheson and her son Tony, who recently added outdoor seating and are looking forward to summer business.
“Why should trail users stop in?” I asked. “The authentic Caribbean flavor,” she responded without a beat, “right here in the heart of the Lehigh Valley.”
Work on the trail continues in the Lehigh Valley region, where a 14-mile gap near Allentown should be closed by 2027. (The 15-mile segment to extend the trail from Mountain Top to Wilkes-Barre is still in the planning stage.) Rosencrans believes that the completion of the Lehigh Valley section will lure long-distance and overnight riders to the D&L, “marking a big turning point for the trail.”
America’s Birth and Future Meet in the Delaware Canal Region
On the last day of my trip, the sun came out, the temperatures climbed into the 30s, and I finally got my feet on the trail. That morning, I had enjoyed a scenic drive along the Delaware River from Easton to Morrisville, Pennsylvania, which felt more like a journey back in time. I passed towering grist mills, Colonial manors, covered bridges and fieldstone farmhouses. Every few miles, a picturesque village would appear, historic towns like Riegelsville, New Hope and Yardley that are experiencing a tourism boom thanks to the area’s charm and ample access to recreation. Bald eagles perched in the sycamores above the river.
This southernmost segment of the trail lies within the Delaware Canal State Park, where the D&L follows the canal’s towpath and features many of its original locks and aqueducts—including some that have been meticulously restored. In Easton, people can explore America’s golden age of canals at the National Canal Museum (operating on a limited schedule in 2026).
There are plenty of detours along the towpath to learn about some of Pennsylvania’s significant Revolutionary War history. Also in Easton, history buffs can visit Centre Square, located just a few blocks from the D&L. On July 8, 1776, the square was one of only three locations where the Declaration of Independence was first read publicly, when crowds assembled near the courthouse steps to hear the foundational document just days after its signing. The old courthouse has since been razed, but every year on July 8, residents and visitors gather in Centre Square to hear the famous recitation and celebrate its significant role in shaping the country.
Forty miles south, Washington Crossing Historic Park memorializes a key turning point during the Revolutionary War, when George Washington and 2,400 Continental Army troops crossed the Delaware River under the cover of darkness on Christmas night, 1776, marching into Trenton the next morning to launch a successful surprise attack on British forces.
Today, the D&L passes over the same knoll where Washington once looked out over the icy river. People on the trail can stop here to take guided tours of preserved Colonial-era buildings or head inside the museum to view exhibits and artifacts that bring this pivotal moment in American history to life.
Washington Crossing Park
“We regularly see visitors stop in as part of their ride or walk to experience and connect with the history of the area,” said Michelle Flanagan, the park’s director of operations. This year, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of that fateful night, as well as the nation’s semiquincentennial, the park is refurbishing its exhibits, expanding its annual Independence Day celebrations (including more fireworks) and hosting a handful of dramatic crossing reenactments. “If visitors haven’t been in a while, it is a great time to make a stop,” said Flanagan.
Just south of the park, the rolling hills of Bucks County give way to the busy streets of the Trenton metro area. In Morrisville, Pennsylvania, just across the river from the golden dome of the New Jersey State House, I met James Leiby, a volunteer canal tender for the Friends of the Delaware Canal. An 18-year-old college student studying social work, Leiby picks up trash and monitors for erosion or downed trees along the stretch of the D&L behind his home.
“I keep it tidy,” he told me, as we enjoyed a chilly stroll along the trail. “People use it all the time, and I want it to look nice.”
Lots of people travel Leiby’s section of the towpath, in part because Morrisville connects to more trails than any other town on the D&L. Trail users can link up with New Jersey’s Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Trail as well as the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile pedestrian and bike trail from Maine to Florida. Both the D&L Trail and the D&R Trail are also part of the Circuit Trails network, an RTC TrailNation™ project comprising more than 850 miles of interconnected multiuse trails in the Greater Philadelphia and southern New Jersey region.
Leiby, who walks the trail most days, has split his canal-tending duties with his mom and dad, who work as a bowling alley attendant and maintenance technician, since he was 10. “It’s just a good way to give back to the community,” he said, reminding me of something Julie Fallon had told me a few days earlier in White Haven.
“When you have the ability to utilize the trail and it’s right out your back door, I think you have a better mental well-being overall,” she said. “You don’t feel depressed. You don’t feel angry. You want to give back.”
Leiby gets a lot from his time on the trail too. He likes fishing for pike, pickerel and trout in the canal, and walking the towpath at sunset, when the sky turns orange and purple. “It’s just a beautiful place to be,” he said.
Every once in a while, after heavy rain, he finds a chunk of old coal or tile washed up on the bank. It amazes him to think about the canal boat it fell from, more than 150 years ago, and the engineers, lock tenders and mule drivers who once transformed the country with their hands and hard work. Somehow the artifact—a relic from a bygone era—has made its way across time, connecting one industrious American with another.
D&L Trail Map
When complete, the Delaware & Lehigh Trail (D&L Trail) will span 165 miles through Pennsylvania, becoming the longest multiuse trail in the state. For more information, go to the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor website or TrailLink.
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