Читать книгу Rail-Trails Pennsylvania. The definitive guide to the state's top multiuse trails онлайн

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From the Northampton trailhead, the D&L Trail is paved for 1.3 miles through Canal Street Park and crosses the Lehigh River on the PA 329/West 21st Street bridge (bicyclists are encouraged to walk). On the west riverbank, the crushed-stone pathway—which follows the former railbed of the Lehigh Valley Railroad—travels upstream around a few bends through lush forests and towering cliffs with breathtaking views of the river. In 11 miles you’ll reach Slatington, where you’ll find the Slate Heritage Trail junction; both are named for the abundant slate deposits mined here.

Across the Lehigh River via the PA 873/Main Street Bridge is the 3.9-mile Walnutport Canal Spur that passes through Walnutport, where old locks, a lock tender’s house and museum, and ruins of an aqueduct are visible.

Lehigh Gap and Lehigh Gorge State Park Segment: 24.9 miles

Staying on the main D&L Trail for 2 miles after the Main Street Bridge, you’ll enter the narrow Lehigh Gap. The Lehigh River and a highway also squeeze through the Kittatinny Ridge water gap, and the Appalachian Trail crosses the river here too. You’ll pass the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, which sits on a 750-acre toxic cleanup site left behind by a zinc processing company. This area represents an environmental success story, as it has been revegetated and returned as a habitat for native birds and wildlife.