The D&L Blog

At Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, we take pride in the fact that the D&L Trail is an open space for everyone! That includes people from out-of-town and even abroad! This month, we have some stories to share about connections made along and because of the D&L Trail! 

The first story comes from Ed Eppler, DLNHC Board Member and former Race Director for the D&L Heritage Half Marathon.  

“In early August 2024, I was out on my bike on the Ironton Rail Trail when a cyclist, Paul J (see left), 40 years old, from Ottawa, Canada stopped me to ask me if I was familiar with the local trails. He had missed a turn in Catasauqua on the D&L and ended up in Whitehall. Cycling with him for a few miles, I directed him back to the D&L Trailhead in Cementon.” 

“Along the way, Paul told me he was taking a week-long tour from New York City to Niagara Falls. Day 3 of his trip happened to be from Easton to Wilkes-Barre. Before parting ways, I told him what towns heading north had amenities as well as some closures along the way to help him better plan his trip.”  

“My second encounter was in July ‘24. At the time, I had gone to South Dakota with my friend Dan Cruttenden to ride the 108-mile George Mickelson Trail. We rode at a leisurely pace and stopped often to talk with people. At one stop we met a 69-year-old local woman out for her morning ride. We mentioned that we were from Pennsylvania. She said that she had recently been to PA and had ridden the D&L! She had spent a week in PA visiting Philadelphia and Hershey as well.” Image of Ed Eppler to the right.

“I believe the cycling community is full of people looking for long adventures on trails. It’s amazing the people I meet and the stories that they will share.” 

Richard Hughes, DLNHC Board member, now Chairperson (see image below), had a similar experience to share as well! 

“I was running from White Haven toward Middleburg Road on the D&L Trail. Prior to beginning the run, I observed a man attaching a child’s pull behind cart to his bike. It caught my attention as instead of children, he was loading two small dogs into the cart for the ride. He passed me about 1.5 miles along the trail. When I finished my run and was in the parking lot he finished as well. He approached me with a clearly French accent and asked if I could direct him to the trail to Jim Thorpe. We had a pleasant conversation, and he told me that he was from Quebec City.”

“The man had discovered the D&L Trail on the internet and traveled here to explore it while on holiday. He advised me that the dogs are so little that they accompany him in the cart and then he takes them for short walks. He was very complimentary about the trail. It is great to see that even Canadians chose to travel to our trail. The power of the internet!”

Have you made any connections throughout the Corridor (along the D&L Trail, through local groups & events, at one of the heritage sites, or even at a Trail Friendly Business)? If so, we would love to hear about it.

Please contact communications@delawareandlehigh.org if you would like to submit a blog, or if you have any questions.