Friday afternoon, October 14th my wife and a couple friends and I started just outside of White... read more
Friday afternoon, October 14th my wife and a couple friends and I started just outside of White... read more
We had a great time on the trail with butterfly falls. Falls were nice to look at and we hiked 2... read more
My daughter and I came to bike the trail in late October after reading an article about it in The New York Times. We were so happy we biked the trail! It is so amazing! We started in Jim Thorpe, PA, a very cute town with lots of great shops and a train to see the foliage if you don't want to bike. The people at Pocono Biking were so nice, fitting us with great new Trek bikes, a basket, and a $5 coupon (sandwich, drink, chips or cookies or fruit) to the next-door Subway to buy lunch for our trail ride. We then set out on a school bus for a half-hour ride up to where we were dropped off to begin our ride. There are an abundant number of beautiful waterfalls to see along the way, picnic tables to eat your lunch, the white-water river on your left, and the wonderful scent of pine and fall leaves. The trail is easy enough for young families and older adults. It is so clean and beautiful and the other bikers are friendly and considerate. We did the 15 miles in 2 1/2 hours stopping for photographs and lunch. If you like to bike and be out in nature, this is the place for you!
The trail is 25 miles long and now connects directly to Jim Thorpe via a cool railroad bridge, which gives the rider a myriad of options. In the fall the scenery is amazing, with the river and rapids below or next to you, & the cliff & waterfalls on the other side of you. The trail is pretty wide which allows bikers to pass each other easily even when the trail is relatively crowded. If you want to do the whole 25 miles downhill, you can park in Jim Thorpe, pick up a shuttle (do it early in fall!), and start all the way up in White Haven. Then, you can take your time biking back down. There are plenty of picnic tables along the way to have lunch, and Rockport (halfway) has composting toilets. Don't miss the walk down to the remains of lock 22 (Mud Run) because the view down there is great.
The tourist railroad runs right next to you if you're biking between Jim Thorpe & Rockport, which is fun to see.
Great trip along the Lehigh River on path that follows the old Lehigh Railroad. We did an "out and back" trip starting at Jim Thorpe, PA and turned around about 3 miles shy of the mid-point, Rockport, PA. Well-maintained crushed gravel trail with plenty of benches and picnic tables along the way for nice rest stops to admire the views of the river, the gorge, and the surrounding mountains. The bikes we rented were 7-speed "comfort" bikes--think along the lines of "beach cruisers" with nice wide tires--and I will say mine was the most comfortable bike I've ever ridden! Total cost of the rental--with free rental helmet!--was $31.00 after including taxes.
The trail is beautiful. It is tree lined and has great stretches of shaded areas. It is well maintained. Crushed gravel so best for hybrid or mtn bikes. Mere 2% grade from Jim Thorpe to White Haven but "downhill" on return. Rest stop half way with bathrooms and water. No signs of trash along the way either. Pack a lunch or stop in White Haven before heading home. There is no food along the way. On a Thursday mid summer the trail was quiet. The Glen Onoko Falls parking area is free, has bathroom facilities and access to Lehigh River for after ride swim.
Great trail any time of year.
We brought our hybrid/trail bikes out for the day and got a shuttle from Pocono Biking in Jim Thorpe. We did the 25 miler. Despite the 2% downhill grade, you will be pedaling the whole way because it's on gravel. I pretty much never felt like I was going downhill. It was tough on the knees, much harder than pavement would be.
If I was taking my kids (14 &11), I would definitely do the 15 miler. The 25 miles would be too long for the younger one.
The trail was beautiful, nice and wide so most of the time we could ride side by side. There were a few places to walk down by the water. Most of the time we could see the whitewater rafters through the trees - they weren't that thick. (Looked like another fun trip.)
Pack a lunch and water. There is nothing on the trail except picnic tables and restrooms.
We did the "Lower Gorge" with 10 y/o and 8 y/o via the shuttle from Jim Thorpe. 15 miles, all slightly downhill. No coasting though. Lots of places to stop and walk down to the Lehigh River. Picnic tables along the way were nice to rest and have a drink. No cell phone coverage. It was nice to be out of touch for a while. It took us 4 hours but we stopped often to admire the waterfalls and to skip stones into the river. Apparently most people do it in 1.5 to 3 hrs. The bike ride itself is free, it's the shuttle bus that costs $$$. But we've also in the past skipped the shuttle bus and just ridden up the path from Jim Thorpe as well.