Saturday was National Trail Day, and people from all over were walking, jogging, running, and bicycling along the D&L Trail.

“It’s a beautiful trail,” said Vicki Held from Kutztown. “It’s just a beautiful nature trail. It’s great with pets. Having Sassy, she’s a therapy puppy, and she loves to come out with us.”

Held and Joyce Gilmore from Kutztown, and Sassy; and John Hydro from Treichlers, were preparing to go out on the trail.

Hydro added that belonging to a ski club, it’s a great way to stay in shape during the summer months.

Claire Sadler, executive director of the D&L National Heritage Corridor, spoke of the importance of National Trail Day.

“It’s a day to celebrate all the outdoor recreation opportunities that we have available. We’re really excited to be out talking about the D&L Trail and all the connecting trails and the Link trail network throughout the Lehigh Valley, and getting people information on ‘Get Your Tail on the Trail’.”

“Get Your Tail on the Trail” features a website where you can participate in virtual walking and log your steps or miles, meet others online doing the same, and find out about in-person events taking place along the trail. Visit them online at TailOnTheTrail.org.

Eddie Kramer from Palmerton and James Howe from Wharton, New Jersey, were riding their bicycles as part of the St. Luke’s Hospice Bike Ride to Remember.

Most participants in that ride came from Lehighton to Slatington, turned around, and returned to Lehighton. Kramer and Howe were both riding independently.

“We put in 10 miles already,” Kramer said. “We’re planning on riding down to Treichlers and then back again. I wanted to thank Jerry McAward and everyone at the Lehighton Outdoor Center. They are a great help to me when I do this.”

Kramer said he rode the trail a lot.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” he said. “The shade, the scenery, the birds. Everything, and nature itself.”

“This is my first time,” Howe said. “And you (Kramer) invited me and it’s beautiful. I do know what to expect.”

The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is both a nonprofit organization preserving the historic pathway that carried coal and iron from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol to fuel America’s Industrial Revolution, and a multiuse trail spanning 165 miles from the mountains of northeast Pennsylvania through Bucks County. Visit DelawareAndLehigh.org for more details.