The D & L trail has been seeing more trail users than ever, as young and old look for activities which promote social distancing.

In June, the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor recorded its highest monthly total for trail users since they started using trail traffic counters about four years ago.

The full D & L extends 165 miles - from Luzerne County in the north to Bucks County in the south.

In Carbon and Lehigh counties, the trail follows the historic path of canals and trains built by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Co. It follows the path of the anthracite coal which fueled the industrial revolution in the 19th century.

The trip is still filled with reminders of the area’s industrial heritage, as well as the natural beauty of the Lehigh Gorge and the Kittatinny Ridge.

With the opening of the mansion house bridge in Jim Thorpe last year, there are now 57 miles of connected trail following the Lehigh River as it meanders from Lehigh Gorge State Park through the Lehigh Gap.

Parking is available at all of the locations mentioned in this article. Outfitters like Pocono Biking and Lehighton Outdoor Center also provide shuttles and bike rentals.

It’s a great time to get out if you’ve never been to the trail before, or you are thinking about returning for the first time in a few years.

Including some of the many natural and historic landmarks can make a trip on the D & L even more exciting. These are some favorites in Carbon County and Northern Lehigh. Most of them cost nothing to enjoy.

For an interactive map of the trail with even more landmarks posted, visit https://delawareandlehigh.org/map/.

Waterfalls at Rockport

Rockport Access, outside of Weatherly, is the heart of the 26-mile section of trail running through Lehigh Gorge State Park. It is also the best way to reach two of the most scenic waterfalls in the Gorge. Buttermilk Falls is located about one-third mile north of Rockport access. One of many cascading creeks and runs which feed the Lehigh, Buttermilk Falls stands 50-60 feet above the trail. It provides an appreciated cool breeze on a hot summer day.

Just below Rockport Access is another falls, Luke’s Falls, which is roughly the same height as Buttermilk Falls. Trees and bushes can obscure some of the view during the summer, so it’s best to visit during the spring months. At Rockport itself, there is a small cave located a short distance from the trail.

Turn hole tunnel

The turn hole tunnel is one of the most photographed spots along the D & L. Its entrance is located in the parking area of the Glen Onoko access.

The tunnel was built in the 1860s for one of the railroads owned by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, replacing a section of the Lehigh Navigation Canal.

At one time there was a covered bridge over the Lehigh River connecting to the tunnel. Only the large stone piers of the bridge remain today. The old ties from the railroad are still on the floor of the tunnel in many places.

Check out the massive Lock #2 before continuing south to the Nesquehoning Junction Bridge, one of the river’s best views.

Broadway Jim Thorpe

Jim Thorpe provides enough history and attractions for more than a day. And with the Mansion House Bridge connecting a long-standing gap, it’s now possible to visit them during a ride on the D & L. The town has many boutique shops, restaurants which have mostly reopened following the coronavirus. As of July, the Mauch Chunk Museum and Old Jail Museum are hosting a limited number of guests due to COVID-19, and the Asa Packer Mansion is currently closed.

Weissport

After one of the most scenic sections of trail and canal, the D & L enters Weissport, where it briefly moves onto a public street. It then passes the former site of an 18th-century fort built under the supervision of Benjamin Franklin.

In 1756, Franklin traveled to the site of present-day Weissport with a militia to build a fort to protect settlers following a massacre of Moravian settlers by Native Americans. There is a statue of Franklin in the Weissport Park celebrates the visit and the fort he built, Fort Allen. There’s also a statue of Weissport’s Olympian, swimmer Betty Mullen Brey, and a historical marker for the fort’s well, which is located across the street on private property.

After crossing the Lehigh again on the Weissport Bridge, riders can detour to Lehighton along a quiet public road.

Lehigh Gap Nature Center

The Lehigh Gap is where the Lehigh River flows through the Kittatinny Ridge, beneath the Appalachian Trail. While the nature center’s Osprey House is closed due to COVID-19, there are many trails to explore. The landscape looks more like something out west than other sections of the D & L. The house on Marshall’s Hill, built by a Civil War General, imposes over the trail as bikers travel south toward the gap.

Along the trail, springs cascade down the rocks along the side of the trail. The three ponds trail is a short detour into wetlands where it can be easy to see snakes and turtles and a variety of wildlife. For a better view of the river and gorge, riders can detour onto the LNE Trail, but may want to walk their bikes along the descent of the Bobolink Trail.

Slatington

At Slatington, bikers can get a change of scenery along the slate heritage trail. Just off of the Slate Heritage Trail is bedbug cave, where workers once quarried slate for blackboards.

The town has a unique monument to firemen and their volunteer service. The vividly colored statue was once a drinking fountain for dogs and horses,

Detour to Walnutport, where they have restored a historic lock tender’s house and locks.