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In the forested and farm-dotted hills of Pennsylvania’s northeastern corner, the D&H trail runs 39 miles between the small town of Simpson and the state’s northern border. The crown jewel of the trail, the Starrucca Viaduct, is a stone arch bridge near the trail’s northern end, while the best-improved surfaces are found in the trail's southern half, between Ararat and Simpson. Passing railroad remnants and through the lush forests of the Endless Mountains Region, this rail-trail offers a rugged yet accessible rural retreat.
About the Route
The D&H Rail Trail’s northern endpoint is at State Line Road at the PA-NY line (Susquehanna). The nearest trailhead, though, is 2.7 miles south of the northern dead-end, at Luciana Park in Lanesboro. The de-facto northern trailhead for the route, the park has picnic tables, grills, restrooms, and a large parking area. As it leaves Luciana Park, the trail passes beneath the Starrucca Viaduct—an engineering wonder of the world, with its 17 bluestone arches—which is part of a railroad that is still operating today. It’s not uncommon to meet railroad buffs here from around the globe.
From Lanesboro, the trail heads east for about 3.5 miles to Stevens Point in Harmony Township, before turning back south. Here, the trail is thickly forested, barring the occasional emergence upon a farm vista. Trail users will also catch a glimpse of the small village of Starrucca below as they travel on a ridge to its west. The trail also intermittently parallels or crosses Starrucca Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, stocked with trout.
Continuing south, before reaching the town of Thompson, the trail comes to a deep ravine with a waterfall, Bucks Falls. Once the site of a 500-foot railroad bridge, the trail today navigates the ravine via switchback trails on either side. In Thompson, the trail passes the only original, still-standing railroad station along the route. Leaving Thompson to continue south, the trail first heads northeast before looping back southwards on a surface of original cinder, which has been graded with drainage improvements and is conducive to mountain biking.
South of Thompson, the trail comes to a trailhead in Ararat, the highest point on the trail. Many trail-users opt to loop back from here to their origin—downhill in either direction. Heading south from Ararat, the trail passes three lakes as it begins a 8-mile stretch towards the town of Union Dale, passing mostly through farm country. A general store in Union Dale offers a great spot for trailside refreshments. The town also houses an original D&H pusher caboose, and the office of the Rail-Trail Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the agency that manages the trail.
Heading south from Union Dale, trail users are treated to views of the Stillwater Dam before crossing two bridges along the 5-mile stretch between Union Dale and Forest City. With the largest trailhead and parking area on the D&H, Forest City is a welcoming trail town with many goods and services, including restaurants and markets, several of which are located just two blocks west of the trail on Main Street.
The southernmost portion of the trail, south of Forest City, leaves behind the Endless Mountains region for the terrain of coal country. Here, the trail offers a crushed-stone surface, as it follows the Lackawanna River, crossing it four times in a tango with the O&W Trail, as the two run mostly parallel to Simpson. The D&H Rail Trail’s southern endpoint is at 1 Morse Ave (Simpson). From here, the trail continues south for another 18 miles as the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail.
Connections
At the southern endpoint in Simpson, the D&H Rail Trail connects to the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail which continues south to Scranton.
The D&H Rail Trail also connects to the O&W Trail (PA). The two trails straddle the Lackawanna River, running loosely parallel between Simpson and Forest City, with multiple connection points available between the two. North of Forest City, the trails part.
Trail History
D&H Rail-Trail traces the former corridor of the Delaware & Hudson Railway, a line that primarily carried anthracite coal out of the Lackawanna Valley in the second half of the 19th century. The D&H Railway corridor’s early claim to fame: it was on its predecessor—the D&H Gravity Line—that the first steam locomotive in America, the Stourbridge Lion, made its one and only run in August 1829.
The D&H Rail Trail runs between State Line Road at PA-NY line (Susquehanna) and 1 Morse Ave. (Simpson), with parking available in Simpson.
Parking is also available at:
There are numerous parking options along this route, see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
Started in Simpson and headed north. The first 12 miles is very nice, except for the occasional noise from the ATV trail nearby. The next eight miles is a little rough, but not too bad. Then a mile of the trail was very soft, like they were working on the trail. After that, it becomes VERY rough - riding on balast. Some very nice scenery; has the potential to be a great trail - if they ever finish cindering the full length of the trail.
We have been riding the D&H for years, as it is only an hour’s car ride away for us. We find the best parking to be at the Forest City Trailhead. It is paved, large, and has an outhouse.
We recently took a 23-mile ride on our hybrids. The trip started at Forest City, riding south to Carbondale. We turned around and went north, past Forest City, to Union Dale. At Union Dale, we turned to the south and ended the ride at our starting point in Forest City.
The trail is an interesting mix of nature, history, and artwork. For most of the ride you are in an isolated area. We had a white tail deer cross the path in front of us. There are many bridges which provide opportunity to view the stream which is running high this time of the year. In Union Dale, you will find a restored railroad car and remains of a mill. In Forest City and near Carbondale, you will find some interesting artwork.
The trail is in very good shape. It is hard packed with small gravel. At one time there were large stones near the Stillwater Dam, but they are no longer there, greatly improving the ride. While there are no large hills, there is a grade going north and you will have to work. We suggest taking this into consideration as you plan your trip.
We had a beautiful Saturday for the ride, and surprised to encounter no other bikes! (Just a couple of walkers and 2 on horseback.) We started in Starrucca (at Little Ireland road), and went toward Lanesboro from there. Not clear where to park at the Starrucca trail entrance, but there's room off the road for a couple of cars.
It's always a good day on the trail when you can start with a historical marker! And there is a nice one there on an old railroad work shed that is still standing. The trail stretching north to Stevens Point is largely unimproved, but certainly ride-able with a decent off-road bike. There are stretches of grassy track that are smooth, some pretty rocky stretches that can be rough, and some muddy spots after a rain. But it's really no problem to keep moving, with a pretty steady, gentle downhill grade. Very pretty tree-lined experience, quite shady, with breaks that reveal the beautiful valley below. The stream down to the right, and occasional small waterfalls on the left, make things very pleasant.
When you get to Stevens Point, you do have to cross Starrucca Creek Road, but not a big deal, and you quickly come into the main trailhead parking area at Rockwell Memorial Park. (Thank you, kind Samaritans, for leaving some water bottles there for bikers!! Really saved us!) From there it's clear sailing all the way to Lanesboro. For this stretch, it's a broad, fine-gravel path that is very easy going, with the slight downhill grade continuing. Fantastic to ride along Starrucca Creek as it rushes to meet the Susquehanna. Outstanding dedicated bike bridges over the creek.
Before you know it, you're under the phenomenal Starrucca Viaduct, standing tall and true since the 1850's!! A testament to engineering!
We continued on to the NY border, just to say we did it! That last stretch occasionally puts you right alongside the Susquehanna, which is broad and calm. Trail surface is largely quick good along this stretch, except as you approach the border ... just gets a little rougher, but not bad.
From Starrucca to the NY border was 11.3 miles. We turned right around and went all the way back. Admittedly, the return was harder as you're going back up the gentle grade, especially the last 5 miles in the unimproved section. But it was an epic and fine journey that took us about 3+ hours of riding and a little over 4 hours elapsed time. (For what it's worth, I'll say that we are 60 and 66 years old ... and we weren't trying to set any speed records.)
If you want a less challenging and much shorter round trip, starting at Stevens Point and going down to Lanesboro and back is just the ticket!
A beautiful start of the trail beneath the Viaduct. It’s newly blacktop/ crushed stone trail heading south towards Starrucca. After about 3 miles it turns to jungle. It’s also all up hill which makes the ride back nicer.
Wife and I started at Luciana Park and road south for about 4 miles. It was during the week and we had the trail to ourselves. Enjoyable ride headed South, felt like a steady upgrade most the way. Shaded and nice river views most the way. Without being disrespectful to the custodians of the restrooms at Luciana Park……..Find a rest room before you use these! Serious.
Not a big fan, did the entire trail and although the conditions are fine there just isn’t much to see.
Did this trail yesterday from Ararat to Forest city - incredible beauty. Felt it was downhill till FS, but weirdly also felt it was downgrade on the way back? But I was upwind. Couldn’t find parking at Thompson - wasn’t sure of Startucca.
Had a great ride just had to move my starting point south about 3 miles from the Viaduct, due to construction on the trail. Trail is in great shape and made it to Carbondale. Just would of been nice to know the trail was closed to the NY line.
Started in Carbondale on the Lackawanna Trail and continued seamlessly to the D&H. Trail was nice compacted cinders as described up to Ararat trailhead, trail was nice continuous uphill climb at about 1-2% barely noticeable. Last mile or two to Ararat increased to maybe 3% and was noticeable. The scenery along this stretch was varied and beautiful with small lakes an Stillwater Lake which is dammed.
From Ararat to Starrucca Viaduct is also as advertised, minimum is Hybrid with suspension, the one review that said he did it without suspension must have reverberated for weeks. This stretch is downhill and would be very difficult riding the other way the downhill grade helped overcome the friction of the uncompacted gravel.
The big disappointment came as we neared the Viaduct, the trail markings almost diminished and alternate paths made it confusing we ended up riding into town and onto town roads to the Viaduct. The Viaduct should be a highlight for this trail and unless you start there which is not recommended you could struggle to find it.
The section north of the viaduct to NY was almost impossible to find and poorly maintained dirt trail, NY line wasn't even marked, total waste of time.
I rode from the viaduct to Thompson (13 miles) then Thompson to Carbondale (26 miles). From the viaduct to Ararat road was mountain bike trails (hopefully with suspension). Beautiful scenery. From Ararat rd parking area south to Carbondale was a developed rail-trail. So many beautiful things to see! The constant up hill grade from Carbondale definitely adds to the ~20 mile ride.
The ride from Simpson to Ararat was great. The ride uphill is doable. My wife and I did it and she is 60 and I’m 59. Stopped in Union dale at general store. Nice people. Ride back was quick downhill. Surface well maintained.
I rode my hybrid bike (no suspension, drop bars, 700c tires) from the trailhead at Simpson to Luciana Park in Lanesboro. I carried two 24oz water bottles, a full gallon of water in a jug, and some tools/spare parts (which were fortunately unnecessary). I tracked the ride with Strava, and all the data presented here is based on information recorded there. Before reading the rest, let me say that this is the first trail I've completed, and I plan on trying to do it again next year (unless I get too busy trying other trails)
I did the ride from south to north because the trail is a really nice crushed gravel from Simpson to Ararat. This section of the trail is 18.6 miles long and mostly uphill (starting at 1146' above sea level at Simpson, and peaking at 2057' in Ararat). All in all, I barely noticed the uphill climb for most of the length of the ride. There are some nice spots to stop and take pictures, including a few bodies of water, some bridges, and there is the sandwich shop in Union Dale that's got really good food.
North of Ararat, the trail is much rougher, and much easier to deal with going downhill (Luciana Park is 919' above sea level, 19.8 miles north of the trail's high point). There are sections that have been greatly improved from loggers leveling the trail to get their equipment through, but there were also spots I had to get off my bike and walk.
I think the northern half of the trail has much more to offer as far as the scenery goes. Especially between Ararat and Starrucca, and of course the Starrucca Viaduct (at Luciana Park) is worth seeing at least once. Hopefully the northern half of the trial is upgraded sooner rather than later.
Overall, the trip took me 5+1/2 hours, including about an hours worth of breaks spread throughout (including a meal break in Union Dale). I did end up drinking a little over a gallon of water over the course of the ride. Due to the lack of suspension or padding, my wrists were fairly sore by the end of the ride.
My first time on the trail going towards Forest City. Started at Fiddle Lake Rd. Went about 20 miles. The trail is clean and so many cool things to see along the way!
We read the reviews about the northern end of the trail not being finished, so we decided to start at Luciana Park, hoping to avoid any unkept areas. Luciana Park itself, is pretty bleak but at least you could park your vehicle safely and the trail starts off to the right, east of the beautiful Viaduct structure.
The northern part of the trail is obviously used by ATVs, so you'll do better with a mountain or gravel bike as it's rocky and loose in certain sections. On the bright side, the bridge crossings are new and quite pristine, making for great photo opportunities. The grade is a very gentle uphill, which made the thought of riding back very pleasant.
The most negative aspect of the trail is that it crosses a major trafficked road at least twice. This was very intimidating for our novice rider and we ended up turning around at the 2 or 3 mile mark, just barely scratching the surface of the 40 mile route. My wife didn't like that it was so desolate - but on the flip side, those looking for solitude will enjoy this area.
To be fair, my wife and I (who are more experienced mountain bikers) should probably start at Carbondale and work our way up the trail to give it a fair chance. But for the near future, we will try other trails in the area first.
We parked at the Forest City Trailhead and rode 10 miles to the North. There is a nice parking lot in Forest City.
The 5 miles from Forest City to Uniondale is recently maintained with fine cinders. The next 5 miles was coarser gravel, so a little more difficult, but still well maintained. The grade was pretty gradual, so even though it was uphill, it was quite do-able. On the way back, the same gradual grade meant there wasn't much coasting, but it was a little easier.
The trail crosses a few roads, but cyclist never need to ride on the road.
To discourage ATVs, there are gates periodically. Bikes can get around the gates, but ATVs can't.
I hope to explore other sections of this trail in the coming months. I will definitely come back.
I had started looking at the comments here a couple years ago. I decided to hold off until now to make the journey and risk finding a possibly very crummy trail. Since no one has commented in a while, here is an update. The southern end of the trail is open and in good shape up until a couple miles north of Uniondale. This portion is fine stone and (other than the constant incline), should make for good cycling for everyone. Heading north, you then start to encounter larger gravel that makes for a more challenging ride. The highest point is Ararat. There is a lot of work being done north of the highway crossing there. I saw a number of pieces of heavy equipment. Continuing north (going downhill now), much of the trail is slippery cinders. I continued till just west of Thompson before turning around. While I had been looking forward to the downhill return, the roughness of the trail means you can’t coast downhill- you just keep pedaling (again, until a couple miles or so north of Union Dale). Once you get to that point, you can then coast on back to your parking area.
Note that O&W and D&H trails run so close together at the southern end, that there are occasional crossovers. When inspecting the O&W trail, I saw that it was vastly inferior in roadbed quality. However, being the explorer that I am, I decided to cover the O&W to see just how different it might be (it stays entirely on the eastern side of the river, while the D&H crosses the river in multiple locations). Knowing that the D&H was not far away, I banked on the fact that I would not be required to ride UP-hill if I didn’t want to. So, indeed, I only went DOWN-hill on the O&W, covering the D&H 3 times (down once and up twice). I did this for the distance from Forest City until Carbondale. It is clear that the farther north you get on the O&W, the more it is simply an ATV trail and not at all comfortable for cycling.
I had looked at the map and decided another day’s journey might begin at the parking area shown on the map in Thompson. At that location is an old depot converted into an ice cream shop. But in that parking lot were large mounds of material and some heavy equipment. As it is clear they are continuing (sorely needed) work on the trail, I will be waiting a year or two to pick up my journey at the northern end of this trail. It is a very scenic trail and I enjoyed myself. It is good to know that the future looks promising for comfortable riding along the Lackawanna River.
We rode the 38-mile-long D&H Rail-Trail going South on July 29th, 2018 starting at the northern end at the PA/New York border near Susquehanna. There is a town park at the Starrucca Viaduct where we parked the car overnight. In theory the trial crosses through the park, but it was over grown and almost impossible to find. Once we did find the trail we rode and pushed thru the brush for about a ¼ mile to the Starrucca Creek only to find that there is no deck on the old rail bridge. Luckily the Starrucca Creek was not deep here, so we waded across with bikes and bags. I recommend starting some place south of the Starrucca unless you don’t mind getting wet. From the northern end heading south to Uniondale the trail is really rough and probably best ridden on Mt bikes, on this 15-mile section we averaged 5 miles per hour because the trail was so rough and rocky. Having said that we rode the trail on drop bar touring bikes with 35mm wide hybrid tires. Its probably the most interesting section of the trail but be aware it is not a smooth ride. From Uniondale South the D&H was undergoing many improvement projects and the trail was closed in several places for construction. It was easy to switch to the road and then pick the trail up again later. We were told by the construction crews that by the fall 2018 all these improvements are supposed to be done. Once the improvements are complete the 23 miles of trail from Uniondale South to Carbondale will be a nice ride for Hybrid or Mountain bikes. We spent the night of the 29th in a Hotel in Carbondale and rode the trail back North the following day on July 30th.
Please check that the trail head is open after November 2017. The impression I got after reading the signage at the trail head is that the trail might not be accessible at Simpson, PA until the beginning of 2018; even then, I suggest that you check that it is open and accessible.
Please note that the trail is closed between Simpson and Union Dale from May 2017 until October or November 2017 for installation of a natural gas pipeline.
Am visiting NEPA And happened upon this trail while riding the local gravel roads on my cyclocross bike. Had a ton of fun riding from Burnhill and Tower Hill Roads up to Thompson. Surface was a mix of packed dirt, grass, loose cinder, and gravel ranging from "kitty litter" up to golf ball-sized rocks. I was running 35c semi-slick gravel tires (Clement USH) at 55psi and it was totally doable. A better tire choice might have been something like a 40c Clement MSO at 40-45psi, but I had fun regardless. I'm going to bring tires like that the next time I'm in the area and ride the full trail.
It seems like a few folk commenting here expected the trail to be a flat, smooth path and were angry that it ain't that. I'd put it half way between that and a true MTB trail; someone expecting a tough, technical MTB trail would be disappointed as well. But if you're looking for something chill for your MTB or want to add a fun section to a gravel ride, get in there.
Entered the trail at Union Dale and went north about 8 miles then back. Did not see a soul, only a turtle who may have been a little faster than me! The trial itself had great signage, but the 'parking lot' was an area behind the café (closed Wednesday's) and I asked someone if this was the trail lot. Very rough trail as others described. More like a washed out single track than a rail trail. I know it must be a lot of work for volunteer's to maintain and I am not complaining, just want others to know they may not want to bring little kids or anybody who is not up for a little bit more of a challenge!
We set out on a bicycling adventure on a perfect day. We were unable to locate the trailhead in NY as there wasn't a single marker or sign for it. So we continued on to Lanesboro and found the trailhead parking. The trail was extremely scenic, the sun was shining, the breeze was strong,unfortunately the trail conditions were about 90% horrible....too much cinder had our mountain bikes fishtailing, and if it wasn't that it was the size of the stone they used in most places that were far too big for trail bikes to travel safely over (Yes, I did end up going down). We actually had to walk our bikes through a few really rough spots, I believe were caused by the excessive rains we have been having. That is understandable, but we were so frustrated with with the conditions that we turned around at 6.35 miles. The trail was so beatiful, yet terribly maintained with little to no signage. I would love to ride this trail, but the conditions are prohibitive. We did meet people on atvs and even a dirt bike. They were respectful, but I don't believe they were supposed to be there. I would not recommend this trail for anyone who is looking for a relaxing enjoyable ride, I was totally stressed out from the conditions. We are going to give the other end of the trail a try, maybe the southern end is better maintained.
Started at the parking area in Forest City. Uphill all the way to route 374 at Herrick Center. It's a rail grade so it was manageable. I read some reviews prior to this ride and this is supposed to be the improved section. Not the typical rail surface like on the D&L or the Schyulkill River trail but not bad. More of sand and large gravel at spots. They did a fabulous job on the bridges and sure it cost a fortune. Overall very nice quiet and the general store in Uniondale was quaint and a great stop for a cold drinks
We started in Forest City, rode south about 3 1/2 miles or so to the second gate and then turned around and headed north far enough to make for a 30 mile ride. After the first gate going south the trail becomes noticeably more difficult. After the second gate we were no longer equipped to handle the condition so we turned around there. I would say about 7 miles north of the Forest City parking area the trail turns rough again. The last 3 or 4 miles that we rode on the north end were over large rocks and loose coal. Pretty difficult riding for our bikes. The middle part of the trail though was very nice. The county store in Union Dale also a very nice place. So basically if you are rail trail riders like we are and prefer trails like Pine Creek or along the Lehigh, then there are about 10 miles of decent trail here.
...unfortunately, we entered at Simpson! The surface of the first 2-3 miles (the O&W part) of the trail is like biking up hill in a rocky dry river bed. Don't waste your time with this south end of the trail. Enter the trail at Forest City. We only had time to do 10 miles north and then back. The Forest City to Union Dale section was quite pleasant.
I did from the NY boarder to Thompson back in 2011 and on a trip up to Cooperstown I did most to the Southern part of the trail. The Northeast Pa Rail Trail Council have done a great job with two great trail heads one in Forest City and one or more like two in Union Dale. I did it from Forest City down to Simpson and then up to Araat Pa. The last two miles into Simpson are not great but good. then from Forest City to Herrick the trail is great. A very nice Lime Stone dust that you could do on a road bike. From Herrick north I was happy to be on my 29 inch Mt bike as it is rough and tumble in spots. This is a family friendly trail from Forest City to Herrick. I ran into a couple that moved to Union Dale because of this trail. It was a weekday and on my 33 mile round trip I only meet three other people.
I did this trail last weekend only half of it but I am going back to do the entire lunch I must say I did enjoy the ride when I hate Uniondale I stopped at that little deli and had a bite to eat when a little farther past there and then return back to Forest City wish I had enough time did you the whole thing but did not will be returning in September to do the entire trail can't wait.
We found the parking lot at Forest City and biked to RT 374 in Herrick. North of RT 374 it appeared the trail was muddy so we turned around. The trail was in fair shape, with some slightly sandy spots, and new gravel. But our Hybrid bike handled it OK. We had a good lunch at Cables in Union Dale. Going thru the trail gates was a little sticky as they are quite narrow. I think the round trip was about 15 miles, mostly flat. I'd recommend a drive about 2- miles North to the Starrucco viaduct, it's an impressive sight.
WE STARTED OFF IN FOREST CITY WHICH HAD A LARGE LOT WITH A NICE WOOD SIGN IN FRONT OF IT.THERE WERE 6 OF US IN OUR GROUP SOME EXPERIENCED RIDERS AND SOME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 12 YRS OR MORE, NOBODY HAD ANY PROBLEMS, TRAIL WAS A SLIGHT UPGRADE TO OUR END POINT IN UNION DALE A 12 MILE RD TRIP. SURFACE WAS HARD PACKED CINDER ALL THE WAY SMOOTH GOING. THE STORE AT UNIONDALE WAS A NICE BREAK FOR SOME COLD REFRESHMENTS. ON THE TRAIL WE SAW SOME RELATIVELY FRESH BEAR SCAT FILLED WITH BERRIES. THE BERRIES LINED THE TRAIL ON BOTH SIDES IN SPOTS.THE WAY BACK WAS A NICE DOWNHILL ALMOST ALL THE WAY. ON THE RETURN HOME WE STOPPED AT THE WAYMART BBQ FOR SOME FOOD AND ADULT BEVERAGES.
found the trail improved in quite a few spots. not a problem to ride on. no issues,seen quite a lot of wold life,deer,chipmunks,crows,redtail hawk and rabbits.lots of blueberries along the way.trail is in good shape along the way,lots of improvements along the way. went 14 miles from simpson on up,plus back down to simpson,nice ride both ways.. trails were marked,could be marked a little better,or more visible,but otherwise great.
We rode the this trail from forest city to union dale. 4,7,9,10 year old all riding 2 wheelers no training wheels and it was great. From forest city to union dale was all uphill and a little tough but the ride back was worth it. Totaled 14 miles. Great trail. Going to do it again.
On 09/07/2013, my wife and I rode our off-road tandem from the Forest City trailhead to the Uniondale trailhead and back - a one-way distance of about 5-1/2 miles. There were some sandy spots in Forest City, but most was dirt with some areas of gravel patched in. The gravel was pretty well packed. Being a converted railbed meant that the slope was slight - uphill going northbound. A nice ride for this area. There is a small grocery store 1 block north of the Uniondale trailhead, at Norton Hill Boro St. At the Forest City end, there is a convenience store a couple of blocks away from the trail where Rt 247 & Rt 171 intersect.
5/12/12
We biked the trail today from Herrick Center to Simpson one-way with a 12 and 15-year-old.
Game plan with little kids: Start at Herrick Center. The trail starts on Rt. 371 about a half mile west of Rt. 171. Pull off the road on to the trail and park along side it. From here, it's downhill all the way to Simpson. The whole way to Simpson took us 2 hrs. 10 min. From Herrick Center to Forest City the trail is really nice with no rocks. With the above-aged kids, it was about an hour and 20 min. to Forest City. There's a nice parking area and port-o-potty at the Forest City trailhead. With little kids, I would stop there. Not long after that, the trail starts getting rocky to the degree that it would be difficult for little kids to ride on. Plus there are 3 bridges that some parents would be afraid to bring their little kids across.
Game plan with older kids who are adventuresome: If you continue past Forest City, there are rocks but they'll get through them. The trail also narrows in some spots which is different from earlier on the trail. The 3 bridges look rickety and a little hairy to cross but they're really not bad. The trail from Herrick Center to Simpson is about 11.5 miles.
Keep an eye out for the occasionaly ATVer when going around a bend. Most of the ride is along the Lackawanna River which is nice. At one point on the left throught the trees there's a small pond that's rust-colored. I wondered if it was due to the presence of clay or iron or some contaminant. We took 2 cars and dropped one off at the Simpson trailhead.
I did this trail from the NY line to Thompson a couple of weeks ago. This trail is not for the faint of hart or a Sunday after noon ride, but I have to tell you I had a great ride. The trail is not in the best of shape and I was on a Mt Bike with a road tire and did not have any problems. Just after you go under a stone Viaduct there is a bridge that I feel should not be open to the public, there is a picture with two young men and a dog sitting on this bridge. From the state line to Thompson is all up hill, 1hr 45 min going out and just a little over 1 hour coming back. I ran into many more turkeys then people, three people and about twenty turkeys, two flocks. There are a couple of views that are out of this world, one of a small town with a church at each end of the town. It had been a very wet month and the trail was very wet most of the way. So you must be saying how could this be a great ride, well you are out in the middle of nowhere and out in the rough, I could just picture coal trains running up and down the tracks. There is a lot of damage from ATV and talking to a local there just is not enough state game officers to Enforce the law. So in closing if you like a little more of a rougher ride and like a great work out put this trail on your must do list, sometime this fall I will be back to do the lower end of this trail.
First of all, I could not find the southern trail head initially in Carbondale. When I did find it, I was unpleasantly surprised. I began riding north and almost immediately found large rocks protruding from the trail surface. Other areas had a large amount of fine cinders (no crushed limestone that I saw here!), so large in fact that it became like trying to pedal through loose sand. On this part of the trail I was going uphill and could average only slightly under 10 mph due to the rocks and cinder sand. I rode up the trail only 3/4 miles and turned around.
On the return I began to pick up speed due to the downslope. However, it was dangerous to get too much speed due both to the protruding rocks and the cinder sand. Both of those factors made it more difficult to control my bike, not to mention the real possibility of ruining a tire and/or rim on those rocks.
There may be nice scenery along this trail. Unfortunately I never will see it because I would not waste my time going to it again. By the way, I'm here in NE PA visiting, but I live in SW PA. The trails that make up the Great Allegheny Passage are BY FAR better than this one. THE D&H TRAIL IS BY FAR THE WORST TRAIL I'VE EVER RIDDEN. Whoever is in charge of taking care of it should be embarrassed by its condition.
Well, it seems that the photo numbering I spent so much time on was lost in the upload. Sigh. Sorry, guess for now you just have to figure it out (email to r2t already sent).
I did get this from the people who support this trail:
1. the D&H extends south of the crossroads --one mile which we do not own, and has 3 unimproved RR bridges. The next mile we own, then an unknown small section into where the D&H Carbondale yards/roundhouse was. We are partnering with LHVA to figure out these sections & link up to Carbondale.
2. There are another 6+ miles north of Stevens Point. Go across the SR bridge & get back on the trail. Goes under the awesome Starrucca Viaduct to NY border (along Susquehanna River). Another group bought the NY D&H to Ninevah --will hopefully work with them for an interstate trail. We also own one mile spur that takes you up to the active rail at the Starrucca Viaduct.
Unsure if the trail was improved to Simpson, I looked in vain for a road to "Crossroads" but none exists, so continued on to Forest City. Started North at 10:30 AM after a 2+ hour drive (see photo ending with 000). The path is quite wide and sunny, and the surface is excellent. Path crosses a few streams (001,002) and was canopied in a few places (003). Pass a huge reservoir (004) that was a prettier scene than the photo suggests. Continuing towards Union Dale, same surface and views (005). The Union Dale General Store use to offer food and beverages, but its now houses a Rail Trail organization (thus no food/water in town). Proceeding North, you now see grass growing in the center of the trail, but surface is still very good (006).
North of Herrick Center, the road turns into cinders and gravel, and the condition varies mile by mile (007,008). The view opens into the valley, and you get some gorgeous views of bucolic PA (009, 010). The rail bed crosses between two lakes coming into Ararat (a map location, not a town), which happens to be the highest trail location. Path starts looking more like a NJ rail trail with close growing trees and weeds (012). Travel through a cool and shady cut (013) before coming to a wet and very rock section North of Ararat.
Finally, civilization in the very pretty town of Thompson. Your first view is of an ice cream store right non the trail, in what must have been the train station (015). Inquiring about food, was routed to the Hobbs Country Mart (down to the right, 016). Stocked up with a sandwich ($5) and fresh cut cantaloup ($1.37!), and set out North. Thompson is exactly 20 miles from Forest City - Stevens Point is another 10.
There must have been a massive bridge crossing a stream valley and Bucks Fall Road - you now must descend and ascend steep rocky slopes to continue (017) [going north, the best trail is the the third trail going West on the road]. I stopped at the stream - it was gurgling and the smell of pine was overwhelming - I could have stayed there for hours!
More beautiful valley views on the road to Stevens Point - the camera does not do it justice (019). I saw my first mile marker at 27 and even photographed it - on the way back I saw more but they sure were hard to find (020). Five more miles!
When the trail runs into a paved and divided highway, you've arrived at Stevens Point. I knew for sure when I saw a sign to the cemetery! The trail crosses the road, then merges back onto it to cross State Route 1009 (021). I was running out of time, so had to turn around. Google maps makes it appear the trail goes for another 1/2 mile, not sure.
Going back resulted in an unpleasant discovery - I had been going down hill for the past 15 miles, something that had just not registered. In fact, I had gone up 500 feet, then down 900. The road condition just made the return trip all the much harder. I didn't have a road map or smart phone with me, but did gamble (and win) by picking up the State Route 1003 (signed Burnwood Rd) and taking it till it became Creek Rd. Looking at google maps now, I realize I could have taken it to Herrick Center. In fact, with good maps you probably could road back from Stevens Point to Herrick Center. Amazingly, each leg took me 3:45.
On the road to Thompson, there is a valley that must have had a train bridge (022). In Thompson, the girl at the Ice Cream store graciously refilled my water bottle, and I headed home saying goodbye to Thompson (023).
Just to see how bad the Stevens Pt - Ararat climb was, I used google maps to get approximate elevations:
1150 Simpson
1520 Forest City
1600 Stillwater Lake
1680 Union Dale
1760 Herrick center
2050 Ararat Road Crossing [State Route 1003]
1700 Thompson
1450 Starrucca
1120 Stevens Point
E-Mail the Rail-Trail Council of NE PA at trails@nep.net and request a brochure - they'll send one out by snail mail ASAP.
Finally, my rating. Well, I just took the D&L trail from White Haven to Jim Thorpe, which has dazzling views. Much of this trail has no summer views - the tree foliage blocks everything, but the views I did get were often gorgeous. The unfinished road north of Herrick Center could get unpleasant - large stones or sections of soft find cinder were not fun to ride, especially on the return uphill trip. Several ATVs and motorcycles on the trail (guess they figured the prohibition on such doesn't apply to them).
Going from Forest City to Thompson would be a good compromise - a 40 mile round trip, and who could pass up an ice cream store right on the trail!
Biked this SEP2009, 32 miles from Simpson to end of trail and back for a total of 64. Starts a bit rough for a few miles then the trail is well maintained til close to the top, going a shallow rise up 800' over 18 miles. Nearing the top and on the back side the trail is rougher (rockier).
Main St. in Thompson at Hobbes Store is a good place to resupply and grab lunch, just 1/4 mile off the trail.
Sometimes hard to follow (especially in the beginning where you have to move from the O&W to D&H), could use a few more markings, but a great ride.
I did this nice trail in mid July 2008 starting in Simpson and Rt 171 to Herrick Center which is the end of the paved trail or about 15 miles. The first 5 or so miles are not paved and are co-teminous with the O & W Trail and are rough in places and sometimes a bit hard to decide which is the real trail. The scenery is very nice and much runs along a pleasant creek. There is a store in Union Dale but not much else. The northern 15 miles is there but not paved. We stayed in the quirky Vacation Inn Motel which is north of Herrick on Rt 171. Below Union Dale there is a nice lake and views. The trail web site is <www.nepa-rail-trails.org>
A nice brochure is available via the Rail Trail Council of NE PA, PO Box 123, Forest City Pa. 18421-0123
Bob Youker
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