“Trail building moves at a glacial pace,” Anthracite Scenic Trails Association president Sean Robbins said Wednesday morning, noting the last time association members gathered in the Mountain Top area to announce a new section of the Delaware & Lehigh Trail, it was 15 years ago.
But people who value all that a trail can bring to an area — from historic preservation to increased opportunities for outdoor exercise to tourism dollars — have persevered.
On Wednesday, dozens of them gathered near the Mountain Top Hose Co. to announce the start of a new 4.7-mile section of trail, with eight dignitaries donning hard hats and using ceremonial shovels to overturn a bit of earth.
“It’s a labor of love,” Robbins said, noting that the new section of trail will run from Mountain Top north to Oliver Mills and will be part of the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Trail.
That trail already has 140 miles — some contiguous, DLNHC Executive Director Tony Pierucci said, and some not contiguous. The plan is for the trail to eventually include more than 165 miles and connect Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County to Bristol in Bucks County.
“We’re chipping away at it,” Robbins said, noting that one of the next hurdles to surmount will be how to have the trail get past the Oliver Mills railroad tracks in Laurel Run borough.
“These people are so dedicated,” Visit Luzerne County Executive Director Alan K. Stout said as representatives of PennDOT, DCNR, and local, state and federal government gathered for the construction announcement.
The work on the 4.7-mile stretch of undeveloped trail actually started March 23, with tree trimming and clearing paving the way for trail grading, Pierucci said. By the end of 2026, the completed section should be an improved unpaved surface suitable for hiking, biking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.
Robbins thanked many volunteers, agencies and government officials for their support and credited ASTA founding members Dave and Judy Rimple with having the vision to get the trail system started.
“When ASTA founder Judith Rimple secured funding to purchase the Black Diamond Trail property in 2001, she had a clear vision of this moment,” ASTA treasurer Richard Cochrane said via a news release. “We are grateful to Judith and to the many supporters over the past 25 years who helped make this milestone possible.”
“It’s like an artery,” Robbins said of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, with smaller trails such as the Back Mountain Trail and Susquehanna Warrior Trails intended to eventually “branch off” from it.
Trails have benefits “for families, for communities, for the love of spending time outdoors,” Congressman Rob Bresnahan said in his remarks, noting he and his wife were “always looking for new trails” as they trained for the New York City marathon.
Onlooker and avid cyclist Kristin Joseph said the miles of the D&L Trail that already connect Mountain Top south to White Haven are popular with outdoor enthusiasts, and she is so grateful they exist that she organized a volunteer crew to provide trail maintenance.
