A stretch of abandoned rail bed is now open to walkers, runners and cyclists in Lackawanna County. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources marked the opening of the North Pocono Trail, a new multi-use path built along the former Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad corridor between Dunmore and Elmhurst Township.
According to pennwatch.org, a combined $3.5 million investment supported expanded outdoor recreation and transportation infrastructure tied to the project. DCNR separately provided more than $1.5 million in grant funding for property acquisition, trail design and development. The outlet reports the trail opened 3.2 miles of new multi-use path in the North Pocono area, though figures elsewhere vary. The Lackawanna County Parks and Recreation Department describes the project as leveraging PennDOT and DCNR funding to construct 3.15 miles, while the Times-Tribune has put the initial stretch at approximately 3.5 miles.
The abandoned Erie & Wyoming Valley Railroad corridor is coming back to life as a hiking and biking trail. County officials, DCNR and PennDOT transformed about three miles of the historic route and rehabilitated its railroad trestle bridge.
A Rehabilitated Bridge and a Rebuilt Highway Crossing
Per pennwatch.org, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation invested $2 million to rehabilitate the abandoned Erie and Wyoming Railroad bridge, which was rehabilitated as an integral part of the Lackawanna County trail corridor. The trail project connects that rehabilitated county-owned railroad trestle with PennDOT's reconstruction of the Twin Bridges along Interstate 84, pennwatch.org reports. The Times-Tribune's 2024 coverage of the construction contract said the initial stretch begins near the Twin Bridges project site.
That construction contract, a nearly $2.2 million award to Leeward Construction Inc., was approved by Lackawanna County commissioners in March 2024, the Times-Tribune reported. The county planned to fund the work with DCNR grant money and federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, with DCNR providing about $1.38 million augmenting the county's ARPA investment, per the same account.
Officials Praise the Project's Reach
DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said Pennsylvania's trails connect communities to nature, support local economies, and provide safe places to enjoy the outdoors, according to pennwatch.org. Dunn also said coordination with PennDOT and Lackawanna County advanced a project that strengthens local communities and improves access. PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said the Twin Bridge and North Pocono Trail projects transformed infrastructure into lasting community assets, per the outlet.
Lackawanna County coordinated the project with DCNR and PennDOT, pennwatch.org reports, and local official Thom Welby said the North Pocono Trail is an important addition to the county's recreational resources. The new trail offers walking, hiking, running and bicycling opportunities and opens public access to the natural landscape along the Roaring Brook corridor, according to the outlet. The trailhead is located at 134 Old State Road in Elmhurst Township, with the route running as an out-and-back path south toward Dunmore.
Years of Grants Built Toward This Moment
The funding history stretches back decades. DCNR provided $61,211 in Land and Water Conservation Fund support for property acquisition in 1981, pennwatch.org reports, and Lackawanna County later received a $141,000 C2P2 Keystone grant for phase one trail design in 2017, followed by a $1.38 million C2P2 Keystone grant for phase one trail development in 2020.
What Could Come Next
County officials have already signaled they want more. The Times-Tribune reported that commissioners described the initial construction as the first phase of a broader project that could add six miles of connected trail in the North Pocono area, and the county's original vision called for a trail of more than 10 miles stretching from Scranton to Moscow and Wimmers, according to a Roaring Brook Township newsletter.
A proposed second phase would extend the trail roughly a third of a mile from the Elmhurst Trailhead toward Route 435 and the Elmhurst Reservoir, the Times-Tribune reported in July. The county applied for about $232,150 through the state's Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program to help fund that extension, after unsuccessful applications for phase-two state funding in August 2024 and June 2025. If funding comes through, construction of the extension, a pocket park, trail amenities and river access improvements would take place in 2028, according to the Times-Tribune.
For hikers looking to go farther, the wider North Pocono Trail System includes approximately seven miles of shared-use trails within the Elmhurst Tract of Pinchot State Forest, according to DiscoverNEPA.
