A Lehigh Valley Overnighter via Trails & Transit
Regional transit and trails make taking a bike trip from Philly a breeze. Along the path, take a chance to reacquaint with nature and a nation’s heritage.
I came home from work a couple weeks ago and found Steph doing something I wasn't expecting. Face awash in her iPad's glow, the reflection on her glasses revealed she'd been researching bikepacking routes. We've taken trips like this before, but years have come and gone since the last - a week's journey across New York on the Erie Canal Trail in 2022. She'd been bit by the bug during a recent overnighter to Evansburg State Park on the summer solstice (and our fifth wedding anniversary) hosted by Keystone Bicycle Co and RAR. A holiday weekend was around the corner and I was happy to oblige.
1) Awaiting our chariot at 30th Street Station. 2) Crazy for waffles at Skil-lit Cafe in Trenton, NJ. 3) Historic facades after breakfast on Warren Steet in Trenton.
Unraveling the unruly lines of a map, we noticed that we could take SEPTA to Trenton, ride canal trails to Easton, and loop mostly on trails back to Doylestown, from where SEPTA could bring us home. In two 50ish-mile days, we could explore a new place, far from the city, without having to rent a car.
1) Following the brick road on Front Street in Trenton. 2) Our journey on the D&R begins. 3) Art.
A pair of canal trails, one on either side of the Delaware River, would make logistics so straightforward that I didn't even bother building a route for the first day (though you can find one at this story's conclusion). The Delaware and Raritan (D&R) Canal Trail is accessible a few blocks from Trenton Transit Center and extends 34 miles north into Hunterdon County. The Delaware Canal Trail would also be an option in Pennsylvania, though a quick online search and word of mouth indicated that significant detours would be needed to avoid maintenance closures. We decided to stick to the D&R, cross the river at Milford, and ride on roads where needed in Pennsylvania.
1) Starburst blossoms of mimosa trees line the canal. Beautiful but invasive. 2) Mother and duckling wood ducks climb past a wary river cooter. 3) Steph scoots past a great blue heron.
In an age before the widespread adoption of trains, when roads could be considered primitive at best, canals were the arteries of an adolescent nation. The D&R Canal opened in 1834, bisecting New Jersey from Bordentown to New Brunswick to connect the furthest navigable reaches of the Delaware and Raritan Rivers. The canal reduced the time to transport goods between New York City and Philadelphia from two weeks to two days. The D&R achieved aortic importance as one of the nation's busiest canals, delivering coal from Pennsylvania mines to fuel New York City's raging industrialization.
1, 2) Treats & reads at Union Coffee in Lambertville, NJ. 3) Riding past Second Empire rowhomes in Lambertville.
The D&R is shaped like the letter V. The segment we would be riding on northwest from Trenton was designed as a feeder, taking in water from upriver on the Delaware to fill up the entire 70-mile canal. The trail is mostly unpaved, often double track, finished with a finely crushed gravel surface. Along the way, your senses are tickled by the scent of summer blooms, the sight of teetering turtles, and the wonder of rare birds. Small towns intervene almost hourly, boasting densely gridded streets that are studded with Victorian architecture. There's always a chance to stop for a coffee, a treat, or to chase a passing butterfly.
1) Side by side on the narrow towpath. 2) Bridgeton Hill Road in Upper Black Eddy, PA. 3) Singletrack towpath in unincorporated Kintnersville, PA.
The D&R trail terminates anticlimactically about a mile south of Milford, NJ, where we crossed a mint-colored steel truss bridge into Pennsylvania. We pedaled a few miles on the narrow shoulder of River Road to get around an impassable closure of the Delaware Canal Trail. Sharing space with speeding cars is far from my favorite, but our wheels turned quickly over the asphalt and most drivers passed courteously.
1) Detouring a Delaware Canal closure on River Road. 2) Easton over the Lehigh River. 3) Northampton Street Bridge, built 1896, spans the Delaware River to connect PA & NJ.
The Delaware Canal Trail meanders alongside its namesake river for the remaining 14 miles to Easton. I cursed and complained as my mood succumbed to the added resistance and slower pace of riding a loaded bike for dozens of miles on gravel. My sour mood flipped as we rounded a final corner, exuberant under the skyline of Easton at the confluence of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. After refreshing in our room, we enjoyed a walk to the Downtown Historic District which is a handsome setting for dinner and libations.
1, 2) Packing and departing Easton, a town on a hill. 3) Hill Road Bridge over Lehigh River.
We'd become more familiar on day two with a new network of trails - THE LINK (Lehigh Valley's cousin of The Circuit Trails). The D&L Trail, which continues through Carbon County into Luzerne County, led us west through a shady forest along the Lehigh River to Bethlehem. From there, we turned south and traced the route of old rail lines on the South Bethlehem Greenway, Saucon Rail Trail, and Upper Bucks Rail Trail.
1, 2) Juxtaposition at Bethlehem Steel. 3) Restored 1829 mule barn at Freemansburg historic site.
Riding here on Independence Day weekend, I couldn't help but observe how the towpaths and railbeds that host these modern trails are a perfect microcosm of the United States. The distribution of anthracite coal and ore on the D&L Canal launched the Lehigh Valley to global significance as the cradle of the industrial revolution. Despite the Great Depression, alloys from Bethlehem Steel were exported on these paths to assemble symbols of American supremacy like the Empire State Building and Golden Gate Bridge. These same alloys armored the warships that propelled the United States to global hegemony after World War II.
Bethlehem Steel dissolved in 2003 after decades of decline, and with it went the certainty and security of a long-standing American Dream. As the nation slowly transitioned from a manufacturing economy to a service economy, so the Lehigh River transitioned from lubricant for an economic engine to backdrop for weekend recreation. A generation ago, industrial decline on the Lehigh evoked "the Pennsylvania we never found." A generation from now, will these trails be the gateway for a Pennsylvania yet-to-be found?
1) "A $5,000 reward is offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who set the fire to the building." 2) A potential witness. 3) The Quakertown art studios of Steve Tobin, a Philadelphia native.
The route from Quakertown to Doylestown is all on road. Sweeping views and smoother roads serve a satisfying respite from unpaved paths in slender tree tunnels. Unfamiliar with this corner of Bucks County, I leaned on GPS tracks and cue sheets by Pennsylvania Randonneurs when drafting our route. I always trust them to carefully design routes to be as scenic and comfortable as practical. Looping past Peace Valley Reservoir as the ride wrapped up, we fantasized (and debated) what we'd feast on from the many dining options in Doylestown.
1) Dan's Jake. 2) Steph's Rove.
I estimate this ride is suitable for any bike with tires wider than 32c, though more volume will surely mean more comfort. My 2014 Kona Jake was cushioned by 700x38c Schwalbe Marathons. Banjo Brothers stowed my luggage: an absolutely bombproof waterproof pannier from 2017 and its fraternal twin handlebar bag. Steph wisely packed her 2021 Kona Rove more conservatively. Her gear was stashed in a Swift Industries pannier that she picked up from their old workshop in her hometown Seattle. The bumps of her ride were smoothed by 650x47c WTB Ventures.
1, 2) Smooth roads lead to Peace Valley Reservoir. 3) Awaiting our chariot at Doylestown station.
Some notes on the route:
- Mile 1.5: the canal and towpath crosses over Parkside Avenue via Cadwalader Park Aqueduct
- Mile 9: take River Drive to enjoy Titusville, NJ
- Mile 15: take Union Street and stop for a snack - keep an eye out for a cut-through to the trail behind the shopping center
- Mile 35: check Delaware Canal Trail conditions - you may be able to stay off road (you may welcome the asphalt)
- Mile 51: we spent the night in Easton, so this is the route we took - there are some steep climbs that can be avoided if desired
- Mile 55: check the hours for National Canal Museum and make a pit stop if possible
- Mile 80: medium stress roads for several miles to pass through Quakertown
- Mile 85: notice the many boulders that were deposited by retreating glaciers