Dunmore Reservoir #1 Nature Trail

I might have titled this “Some Trails are Better than Others” or “Some Adventures are Fun, Some Not So Much.” It all started with an intention of touring the Gertrude Hawk Candy factory. This is an open house they do once per year and they give samples and sell seconds. I knew this would be well attended but it was more like a zoo. It was much too crowded for my taste and patience. Not only that but I gave up chocolate almost a year ago and just wanted to see the machinery. I know, I am a geek. After the tour I planned on a ride.

On the way to the factory I saw a nature trail I was not familiar with. Since I have already ridden every trail I was aware of in the area, I had to investigate. The weather was nice and with the skipped tour I had plenty of time. The trail is called the Dunmore Reservoir #1 Nature Trail. It was a small reservoir and the hand painted sign did not hold much promise. I was here however. The same water company has a very nice walking trail around Lake Scranton, sadly no bikes. I found a woman walking a dog and asked if bikes were allowed. She said yes; good enough for me. There were signs about walking and no motor vehicles but no mention of bikes.

I grabbed my bike and started riding. The first couple of hundred yards had a surface of soft mulch. I shifted into lower gear and proceeded. The trail then turned to a more natural surface complete with plenty of roots and rocks. About half way around the trail crossed the small stream feeding the reservoir. There was no bridge, just stepping stones. The creek bed was much too rough for my hybrid and I suspected slippery. I carried my bike across. More rocks and roots on the other side. After barely a mile I was almost around. I understood why I had not heard of this trail.

As I approached the dam near where I started the trail passed below the dam. As the trail started down it quickly became quite steep. I applied my brakes without any slowing of the bike. Instead my bike simply became more of a sled as it slid off the loose rocks and leaves. I thought I need to get off the bike. No sooner did I think this than I found myself off the bike by way of a trip over the handlebars. Other than a scuff on my calf and a bigger scuff on my ego there was no serious damage.

Back at the car I started toward my planned ride of the day. As I was driving I was thinking that was the first spill I had on my bike as an adult, not counting a few on ice. I got home and added studded snow tires for my bike to my Christmas list.

Stepping stones to cross creek

Hand Painted Sign

Dam Outflow

Nice Picnic Spot

Leaves hiding the rocks and roots

Dunmore #1

Phone Booths

Many bike paths are along old railroad right of ways, rail-trails. This means there are often remnants of railroad history. One interesting artifact is a concrete phone booth or block phone. These enclosures were placed at the ends of blocks, sections of track. These locations were often where track splits in two directions or just two parallel tracks splitting or combining. These were used starting in the early 1900’s until they were replaced with steel in the 1950. Existing booths continued to be used into the 1980’s.

I have wondered why concrete was chosen to make these booths. Perhaps it was cost or durability but I have not been able to find any information to substantiate that.

I first encountered one of these laying in the brush a few yards off the Black Diamond section of the D & L Trail in PA. Since then, this particular phone booth has been move to a prominent spot adjacent to the trail and set upright. I have seen many additional concrete phone booths along trails, some deteriorated and some restored. Often the restoration is done as an Eagle Scout project.

Interior of restored concrete phone booth along the Ironton Rail-Trail

Partially restored booth along the D&L Trail

Fully restored booth along the Ironton Rail-Trail

Along the Great Allegheny Passage

Along the D&R Canal

Recently uprighted booth along the Black Diamond section of the D&L

First booth I had seen, this has since been set upright

Schuylkill River Trail in Reading, PA.
40.32269, -75.92829 

Robbins Trail

The J. Manley Robbins Trail commonly known as just the Robbins Trail may be the oldest rail-trail in the United States. The Robbins Trail is located just north of Danville, PA. It was originally a narrow gauge line used to haul iron ore. It was converted to a bike path sometime in the 1890’s. The trail is just a mile long and runs along the Mahoning Creek. It does connect to another trail forming a loop of about 3.5 miles. Additional trails connect at the Hess Field Complex.

The Elroy Sparta Trail in Wisconsin claims to be the first rails to trails project in the country. It opened in 1967. I rode the Elroy Sparta Trail in June 2017.

Video of my bike ride on the Robbins Trail

Here is a video of my May 2021 ride on my YouTube channel.

Nine Mile Loop

The Nine Mile Loop is a road through state game lands. It is located near Hazleton, PA. It is on state route 93 about 8.5 miles from the Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails trail-head. Look for the signs for the shooting range. The loop road trail-head is on the opposite side of the road.

I was warned ahead of time that the road is rough as a result of the large stone used for the road surface. I decided to give it a try based on the promise of spectacular views. The road is better suited to a mountain bike fitted with fat tires and I had a hybrid fitted with 700 X 40 tires. This made for slow and rough riding. I was rewarded with some nice overlooks. One in particular offered incredible views of the Lehigh Gorge and hawks flying below me. Having never been there despite it being only about a half hour from my house I very much enjoyed the outing. That being said, I will probably not return unless I get a fat bike. The loop circles around to another trail-head on route 93 about a mile from where I parked. The wide shoulders and a straight road made for an easy and safe return to my car.

If you decide you want to try this be aware that this is open to bikes only on Sundays during hunting season. Some in the area refer to it as Broad Mountain Loop. Be sure to bring your camera. Also learn from my mistake and be sure your camera has a memory card included. I had removed the memory card from my camera and forgot to replace it. These pictures are from my cell phone.

Erie Canal Heritage Trail

My adult son lives in the Rochester, NY area. When I visit, I often take my bike along and ride some of the many trails in that area. The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor passes through the area and provides the longest and perhaps the nicest trail rides. The corridor runs 365 miles from Buffalo to past Schenectady, NY. If you include other connected canal trails the mileage hits 500 miles. I have ridden from West of  Brockport to Macedon on the western most 100 mile segment called the Erie Canal Heritage Trail.

This segment is very well developed with almost the entire section paved and very well maintained. Similar to most rail trails, this tow path trail parallels a waterway, the Erie Canal, and is thus very level. There are still some operational locks in the canal. It is fun to watch small boats pass through these locks. I have a short video of one of the locks operating on Mark's Bike Tock channel on You Tube. There are many small towns and public parks along the route, so there is plenty of opportunity to stop and enjoy small town ambiance.

West of Brockport there is less development but a couple of interesting features. First is the northern most point on the canal. This is located at 43.25642, -78.22652. Even more interesting is Culvert Road. This is the only road that passes under the canal. You can find it at 43.23591, -78.34055.

More recently I rode the trail in the Syracuse area. To the East of the city I rode in the Old Erie Canal State Historic Park. This is a 36 mile portion of the longer trail and also part of the Empire State Trail. I started at Butternut Creek and rode 19 miles to Lenox Bason. I love this portion of the trail. It had a super smooth, hard packed surface over perhaps two thirds of the distance and the remaining one third was paved with asphalt. The asphalt was near gates/road crossings and near the start. There were excellent views of the canal most of the way. The mile markers were nontraditional indicating distance to each end of the park. The only negative was a lack of comfort stations along the way. There may have been facilities near the trail but there were no signs indicating this. Perhaps they place ports potties during the season. I was riding in early October and there were many other users when I was there.  I took a chance and rode a spur to Green Lakes Park and found facilities in the park office. I saw no signage to direct me there and was lucky the office was open. I am not sure if there are other facilities for when the office is closed.

I also rode to the West of Syracuse. In Camillus Landing (43.05244, -76.30307) there is parking, a nice museum with restrooms along with several canal boats. Some are on display and others are in the canal and used for tourist rides. About a mile East is Nine Mile Aqueduct where Nine Mile Creek passes under the canal. Another mile is Reed Webster Park (43.06375, -76.26854) where there is parking and good trail access. This is also the end of riding along the canal in the area. The next five of so miles are hilly and take you along fields and adjacent to solar arrays. A short stretch on a wide sidewalk takes you to the New York State Fair Grounds. The trail passes through the grounds (April to November) for two or three hundred yards past the main gate then exits adjacent to a security gate. You then ride over the interstate on the pedestrian bridge used by fair goers to get to the fair from the parking lot. Across the parking lot (on sidewalk) to a short paved trail to a lookout over Lake Onondaga. The trail continues to the lake trail. There is a modern rest room near the boat launch. There is also parking if you prefer to start from there.

A Google search will yield numerous web sites that will give you additional information about the trail. My most recent ride on the canal trail was October, 2025.

Rochester area photos

Syracuse area photos

You can see a video of a recent ride on my YouTube Channel: Mark's Bike Tock