D & H Carbondale to Union Dale portion of Lackawanna Heritage Trail

The D&H Trail north of Carbondale, PA has been closed for nearly two years for pipeline construction. It reopened a couple of days ago and I have been anxious to check it out. Yesterday I rode the section from Carbondale to Union Dale. This is part of the Lackawanna Heritage Trail and this portion of the trail has two parallel trails called the “A” trail and the “B” trail. The “A” trail is the one that had the pipeline construction and the one I rode. The “B” trail appears to be used by ATVs and quads. In the winter snowmobiles are common from what I have been told.

The newly resurfaced “A” trail was extremely smooth with nice drainage to keep the water off the trail. The view along the trail reflects the historic coal mining roots of the area. The trail crosses the Lackawanna River many times making for very nice river views. There are gates along the trail including at most of the bridges to keep motorized vehicles off the trail. The only negative is that the openings to allow bikes to pass seemed rather narrow. I did not measure but the distance between the gate opening and my handlebars seemed closer than other trails. I suggest extra caution or better just walk your bike through the gates.

My GPS tracker indicated a bit over 1500 feet of elevation gain in the 10 miles from Carbondale to Union Dale. It certainly was more fun on the return trip.

Overall the trail made for a very nice ride. It is a significant improvement compared to the same trail before the construction. I recommend a visit. I started at 41.5920764, -75.4859018.

Here is a video from Union Dale to Forest City recorded May 2021: Mark's Bike Tock

Western Reserve Greenway

The Western Reserve Greenway Trail is a 43 mile paved trail running mostly north - south in the northeast part of Ohio. I started in Austinburg, OH and headed south and turned around just past Rome. Once I returned to my car, I took a break then headed north to just shy of Ashtabula. I found the trail to be very straight and flat. The nice paved surface was easy to ride and the scenery was very nice mix of wooded and agriculture with a little bit of residential thrown in. There was more than an occasional road crossing but the roads crossed were lightly traveled.

On the drive to the trail I saw several flocks of turkey and several nodding donkey style oil wells. Didn't spot either from the trail but you may have better luck. The trailhead in Austinburg (at the rt 307 intersection) was adjacent to a convience store and sandwich shop. Overall it was a very plesant ride if you don't count the on and off rain on the day I was there.




















For video of this trail see my Mark's Bike Tock YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Ttk49h3z0HY or https://youtu.be/oyexKM8AgVk

You can find additional information about this trail here: https://www.centurycycles.com/articles/western-reserve-greenway-pg612.htm

Northern Delaware Greenway Trail

This trail has river views, forest areas, awesome rock faces, skeletons of industry past, residential areas and a golf course. It is very scenic and peaceful. It also a bit short, it is listed as 9 miles, but I turned around due to poor trail conditions on the last bit. My GPS measured about 7.5 miles. Everything was paved except the last bit that I didn’t ride. This was not a rail-trail. The trail has many ups and downs including some very steep sections. My GPS indicated 12% grade on one section near the zoo end.

If you decide to go be sure to turn on bicycle routes on Google maps, the trail has many intersections and some are not marked. Some of the intersections are marked with a graphic similar to a compass rose painted on the pavement to indicate the direction of the trail. This is not the case for many trail intersections and where it is present it is faded and a bit hard to notice. You will also need your granny gear and good brakes. If you start near the zoo you will find plenty of parking and you will be at the bottom of the steepest climb making the return trip easier.

Video on the portion nearest the zoo is on my YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/ieQjAkIPkE8

For more information visit: https://delawaregreenways.org/portfolio_page/northern-delaware-greenway-trail/ 

Chicago Lakefront Trail

You can also see a video of the trail on Merk's Bike Tock YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/f_M8JMb_Kcg
or here
https://youtu.be/sZFrBq431oo

Warren County Bikeway

This trail runs from Glens Falls, NY to Lake George. It is paved. The southern section near Glens Falls passes through residential areas and has several road crossings. It also has a couple of ice cream shops right on the trail. It is supposed to connect to the feeder canal trail. I don’t recall seeing this connection when I rode the Feeder Canal Trail and I did not ride the last couple of blocks on this trail for lack of time.

I enjoyed to northern section with a more rustic setting and hardly any road crossings. This section has a few ups and downs with a long downhill leading to the lake. There are some interesting sights along the way including Uncle Sam. At about 9.5 miles, this trail makes for a very pleasant out and back.

For a video of my ride visit Mark's Bike Tock on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9NsVpLASS6o

Additional information may be found here: http://www.warrencountydpw.com/parks_rec07/Bikeway.htm, https://www.adirondack.net/business/warren-county-bike-trail-5891/  or https://www.lakegeorge.com/things-to-do/biking-trails-routes/