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.
