D & L Thru Bike (Burlington City, NJ to Wilkes-Barre, PA)

Hi everyone!

This was my first multi-day trip out on the bike. I am a recovering meth addict and I found that hiking and more recently biking has given me a real zest for life so to speak. It is a true “natural high” !

I have a lot of experience from this summer riding from my home in Burlington City to Trenton. Well once I found the Delaware Canal State Park on the PA side I started to get curious to see how far it really went.

I was able to get some time away from work and saved up so I could afford food and hotels and I was determined to take my bike all the way from my home to Wilkes-Barre, PA by utilizing the D & R Towpath and the D & L Trail.

Typically the route would start in Bristol, PA, but I live across the river and the Burlington-Bristol Bridge is not open for bikes or pedestrians. Due to this I rode up on the NJ side to Trenton, crossing over to Morrisville PA where I got on the Delaware Canal Towpath.

I followed the towpath to Easton, PA and then on into the Pocono mountains. There were some sections that were only passable with a mountain bike although I suppose you could always find a road to ride on nearby. I stayed on the actual trail as much as possible.

The section from Lehighton to Jim Thorpe is closed but I snuck past the fence and rode thru anyways. The work is 99% completed. I passed through at about 5pm so I guess the workers had gone home for the day.

The trip went very smoothly although the section between Mountain Top and Wilkes-Barre is very dangerous. There is no trail built here yet, and no bike lane or side walk. I walked my bike down the side of PA-309, which is legal, but super scary and I would NOT reccomend.

Overall I had the most amazing time of my life and I am already planning a Great Allegheny Passage trip for next year 🙂

Sincerely,

Jas