D&H Rail Trail:
Pennsylvania
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Description:
The Delaware & Hudson (D&H) Gravity Railroad conducted a 3-mile test of the first steam locomotive in the U.S. in August 1829, which ran from the towns of Honesdale to Seeleyville, Pennsylvania, and discovered that the train was too heavy for the track. By 1830, the D&H Railroad's 17 miles of track constituted the vast majority of total railroad tracks in the U.S. at the time—just 23 miles!

From these small beginnings, the D&H became a successful mining and railroad company, shipping anthracite coal and lumber from the Lackawanna Valley in northeastern Pennsylvania to the East Coast of the U.S. and to Canada. As the supply of coal and lumber were depleted from the area, the need for the railroad diminished, and the rail-trail came into being.

As the trail is comprised of cinder, original ballast and hard-packed dirt, you need a hybrid or mountain bike to comfortably ride this intermittently rugged trail. There are a few short sections with large chunks of ballast and steep inclines where you may need to walk your bike.

The trail parallels the Lackawanna River for several miles, offering scenic vistas of the river and several small lakes. Some areas of the trail are tree lined, but some are out in the open—wear sunscreen. The first 8 miles of the southern end of the D&H Rail Trail parallels the O&W Trail (Simpson to Stillwater dam area). Due to right-of-way issues and unimproved bridges, the first 2 miles of the D&H are actually closed; trail users will need to start in Simpson on the O&W Trail instead. When you reach a sign indicating that you can cross over to the D&H, do so (to the west).

From Simpson to Ararat, you'll be pedaling constantly because of the slight incline in the trail. But from Ararat to Stevens Point, you'll have a much easier ride because the trail's grade is at a slight decline. In Thompson, take a break at the homemade ice cream shop right alongside the trail before continuing on to the New York State border.

Note, from where you cross over the Lackawanna River from the O&W to the D&H (about 10 miles), the trail is improved with a stone dust surface all the way to Herrick Center (SR 374). From Herrick Center, cyclists will need a mountain bike to get through to the New York border because the trail can be rough in places.

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Parking & Trail Access:
To access the trail from Simpson, take I-81 to Exit 185, then Route 6 to Carbondale. After the town of Carbondale, turn left onto Route 171. Continue 1 mile and park on the right side of the viaduct, next to the military tank. Follow the O&W Trail for 2 miles, where it accesses the D&H to the west.

In Forest City parking is in Forest City Industrial Park off of Commerce Boulevard. There is a large trailhead, ample parking and a port-a-john. From Forest City, the improved trail is 2 miles south and 8 miles north.

The Union Dale trailhead is on South Main Avenue at the intersection with Skyline Drive.

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Reviews: [3 trail ratings]
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osborn2ride
By osborn2ride in September, 2011
I did this trail from the NY line to Thompson a couple of weeks ago. This trail is not for the faint of hart or a Sunday after noon ride, but I have to tell you I had a great ride. The trail is not in the best of shape and I was on a Mt Bike with a road tire and did not have any problems. Just after you go under a stone Viaduct there is a bridge that I feel should not be open to the public, there is a picture with two young men and a dog sitting on this bridge. From the state line to Thompson is all up hill, 1hr 45 min going out and just a little over 1 hour coming back. I ran into many more turkeys then people, three people and about twenty turkeys, two flocks. There are a couple of views that are out of this world, one of a small town with a church at each end of the town. It had been a very wet month and the trail was very wet most of the way. So you must be saying how could this be a great ride, well you are out in the middle of nowhere and out in the rough, I could just picture coal trains running up and down the tracks. There is a lot of damage from ATV and talking to a local there just is not enough state game officers to Enforce the law. So in closing if you like a little more of a rougher ride and like a great work out put this trail on your must do list, sometime this fall I will be back to do the lower end of this trail.
D&H Rail Trail
By rcjkblack in August, 2010
First of all, I could not find the southern trail head initially in Carbondale. When I did find it, I was unpleasantly surprised. I began riding north and almost immediately found large rocks protruding from the trail surface. Other areas had a large amount of fine cinders (no crushed limestone that I saw here!), so large in fact that it became like trying to pedal through loose sand. On this part of the trail I was going uphill and could average only slightly under 10 mph due to the rocks and cinder sand. I rode up the trail only 3/4 miles and turned around.

On the return I began to pick up speed due to the downslope. However, it was dangerous to get too much speed due both to the protruding rocks and the cinder sand. Both of those factors made it more difficult to control my bike, not to mention the real possibility of ruining a tire and/or rim on those rocks.

There may be nice scenery along this trail. Unfortunately I never will see it because I would not waste my time going to it again. By the way, I'm here in NE PA visiting, but I live in SW PA. The trails that make up the Great Allegheny Passage are BY FAR better than this one. THE D&H TRAIL IS BY FAR THE WORST TRAIL I'VE EVER RIDDEN. Whoever is in charge of taking care of it should be embarrassed by its condition.
More info
By dhoerl in August, 2010
Well, it seems that the photo numbering I spent so much time on was lost in the upload. Sigh. Sorry, guess for now you just have to figure it out (email to r2t already sent).

I did get this from the people who support this trail:

1. the D&H extends south of the crossroads --one mile which we do not own, and has 3 unimproved RR bridges. The next mile we own, then an unknown small section into where the D&H Carbondale yards/roundhouse was. We are partnering with LHVA to figure out these sections & link up to Carbondale.

2. There are another 6+ miles north of Stevens Point. Go across the SR bridge & get back on the trail. Goes under the awesome Starrucca Viaduct to NY border (along Susquehanna River). Another group bought the NY D&H to Ninevah --will hopefully work with them for an interstate trail. We also own one mile spur that takes you up to the active rail at the Starrucca Viaduct.
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