Find the top rated birding trails in Back Mountain, whether you're looking for an easy short birding trail or a long birding trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a birding trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
This little trail is less than 4 miles long but is connected to the D&L which at the present time (fall 2018) allows roughly 10 miles north (to Lehighton) and maybe 10 miles south (to Cemeton). So if a longer ride is wanted there you go. The easiest way to access the trail is from the Slatington trail head on the D&L, proceed south a very short distance to the Heritage trail which is to the right and starts on a neighborhood roadway. There are ample signs pointing the way.
The Slate Heritage Trail is open the entire length as the turnpike bridge is complete. As others have mentioned the trail follows the creek. There are (I think) 3 through truss bridges and an old railroad trestle for your creek crossing pleasure. There is also a (very nice) reproduction 19th century covered bridge next to a covered picnic grove. Signs and markers along the way tell of the once booming slate industry complete with ruins of old slate workings. It is a very pleasant abet short trail.
The trail surface is a combination of paved and packed cinders. There are small elevation changes but overall a fairly easy trail to ride or jog.
I mentioned the much larger and much touted D&L Trail which intersects the Slate Heritage Trail. A few words here note I write as of Fall 2018:
As mentioned going north it is 10 miles to Lehighton, 15 if you continue along the Weissport section (Lehigh Canal). The D&L abruptly ends at the waste water treatment plant in Jim Thorpe, leaving the explorer really no viable option to continue north along the Lehigh Gorge section of the D&L. The Carbon County Commissioners have constructed a rather impressive bridge over the Lehigh River that will at some point in the future connect the Lehigh Canal to the Lehigh Gorge Trails adding another 35 miles of rail trail extending from Jim Thorpe to just south of Glenn Summit. However this bridge is closed until a half mile of the northern end of the Lehigh Canal trail is constructed which will not be completed until mid to late 2019 at the earliest (as of fall 2018). Check with the D&L if contemplating this trip.
Heading south on the D&L from Slatington, the trail is closed just south of Cemeton due to a road bridge replacement. This bridge will not be completed until Dec. 2020. At that point, a road bridge just upstream of the current project is due to start which will put another gap in the D&L that will last until late 2023. It is possible to detour the current gap and it might be possible to detour the future gap but make sure before you plan your vacation.
Happy Trails!
Trail very nice...surprised that test facilities are available. But access to get to the trail is horrible. No signs and also signs are posted "PRIVATE PROPERTY - NO TRESPASSING." No parking is available due to all the heavy duty machine parked there instead. Taylor has a trail but it does not allow access. What are we taxpayers paying for?
My wife and I entered on the 54 side and road across and back. The 54 side of the trail has logging going on currently and was muddy in spots. Next time I will start on the 42 side and maybe go halfway and back. The trail map does not show the restrooms in the middle or the 42 trail head. A great easy ride with enough grade not to be boring.
We rode this as an extension of the Susquehanna Riverwalk. It was paved and had a park with a restroom but no water fountain. For part of the ride, you are in a bike lane on the road but the road appears to be a dead end, so not much traffic. Once you get to Montoursville and the bridge, there is crossroads with no clear signage as to where the bike path should be. We took a right and biked to a boat launch behind the airport which was nice. I think we were supposed to cross the main road at the intersection where the bike path continued a little further - something for next time!
This is a nice trail to bike on a hot day. Lots of shade. There is a covered picnic pavilion right after the covered bridge.
Was on Trail today between Bethlehem and Easton. The last mile to Easton is currently closed because of the recent heavy rains. Also the area around Old Orchard is fairly muddy and some trees are down. Some erosion in trail because of rain.
We rode the 38-mile-long D&H Rail-Trail going South on July 29th, 2018 starting at the northern end at the PA/New York border near Susquehanna. There is a town park at the Starrucca Viaduct where we parked the car overnight. In theory the trial crosses through the park, but it was over grown and almost impossible to find. Once we did find the trail we rode and pushed thru the brush for about a ¼ mile to the Starrucca Creek only to find that there is no deck on the old rail bridge. Luckily the Starrucca Creek was not deep here, so we waded across with bikes and bags. I recommend starting some place south of the Starrucca unless you don’t mind getting wet. From the northern end heading south to Uniondale the trail is really rough and probably best ridden on Mt bikes, on this 15-mile section we averaged 5 miles per hour because the trail was so rough and rocky. Having said that we rode the trail on drop bar touring bikes with 35mm wide hybrid tires. Its probably the most interesting section of the trail but be aware it is not a smooth ride. From Uniondale South the D&H was undergoing many improvement projects and the trail was closed in several places for construction. It was easy to switch to the road and then pick the trail up again later. We were told by the construction crews that by the fall 2018 all these improvements are supposed to be done. Once the improvements are complete the 23 miles of trail from Uniondale South to Carbondale will be a nice ride for Hybrid or Mountain bikes. We spent the night of the 29th in a Hotel in Carbondale and rode the trail back North the following day on July 30th.
The trail stopped and started many times. No portion longer than 5 miles, not for the rider that wants to put on mileage.
Rode this train from White Haven to Jim Thorpe on 7/5/18. Shuttle from Blue Mountain Sports in Jim Thorpe was friendly and convenient; we parked our car at the day parking lot near downtown, which is situated at the end of the trail. The trail itself is cinder and crushed stone; we used hybrid bikes which were perfect (I wouldn't recommend a road bike). As advertised it's a slight downhill, but you still have to pedal to get where you're going! Most of the route is shaded and gives you nice views of the river. One caution: the last 30 minutes or so to the southern end (Jim Thorpe) are not shaded and thus took the wind out of our sails at the end a bit. There are other lots you can park in besides the day lot that are a little further up the trail, but I don't know how that would work with the shuttle. All in all, very nice trail and worth the trip.
We rode the Douglassville to Pottstown section of the trail yesterday. Most of the trail was in shade which was welcome in the heat. The Berks County portion is hard gravel and easy to ride. When you cross into Montgomery County the trail is macadam, but as a previous writer mentioned, it is marred by numerous raised sections, probably due to tree roots. This is the reason for a 4 star rating. When we ended our ride in Pottstown park, I was excited to discover a Little Lending Library and picked out a book to read. The Douglassville trailhead is located in Old Morlatton Village. Not only is this a quiet trailhead, but there are several historic buildings with descriptive placards to read.
Parked at White Haven with objective to bike up Black Diamond portion to northern-most point. We have sturdy hybrid bikes, but after 5 miles decided to turn around and head back south for better trail conditions. Really would have benefited from a mountain bike in that area - the trail is not crushed stone and only two thin car-tire type tracks a good portion of the way. A lot of rocks, ruts, and bumps you cannot see well in the shade of the trees. A family attempted it pulling a toddler carrier and quickly turned around. We then went south from White Haven for the more enjoyable trail. FYI if you don’t pay attention to the elevation, any northern sojourn is up a steady incline so you will tire faster. If you want a more relaxing ride, always head south.
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