1.Duryea:
The Lower Lackawanna River
and the confluence where the Lackawanna
flows into the Susquehanna is accessible from Coxton Road.
Turn off Main Street in Lower Duryea go under rail bridge and cross
river, turn left on Coxton Rail Yard access road, go one-fourth mile to rail
bridge, park off road, walk through posted gate at the Lackawanna Valley
Conservancy’s
Confluence Point River Corridor Preserve, walk one-fourth mile to confluence.
2.Duryea:
Stevenson Street off Main Avenue
will provide access to the Duryea Borough flood levee along the east bank of the
River. On the west bank you will find a multitude of undeveloped foot paths and
ATV trails around the Duryea swamps between Stevenson Street and Coxton Road to
the south, or Connell’s Patch in Old Forge to the north.
3.
The Old Forge Bore Hole,
where 100-million gallons of water flows out of the underground mines and
leaches orange colored iron-oxide sludge into the lower three miles of the Lackawanna
River is visible under the
Union Street
bridge, off Main Street
in the Connell’s Patch section of Old Forge.
4.Old Forge:
Access to the River is
available along Lonesome Road
in Old Forge and from the Reading
and Northern Rail Corridor between
Moosic Street in Old Forge and the vicinity of the
Davis Street
Bridge in Taylor. Warning: This two-mile reach of rail corridor is private
property, travel at your own risk, it may be posted to prohibit trespassing.
LRCA, Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority , and the Boroughs of Old Forge and
Taylor are working to develop an alternative trail route that will be available
by 2010. Further information will be available soon.
5.
Moosic:
The River in Moosic is
accessible along a flood control levee near Spring Brook off
Main Street and
Park Street. The levee runs
for one-half mile from the confluence of Spring Brook upstream along the river,
past the Little League field to the vicinity of Boise Street. Access to the east bank of the river
north of Moosic is restricted due to the active Canadian Pacific/Delaware & Hudson
main line freight railroad. This rail corridor is very active.
LRCA
does not recommend any access to this area.
6.
Taylor:
There are two River access points in Taylor; neither are developed for public recreation.
The river corridor can be accessed off East Atherton Street and Cooper Street
down the hill through the Taylor cemetery and the Reading and Northern Railroad
along the west bank of the river. Please be advised that some of the area along
this access point may be posted as private property.
7.
Taylor:
The second Taylor
site is at the end of Depot Street;
turn off Main Street
and cross over the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks at the rail yard with
caution: This is a public crossing along Depot Street which is an unimproved dirt road.
Depot Street goes immediately downhill one-eighth-mile to intersect with the
former Central Railroad of New Jersey right-of-way and the Lackawanna
River. At the end of the road there is an iron
gate on your left, access to the CNJ and the river corridor north to
Elm Street in
Scranton is past this locked gate.
The CNJ rail corridor is owned by Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA)
but is presently not developed in Taylor. It is however physically accessible for
walking, river access and bicycling at your own risk. It is posted against
trespassing and dumping. The Lackawanna Valley Conservancy’s
South Works Preserve site is accessible 1 mile north of the CNJ Taylor
Gate.
8.
Scranton:
The CNJ Trail is open in Scranton for
one-and-a-half miles along the west bank of the Lackawanna. There are three access points where
parking is available. The first is located along North Seventh Avenue; turn off West Lackawanna by the Verrastro Beer Distributors, and go under
the Steamtown Railroad bridge. The trailhead is one-thousand feet ahead on your
left, across from the Sunoco Mini Mart and car wash. You can park here and walk
one-and-a-half miles south on the developed section of trail. The CNJ is also
accessible at the William Schmidt Recreation Complex also known as the South
Side Complex located on Broadway
Street. The CNJ access at Elm Street is next to Danny’s Garage at the
Elm Street Bridge.
The CNJ is accessible here south to
Depot Street in
Taylor
or north to Schmidt Field, and Seventh and Lackawanna Avenues. The LVC’s The
South Works Preserve site
is one mile south of Elm Street.
9.Scranton:
The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA) is developing the Downtown
Scranton Riverfront Trail from the Seventh Avenue trail head northward along the
west bank through the CNJ Rail Station site under the Lackawanna Avenue, Linden
Street and Mulberry Street Expressway bridges and then on to the Flood Control
Levee at Olive Street. (This area will be under construction for the rebuilding
of the Lackawanna
Avenue Bridge
from 2008 until late 2009) The
River is physically accessible on the west bank for 2 miles along the Flood
Control Levee from Olive Street
through Poplar Street
and Albright Avenue
to Wood Street.
Another Levee is under construction on the east bank from Albright Avenue along Nay Aug Avenue to
Green Ridge Street
and on to Market Street.
A third Levee has just been Completer around the Plot Neighborhood. The LRCA and
LHVA are working with the City of
Scranton
and the Corps of Engineers to develop a multi use trail system along the Flood
Control Levees. At present the levees are accessible for walking but they do not
have a finished trail surface nor are their any directional signs or designated
trial heads. Please use caution when walking or bicycling along the Scranton
Flood Control Levee System. The Levees also provide access to the river for
fishing and paddle sports. There are good gravel bars for
canoe & kayak put in and take-outs at Olive Street, Albright Avenue, Sanderson Avenue and Parker Street.
10.
Scranton:
The Lackawanna Valley
Conservancy (LVC) owns and manages one-half mile of river corridor and
rail-trail along the former New York, Ontario and Western (O&W) Railway on the
west bank of the river from Market Street (by Rudy's Junk Yard) north to Depot
Street and Dean Street in the Plot. This is
The
Providence Reach of the Lackawanna River
Heritage Trail. The Trail and River are accessible from the parking lot of the
LRCA offices in the Silkman House, 2006 North Main Avenue, one block north of
Providence Square).
Follow the path and wooden stairway down to the trailhead at
Market Street. The trail is also accessible at
street level at Depot Street
or Dean Street in the Plot; look for the old stone
bridge abutments. The Providence Reach links the Plot Flood Control Levee to the
Lower Green Ridge Levee at Market
Street. Additional improvements are planned for the
Providence Reach during 2008-2010.
11.
Scranton:
The Marvine Colliery and north of Parker Street: The west bank of the river carries
the Lackawanna County Rail Authority's Scranton
to Carbondale freight line upriver into Dickson City. This active rail corridor is posted against
trespassing. On the East Bank, The abandoned mine site once known as the Marvine
Colliery and the Lackawanna County
Recycling Center
along Boulevard Avenue do not provide suitable public access to the River at
this time. There is one river access point off Boulevard Avenue, between the
Recycling Center
and Interstate 81; Penn DOT constructed a very large drainage channel along the
Interstate from Dunmore down to the river. Park
off Boulevard Avenue and walk over the earth berm along the maintenance road and
drainage channel one thousand feet to the river. This is not the most scenic
spot on the river, as you are adjacent to the I-81 overpass and three hundred
feet downstream of the discharge outlet of the LRBSA Treatment Plant in Throop.
We recommend that Trail users follow Parker Street east to
Boulevard Avenue and then follow Boulevard Avenue northward for 1 ½ miles
through Throop to the bridge crossing into Dickson City.
12.
Throop:
The LVC owns two acres of river corridor north of the
Boulevard
Avenue Bridge
known as the
Boulevard Bend
Preserve.
Park across the bridge in
Dickson City; there
is a small parking lot next to the Elm
Street Park
at the Dickson
City
end of the Boulevard
Avenue Bridge.
13.
Dickson City:
The west bank of river is accessible along a trail on top of the Dickson City flood control levee for one-mile. This is a
very pleasant trail and is accessible at numerous locations: at the downstream
end from the small parking lot by the Boulevard
Avenue Bridge;
at the upstream end turn off Boulevard Avenue on Enterprise Street and off Enterprise into
Palonia
Park. The levee trail is behind
the recreation field. To continue, follow Enterprise Street northward to for one quarter
mile to its intersection with Eagle
Lane and the access point to Valley Junction.
14.
Dickson
City:
Valley Junction or Trestle Hole, located behind the Lackawanna County Services
building next to the grade crossing at Eagle Lane and Enterprise Street. Follow the dirt driveway
between the County Rail Authority tracks and the service building and park in
the rear of the service building property. This site was once known as Valley
Junction on the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company's
Gravity Railroad. Presently, the site is known as Trestle
Hole Fishing Access Point. The river corridor north of this point contains the
abandoned coal mine sites of the Olyphant and
Eddy Creek
collieries. The land is owned by various coal companies. However, if you go to
these areas, proceed at your own risk. There is an easement for the LRBSA
sanitary interceptor line that can be followed along the west bank of the river
through the Olyphant colliery site northwards to a commercial area in
Dickson
City near the Anchor at Blakely Corners.
15.
Blakely Corners (The Anchor):
This major road intersection where Main Street crosses Lackawanna Avenue is also where Dickson City, Olyphant and Blakely boroughs intersect. A
large anchor from the U.S. Navy Destroyer Johnston Blakely memorializes this
naval hero of the War of 1812 for whom the Borough of Blakely is named. There is
a good fishing and canoe launch access adjacent to the Lackawanna
Avenue Bridge
next to the Rite Aid Pharmacy parking lot and drive through lanes.
16.
Olyphant:
Most of the riverbank in
downtown Olyphant is private property and residential backyards.
Phillip Condella
Park upstream on the north side of Olyphant has
about one-mile of river frontage with a one-and-a-half mile loop trail along the
river, with a link via the Heritage Valley Crossings footbridge to
Robert Mellow Park
in the Peckville section of Blakely. Please
Note that the Borough of Olyphant does not allow access to its Flood Control
levees. The LRCA recommends either of the following two routes to Condella Park:
1.) You can access Condella Park by turning off
Lackawanna Avenue in Olyphant onto Susquehanna Avenue and go 12 blocks north to
the park.
2.)
Follow Lackawanna Avenue east through downtown
Olyphant to the Heritage Rail Station and then follow North Valley Avenue
for one mile north into Condella
Park.
17.
Peckville:
Peckville is part of Blakely Borough; good
access to the River is available at
Robert Mellow
Park, off Main Street and
Keystone Avenue (PA Route
247) next to Valley View Football Stadium. Mellow Park has one-half mile of
pedestrian trail along the river on a section of the former NYO&W Railway. You
can access Condella
Park (in Olyphant) at the downstream end of
Mellow Park; take the
Heritage Footbridge over the River and follow the trail to Condella Park.
18.
Peckville:
The O&W/Blakely to
Archbald trail begins at the corner of PA 247, Depot Street and
River Street across from Mid
Valley Plumbing Supply. There is a small trailhead parking space at this
location. The O&W Trail can be followed for three miles north through Peckville,
past Decker’s Bridge (Constitution
Ave.) along Main Avenue and then over to the Gravity Slope
mine outfall and beaver pond next to the PPL Blakely substation. The trail
continues to Winton Street,
crosses the river to River Street
in the Winton Section of Jessup Borough and then runs north along the east bank
of the Lackawanna
to Laurel Street
in Archbald.
19.
Winton:
The O&W Blakely to
Archbald trail passes through the Winton neighborhood in Jessup. To reach the
trail in Winton, turn off Main
Avenue onto Winton Street (one-half mile north of Decker’s
Bridge), follow Winton Street
for one-half mile easterly until it intersects with the trail where
Winton Street
crosses the river. You can follow the trail south to Peckville or north along River Street, Winton to
Laurel Street
in Archbald along the east side of the River.
20.
Archbald:
Laurel Street is the access point for the O&W Blakely to Archbald trail in Archbald. Turn off
Main Avenue
onto Monroe Street,
cross the Lackawanna
River and turn right at Laurel Street, go one block south to the
David Maslyar
Park (the location of the Archbald launch for
the annual Lackawanna
River Canoe-a-thon). The trail
runs north along the riverbank to Monroe Street or south along
Laurel Street to the trail
head and downriver from there to Winton and Peckville, three miles to
Mellow
Park.
21.
Archbald:
The O.
&W. rail bed has been sold to adjacent owners for several blocks in this part of
Archbald. To continue following the river and the preferred routing for the
Heritage Trail north from
Monroe Street, we recommend
following Laurel Street northward.
Laurel Street intersects with
Wayne Street and it becomes
Church Street.
Follow Church Street north
past the Archbald
Borough Building
and the St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church to Gilmartin Street. At Gilmartin Street, turn west to the bridge to
intersect with the N.Y.O.&W. rail bed that runs along the east bank of the
river. From this point, the O.&W. is privately owned but local persons generally
use it and it is passable although it has a very rough and unmaintained surface
for two miles northward to the Archbald treatment plant of the Lackawanna River
Basin Sewer Authority (LRBSA). From the plant, the O.&W. continues north for
another mile and a half to Delaware Street in Jermyn. The rail bed is used as
the access road to the LRBSA plant and it is in good condition. This reach is
targeted by the LRCA and the Lackawanna Heritage Authority for trail development
by 2010.
22.
Jermyn: The O&W is accessible off
Delaware Street. From
Jermyn, that can be reached by turning off Washington Avenue (Main Street) onto Ridge Street at St. James Episcopal Church. The
O&W runs south for three miles to Archbald. Note: This reach of the O&W south is
also the access road to the Archbald Treatment Plant of the LRBSA (See #21.).
The LRBSA staff sometimes lock the gate at Delaware Street
each day after 5:00 p.m. and on weekends. Do not park inside this gate! You can
walk or bicycle around the fence but you won’t get your vehicle out! The
Powder Mill Dam Preserve is a ten-acre wildlife
and river corridor habitat preserve owned by the LRCA affiliate land trust, the
Lackawanna Valley Conservancy. The Preserve is located along this reach of the
O&W, one-thousand feet south of the LRBSA gate at Delaware Street.
23.
Jermyn, Mayfield and Carbondale
Townships:
The O&W and the River corridor are not readily accessible over long reaches in
Mayfield and Carbondale
Townships. We recommend using the
following streets, roads and highways with extreme caution to transit through
these communities: From Rush Brook Street (PA Route 107) in Jermyn (site of the
Windsor Inn) follow Washington Avenue north one-half mile to Main Street in
Mayfield; at Poplar Street you have two alternatives: Old Plank Road and U.S.
Business Route 6 which runs along the west bank of the river to Carbondale, or
Lackawanna Avenue to Gordon Avenue and Pike Street to Carbondale along the east
bank.
24.
Jermyn and Mayfield to Carbondale: We Recommend the following route to
Carbondale:
Follow Washington Avenue north
through Jermyn and into Mayfield to
Poplar Street. Turn left (west) on
Poplar Street; go up hill for one block to
Old Plank Road.
Turn right (north) on Old plank Road for a half mile. Pass Cemetery Street Mayfield and
look for a one-mile section of the Lackawanna River heritage Trail. Follow this
trail through the Campus of the Saint
Rose Academy
for one mile to its trailhead parking lot at the intersection of
Meredith Street and Business
Route 6. From this point, follow Meredith Street eastward across the River and turn
left on the exit ramp to The Lower Powderly area. Pass to the left under
the Lackawanna Rail Authority rail bridge and turn left to follow
Gordon Avenue for three
miles north into Carbondale.
This corridor is also PA Bicycle Routes “L” and “Y”.
25.
Mayfield to Carbondale,
Note: Several alternative trail routes are being investigated between Mayfield
and Carbondale.
Recommendations were developed in 2001 and can be found in the Lackawanna River
Watershed Conservation Plan, Appendix A, developed by the LRCA.
26.
Mayfield to Carbondale:
The LRCA cannot recommend and does not recommend an alternate Mayfield to
Carbondale
route by following the Lackawanna County Railroad Authority right-of-way.
Recently a gas utility has installed a gas pipeline along the railroad property.
The rail corridor once carried four sets of tracks, only one track remains.
Several bridges have been removed or are only decked with railroad ties and are
very dangerous. The railroad security does patrol the corridor, as do local
police in attempts to control trespass by ATV users. The surface of the rail
corridor is variously loose to compacted rock railroad ballast, dirt, coal
cinders and/or combinations of the above. The Rail Authority has metal pipe
gates, boulders and other structures to control access along the gas line/rail
maintenance road along this corridor which continues northward to the PA Route
171 bridge in Simpson, Fell
Township.
27.
Carbondale to Simpson, east bank route:
From Main Street
(Business Route 6) at Carbondale
City Hall, proceed three blocks
north to Zazzera’s Ben Mar Restaurant. The Carbondale to Simpson section of the O&W Trail will be
acquired and developed by 2012 to the rear of the Ben Mar parking lot. This
property, The Ben Mar was once the site of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's Gravity Railroad
Shops. The gravity line ran over Moosic
Mountain to the
D&H Canal
at Honesdale. In later years the NYO&W crossed Carbondale,
the Lackawanna
River
and the D&H Shops on a one-half-mile long trestle similar to the elevated trains
in New York or Chicago. The trestle abutments are visible across
Racket Brook. There is, as of summer 2007, no safe access across Racket Brook at
this site. The LRCA recommends following PA route 171 along
Belmont Street northward
to Simpson from this site in Carbondale
until further notice.
28.
Carbondale to Simpson, west bank route:
From City Hall cross 6th Street Bridge or go up Main, turn left on Salem Street
and cross the river to Dundaff Street. Follow Dundaff Street past the Post Office to the
Carbondale Yards Industrial Park.
Follow the Business Park Road north
and you will intersect a pedestrian bike path, which runs for one mile parallel
to the road and the river. Stop and rest at the pavilion on the riverbank about
halfway into the park. Continue on after the cul-de-sac for another
eight-hundred feet across a dirt roadway to the Morse Street
Bridge (over the River), cross
over to PA 171, turn left, and go one-thousand feet to O&W trailhead at Simpson
(look for O&W and D&H Rail Trail signs).
You can also continue past Morse Street for one-fourth mile, pass under PA
171 past the end of Lackawanna County Rail tracks (WC cabin) and onto an
undeveloped portion of the forty-mile D&H rail trail to
Forest City,
Lanesboro, and Windsor,
New York.
29.
Simpson (PA 17 1 Bridge) to Forest City and Union Dale:
The Rail Trail Council of Northeast Pennsylvania, (570) 785-7245,
www.nepa-rail-trails.org, owns and operates the O&W and D&H
Trails which run parallel to each other and the Lackawanna River from PA 171
Bridge in Simpson, Fell Township through Forest City/Browndale, Stillwater
Cliffs, Stillwater Lake and Stillwater Dam to Union Dale and points north and
northeast. Please note that the Council does not own a 6500-foot section of
the D&H one mile north of Simpson.
We recommend that you: Contact the Council for current information and
notices about conditions on the D&H and O& W north of Simpson .The O&W trailhead
at Simpson is the recommended point of departure. Follow the O&W for two miles
north to where the trail bears onto the D&H rail trail. There is a crossover
path that links the O&W and D&H trails at this point. The D&H and O&W run
parallel through Forest
City and Browndale to the intersection of PA 171 north of
Forest City at Stillwater Cliffs. The Council completed
improvements to ten miles of the D& H northward to Herrick Center in 2006. Other improvement work is planned
from Herrick to Ararat summit by 2008.