When completed, the trail will connect Hazleton with the 180-mile Delaware and Lehigh Trail. Used by families, dedicated bikers and hikers, school groups, and those seeking to lose weight and improve their health, the trail has also provided an economic boost to the area, since most users spend money at local restaurants, hotels, shops, and more. As the trail grows to link the Eckley Miners Village and Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor to the Greater Hazleton Area, it will spark further economic development in the area.

My Keystone Fund Story

Joy, Renewal, Health, and Love

By Sue Nasrani (Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails Committee)

It seems hard to believe that it has been 16 years I have been working on this trail. None of it could have been done without the numerous volunteers, community groups, Civic Partnership directors, and the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce.

But what’s most important is not what I have done for the trail, but what it has done for me.

There is the joy when I see families pushing strollers along the trail, or when I see the National Guard or Penn State runners training on the trail. There was joy and excitement when Dennis (my significant other) and I handed water and sports drinks to half-marathon runners on the trail during our Town and Trail Event.

Speaking of Dennis: I met him on the trail seven years ago when came down from Wilkes-Barre with the Susquehanna Trailers to walk our trail. He now works on the Maintenance Committee. Joy came again when I talked with a man who said that biking the trail had helped him lose weight and take control of his diabetes. Then there is the renewed feeling of life when I walk in nature along the trail. The natural environment renews our spirits and souls. Working on and walking this trail has given me joy, renewal, health, and love.