Finally, My First Hike On The D & L Trail In Slatington, Lehigh County.

I took my first hike on the  Slatington  section of the D & L Trail in Lehigh County last Sunday. I have been wanting to explore this side of the Lehigh River since I first hiked on the Walnutport Canal Trail, on the other side of the river a few years ago.  I would hear the voices of hikers and bikers across the river on my hikes on the Canal Trail.  I wanted to hike somewhere south of my home in Luzerne County in hopes of finding less snow than the 4 or 5 inches that fell near my home. I thought of the Canal Trail in Walnutport but them remembered the D & L trail on the Slatington side for the Lehigh River,   so I drove to the Trail head in Slatington.

It was cloudy , dreary and cold morning when I arrive. Temperatures were in the 20’s. I was disappointed to find about 2 inches of snow on the ground.  It was still better than the 4 to 5 inches near my home and I began my hike south on the trail with the Lehigh River on my left.  I met a few folks walking their dogs in the cold as I walked through the mostly oak and maple hardwood woodlands along the trail.

There were homes  located on a hill above the trail. And, from the paths and trails in the snow along the hill  I am sure there were children in the homes who enjoyed the snow.

After about a 1/4 mile the trail left the woodlands and I came to another row of houses, these right along the trail.

The homes had a view of the Lehigh River and, as I often do,

I wondered about the people who live here now , and  even more so, thought about  the folks who have lived in the homes in the past .  I wondered  where they worked, where they went to school, where they shopped? Did there houses get flooded? Did they mind thy noise from the trains that past so close to their homes.  And I imagined what it would like growing up  here when I was a child. I thought it would be  a great place to live and explore the river, the surrounding woods and to follow the train track  in both directions.

The trail continued through some more woodlands, where

I saw a few flocks of dark-eyed juncos, or appropriately named “snow birds” and,

this gray squirrel gathering some leaves for nesting material. There were dozens of squirrels in the woods along the trail.

I next came to a large, old  industrial building that may have at one time been associated with the railroad industry. I don’t know what type of business it was now, but it was still in operation as I heard the clanging of metal as I walked past.

The trail  now entered woodlands again, as it continued along the river. The trail was snow covered and the leafless trees made for a very dreary and winter scene. 

However, there was still some green  on the trail. I saw  native cat green brier and

and  Virgin’s bower leaves clinging to vines along the trail.

Invasive Japanese honeysuckle,

and garlic mustard were still green and growing in the cold and snow.

I continued on the trail, and came to the trestles from the Poughkeepsie Bridge c that spanned the Lehigh River,and was built in 1889 as part of the  South Mountain and Boston Railroad.

The trail left the river and took me through some more woodlands,

before returning to the river and bringing me to a few more home,

and a small  Lehigh County local park above the river. Here I smelled the smoke from a campfire and found tent in the park near the river. I love the smell of campfire smoke. I didn’t see the camper/ campers but I admired who ever they were for braving the cold.

I continued on the snow covered trail  and came to this old house, smoke  pouring from it’s chimney. I knew it was old form the ancient sycamore trees towering above the house.

A now came to a ridge  above the trail opposite the river.

A short distance later,

I came to the  Applejack Creek, where I  found the ruins of Applejack watertank which must have supplied water to the steam engines that used the abandoned railroad right of way.  

Large rock formations, I believe they were slate, now appeared  on the ridge above the trail.  Slatington was named for the many slate mines  in the area in the 19th century.

And, in the Winter in  Pennsylvania, where there are rocks there are usually ice formations. I love see ice formations on the rocks and cliffs on my hikes.

Between the rock formations upon the  the ridge I saw the first of many rhododendrons  growing along this section of the   trail.

I also saw the first of many ferns that were growing in this stretch of the trail. This was a marginal wood fern. The were a lot of these ferns which I don’t see on my hike near my home.

Intermediate wood ferns were also growing in the snow. These are not common near my home  either.

The trail took me to a bend in the river where it got closer to the ridge.  It was cold. I was out about 2 miles here  and decided to  start back.

I met a few folks on my return hike, few of them walking their  dogs. I also met a woman runner who stopped and chatted. She told me about the five bears that live in the area. I told her I will be back for sure to try and see and photograph them, She liked bears too.

I also saw some birds on my return hike, first I heard, and saw a flock of tufted titmouse,

And, as I often find, especially in the Winter , birds of different species flock together when foraging for food. I soon heard the cheerful songs of a pair of Carolina wrens,

they were joined by a few song sparrows ,

and golden-crowned   kinglets.

I  continued on my hike, walking past the stone trestles from the railroad bridge,

the  large old industrial structure where I still heard the clanging of metal,

and finally to the homes along the trail. In the woodlands near the end of the trail I saw  three more birds, all woodpeckers,  including a red bellied woodpecker,

a downy woodpecker,

and my favorite, a pileated woodpecker.   Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos of the birds I saw on my hike. D & L Slatington  hike  birds December 7 2025.

I finished my cold hike on the snowy and icy trail. It was not the most pleasant walk, but I was nice to be outside, and I saw a few birds, chatted with some nice folks and got to reflect on the Lehigh River and it’s  beauty and long history.  However, I am still looking forward to  my first hike on this side of the river in the Spring. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos from my hike. D & L Slatington  hike December 7 2025.

“And finally Winter, with its bitin, whinin’ wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow.” — Roy Bean