A dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the official opening of the Lehighton Trailhead of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Trail on Stanley Hoffman Boulevard.

The D & L National Heritage Corridor is a 165-mile system of trails that stretches from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, near Philadelphia. It follows the past routes of the Lehigh and Delaware canals and the Lehigh Valley Railroad routes that carried anthracite coal from the coal mines in our area to homes and industries in eastern Pennsylvania.The area of the Lehighton trailhead is located near the site of the former Lehighton train station along the Lehigh Valley Railroad.Elissa Garofalo, president/ executive director of the D & L National Heritage Corridor and Nicole Beckett, Lehighton borough manager, welcomed dignitaries to the newly constructed area along the Lehigh River."This is a great moment for lots of folks," Garafalo said. "This happened thanks to a mix of a lot of people."State Representative Doyle Heffley acknowledged and thanked the county commissioners for staying on board with the proposal of linking all of the trails together." Heffley said, "The trail is a great way to bring people into our community and bring more tourism into our town."Garofalo cited a comment made by Kathy Henderson, director of Economic Development of Carbon Chamber and Economic Development: "It's time for the people of Lehighton to turn around and see the river."Garofalo believes that people are finally recognizing that the river is beautiful and not a forgotten asset."Everywhere we have done a trailhead, the community around it has embraced it," Garofalo said. She feels that it gives people a new view and appreciation of their own backyard.Garofalo expects that the trail will translate into a positive economic impact on this area. She sees change already with the two new businesses that have opened up on First Street."Now people have a reason to stop in Lehighton," said Lehighton Borough Manager Nicole Beckett. "It shows the full potential for riverfront development and promotion," Beckett said. "It is important to our businesses, old and new."Borough Council President Grant Hunsicker and Vice President Scott Rehrig are both looking forward to the opportunities for downtown Lehighton. Because the trail will attract families of bikers, runners and walkers, they feel this is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to be a part of the revitalization of the downtown area."This project has brought life to our downtown," said Rehrig. "Our goal is to attract entrepreneurs and work with them 100 percent."He wants Stanley Hoffman Boulevard to become an attraction to those who use the trail.Hunsicker agrees, and adds that the borough is "willing to make improvements and do whatever it takes for businesses to establish a presence in downtown."Scott Everett, Trail Director of the D & L National Heritage Corridor, told of the future plans to complete the fully-funded "Carbon County Connectivity Project."There are several more phases of the project, according to Everett. One of the phases includes the completion of the bridge in Jim Thorpe. Another phase is connecting the D & L National Heritage Trail along the Weissport Canal to the Lehighton portion of the trail.Through clearly marked "Share the Road" signage and street markers, trail users will be able to continue on the trail from the Weissport Canal, over the Weissport Bridge, and connect to the trail behind Castle Grill on Bridge Street in Lehighton.Another goal is to work with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and East Penn Township to allow safe trail crossing over Route 895 and trail connectivity from Riverview Road to the boat launch. Carbon County is poised to be the first county to compete its entire length of trail.Project partners were: The Borough of Lehighton, D & L National Heritage Corridor, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Leadership Carbon.