Seven years after the Glen Onoko Falls Trail closed and more than a year after the state moved to rehabilitate it, the trail remains closed and state officials say hikers should not expect to return for another three to five years.

That was the message Thursday from Stacie Hall, park operations manager for the Hickory Run State Park Complex, who appeared before Jim Thorpe Borough Council alongside two colleagues for the most comprehensive public update the borough has received on the project.

“This project … we’re still three to five years out before we’re looking at an opening,” Hall said. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

The land transaction that would transfer the 495-acre Glen Onoko Falls tract from the Pennsylvania Game Commission to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and formally add it to Lehigh Gorge State Park has not been finalized. The Lehigh Township supervisors are expected to sign off on the required subdivision Sept. 8, and Nesquehoning Borough is scheduled to do the same Sept. 23. After that, the documents must circulate through the state attorney general’s office and chief counsel for review and signatures.

“We’re still a couple of months out before we expect the transfer to happen,” Hall said.

The trail, which climbs nearly 800 feet in elevation over a half-mile section alongside the falls of Glen Onoko Run, was closed May 1, 2019, by the game commission after more than a decade of mounting safety concerns. At least 10 hikers have died on the trail since the late 1970s, and recurring serious injuries strained local first responders. Gov. Josh Shapiro included the land exchange in his 2025-26 budget, and legislation finalizing the transfer was signed into law last year.

Work begins

While the legal paperwork moves through state bureaucracy, physical work on the trail has begun. The Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps started work May 13 and wrapped up for the season Sept. 20. In that time, the crew completed approximately 740 feet of the connector trail between the Nine Mile Loop and the Falls Trail entrance at the top of the property, clearing the path to allow emergency access by all-terrain vehicles and enabling equipment to reach the Falls Trail in future work seasons. Crews also began preliminary work on the Falls Trail itself above Cape Falls.

“We’re still early in this process,” Hall said. “We’re still gathering information, looking at the cultural history, and doing some required environmental reviews. We are working with our engineers on creating engineered plans to go out to bid to rehabilitate the lower entrance, as well as part of Overlook Trail, and potentially create a direct access trail to the main Onoko Falls to assist in emergency response and allow closer UTV access for our first responders to where a lot of the incidents occur.”

DCNR has created four salaried positions tied to the acquisition. They include an assistant manager specifically to oversee the Glen Onoko project and a full-time DCNR ranger stationed on site to enforce the trail closure and handle maintenance. A maintenance supervisor position is in process and additional seasonal positions are being planned.

The Overlook Trail and Shortcut Trail remain open to the public for now but will eventually need to close when construction work moves into those areas, Hall said.

Council concerns

Council Vice President Mike Yeastedt, who also serves with the Jim Thorpe Municipal Fire Department, raised two concerns that have confronted emergency responders for years. The first is communication. The gorge area has significant dead zones where both cellphones and radios fail.

“Boy, you really need them when there’s an emergency,” Yeastedt said.

Hall invited the fire department to bring that issue to a Sept. 20 first responder meeting that is also expected to include state Rep. Doyle Heffley and state Sen. Dave Argall.

Yeastedt also asked about the overgrowth along the gate and railroad crossing at the park entrance that has historically prevented fire apparatus from getting in without sustaining damage.

Hall said crews have been actively working on that issue over recent weeks.

Council President Connor Rodgers asked whether DCNR plans to formally involve council in reviewing project documents as the work progresses over the next several years, given that all traffic to the trail passes through the borough.

“Yes, absolutely,” Hall said. “We’re committed to having open communication with all the municipalities in the area because we know there’s a potential impact. We can do quarterly updates to council. Once we do get actual engineered drawings, we can certainly bring them to council to take a look at as well.”

One limitation Hall made clear: DCNR’s authority and budget stop at the boundaries of its own property. The access road, Main Street and Front Street from Route 903 to the parking area, is not DCNR’s to fix or fund.

“Unfortunately, our jurisdiction only allows us to cover projects on our properties,” Hall said. “We’re happy to support you if you’re looking at doing grants or looking at other state agencies that work on such things. We can help to point you in the right direction, but we can’t pay for or do any of that work through DCNR.”

The bridge to the Glen Onoko parking area, which council members noted is looking worn, has passed all structural inspections, Hall said, and a project to redeck it is on DCNR’s books; though no funding timeline has been established.

Hall was direct when asked whether the trail would remain free of illegal users for the entire rehabilitation period.

“I can’t guarantee that it won’t be illegally used,” she said, “but that is the plan.”

Hall said safety remains the overriding priority at every stage.

“We are committed to safety being our number one priority,” she said, “for when we’re doing the work, when the trail reopens, for the public, for our staff, as well as for the first responders.”