News
For events, opportunities, and information about the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail, please click the link below to see the PDF version of the PA Highlands Trail October 2025 Newsletter. Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network October 2025 Newsletter
October 21, 2025
Did you know that the PA Highlands Trail goes through six state parks? 🌳🍂 The Pennsylvania Highlands Trail was recently featured in an article on the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation’s website Click here to read the article now! The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting stewardship of Pennsylvania’s priceless state parks and forests.
Last week, the Appalachian Mountain Club got to join trail advocates for the Green Lane Trail Connection ribbon cutting. This vital connection joins the Upper Perkiomen Trail to the Highlands Trail and marks 100 miles of trails in Montgomery County. The trail connection was made possible through years of partnership and advocacy work, as well as over $200,000 in grants. The ribbon cutting included representatives from Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Montgomery County and State Representative Milou Mackenzie and State Senator Tracy Pennycuick. Speakers shared their excitement for the connections of the trails, highlighting the hard work that went into the project and also celebrating the connection ahead of Green Lane’s monumental 150th anniversary. The ribbon cutting concluded with a reception where local trail leaders and conservation partners were able to reflect on the years of hard work, take a bus tour highlighting the history of Green Lane, and listen to Schulmerich Bells, another Green Lane staple. AMC is proud of the work that it has done to help Green Lane expand the Highlands Trail and is looking forward to another 150 years of the borough!
For events, opportunities, and information about the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail, please click the link below to see the PDF version of the PA Highlands Trail September 2025 Newsletter. PA Highlands Trail September 2025 Newsletter
First launched in 2019, Protect the View is a science-based campaign that looks at 10 viewsheds along the Circuit Trails Network that are at risk of development. These 10 sites are located on 6 different trails in southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Since the project was launched 6 years ago, several of the sites have had updates to the protection statuses of their lands. Infographics about the sites are located below and all updates can be found on Protect the View.
August 1, 2025
Nothing beats teamwork! Yesterday morning, a group of volunteers, Montgomery County Park staff, and Appalachian Mountain Club staff joined forces to tackle invasive multiflora rose bushes growing alongside the Perkiomen Trail in Green Lane Reservoir Park. Five bags of foliage were removed to prevent the spread of the plant’s seeds and stumps were treated to stop regrowth. Thank you to our hard-working team for facing heat, humidity, and thorns!
July 24, 2025
Yesterday was a great day for the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network! On July 23rd, alongside representatives from the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, the County of Northampton, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the City of Bethlehem held a press conference to announce $3.7 million in federal funding. These funds, which came from the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TASA) and Carbon Reduction Programs (CRP), support three projects targeting sustainable transportation in the region. The first two were the Linden Street Two-Way Conversion and the Broad Street Multimodal project, which are aimed at making pedestrian and bicyclist transportation in the city of Bethlehem safer and more enjoyable. Last but certainly not least, the third project announced was the South Bethlehem Greenway Trail Extension, which plans to connect the South Bethlehem Greenway at Saucon Park to the Saucon Rail Trail by 2026. By closing this gap in the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network, 13 miles of continuous, off-road, multi-use trail will be established. This project is made possible through a variety of funding sources, including a grant award from the Highlands Conservation Act. This grant is funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) that is currently under threat. To highlight this and showcase an example of a project in our community, an opinion piece was published in the Morning Call. The South Bethlehem Greenway to Saucon Rail Trail gap is listed as a Priority Trail Gap by the Pennsylvania DCNR. We look forward to seeing it complete and are grateful for the federal and local funding sources that are making it possible!
July 22, 2025
In my opinion, the best day trips have multiple stops, each fulfilling a different need. These include but are not limited to: a nature experience to get moving and breathe some fresh air, an interesting small business to buy a knickknack or a reward for completing a long hike, and of course, a local restaurant with delicious food. If that sounds like your kind of day trip too, then you’re in luck! Nockamixon State Park Marina to Haycock Boat Launch via the Highlands Trail (6 miles out and back), with lunch and shopping in Quakertown, Pennsylvania I recommend that you begin your day with a nice morning hike. You’ll find plenty of parking spots at the Nockamixon State Park Marina, and the trailhead can be found just off of the northeastern corner of the parking lot. It’s a 3-mile hike to the Haycock Boat Launch, and then a 3-mile hike back to the Marina. Expect a rocky path and be sure to wear sturdy hiking shoes that you don’t mind getting a little mud on. If you have two cars and want a shorter hike, one person can park at the Haycock Boat Launch, and the other can park at the Marina so you don’t have to hike back the way you came. After your hike, drive fifteen minutes southwest to the Trolley Barn in Quakertown to find a bustling public market with multiple restaurants. Even the pickiest eater can find something they like here! The Trolley Barn is a refurbished historic building that once held the trolleys that used to travel through the streets of Quakertown. Walk around the building to find old pictures and interesting bits of local history! After a delicious lunch, you can’t leave without hitting up the four antique stores that surround the Trolley Barn! Between Dunngeon Antiques, the Pickers Junction, Rinky Dinks Antique Emporium, and 2nd Life Antiques & Collectibles, you’re bound to find something for you at one of these stores. And that’s your day! Remember to keep track of the miles you log on the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail, because our Hike Challenge is still ongoing. Take lots of pictures and share them online with #HighlandsTrailChallenge. Check out our PA Highlands Trail Interactive Map, the Quakertown Alive website, and the Nockamixon State Park website for more information. Note: in order to get to all of the businesses listed in this guide when they’re open, we recommend that you take this trip on a Saturday or Sunday.
Have you been getting out on the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network this summer? We have! Paired with some amazing volunteers, Appalachian Mountain Club team members have been hard at work putting up Highlands Trail medallions and signage up in Nockamixon State Park and French Creek State Park. There’s plenty more trails to hit, but enjoy these action shots of the process!
June 24, 2025
The Land Assessment to Conserve Water Resources in the Pennsylvania Highlands project is live! This project focuses on providing key resource information to protect a watershed’s ability to produce clean water by incorporating findings from the National Forests to Faucets 2.0 (F2F2) project, conducted by the USDA Forest Service (USFS), the Open Space Institute (OSI), and the Lancaster Conservancy. The goal is to support our partners in protecting forests to improve water quality through watershed analysis. In addition, environmental risk factors and other relevant data are included in an interactive online map. This map serves as a decision support tool, helping organizations enhance their conservation efforts. Protecting watersheds is essential for ensuring a clean water supply, supporting biodiversity, and maintaining healthy ecosystems. Protecting forests and riparian forest areas within a watershed is vital, as they act as natural filters, regulate water flow, prevent erosion, and maintain water quality by trapping sediment and pollutants. These actions ultimately ensure a healthier and more reliable surface water source for downstream communities. Additionally, these areas provide critical habitats for wildlife and help mitigate climate change by storing carbon. Healthy forests are key to sustaining clean, reliable water resources and ecosystem stability within watersheds. We hope that this map can serve as a tool, promoting healthy forests and watersheds for land and water conservation organizations within the region. To read the report click here and to access the map, click here.
May 21, 2025
The Highlands Conservation Act boundary nearly tripled when it was reauthorized in 2022. When the Highlands Region was originally protected in 2004, it covered 3.5 million acres and 320 municipalities across four states. Now, the boundary is 10.2 million acres and includes 877 towns. A map of the HCA boundary, within Pennsylvania, can be found here. Now, all 877 municipalities are eligible to apply for grant funding that can be used to acquire land for conservation and outdoor recreation that benefits the public. To access the funding opportunities through the Highlands Conservation Act grant program through the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the interested municipality must pass a resolution to request inclusion into the Highlands. Once passed, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) will send the resolution to USFWS for final approval. In Pennsylvania, five municipalities have passed resolutions and have been approved to become part of the HCA Expanded Opportunity Area. Buskill Township, Upper Mount Bethel Township, Stockertown Borough, and Lower Nazareth Township, all located in Northampton County, and Doylestown Township, in Bucks County, have all been approved to become HCA communities. These five communities are adding 99.46 square miles to the total eligible Highlands Area in Pennsylvania. PA DCNR has compiled a list of all municipalities that are located within the Expanded Opportunity area. They also have sample resolutions that can be used to aid municipalities in drafting their own. To better inform interested municipalities about this process, the Pennsylvania Highlands Coalition will be hosting a webinar on June 6, from 11-12, with Dan Pierce, DCNR’s Highlands Program Specialist, and Sherry Acevedo, Northampton County’s Conservation Coordinator. They will share the process of opting into the Highlands Conservation Act Expanded Opportunity Boundary, applying for a grant, and an example of a project from Stockertown Borough that was awarded funding in the last award cycle round. There will be an opportunity for a question-and-answer period at the end of the presentation. To sign up for the webinar, click here. We are excited to welcome 5 municipalities to the program and look forward to welcoming more!
April 24, 2025
The Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Hike Challenge begins on May 1st! It’s time to start planning your first hike. While there are many potential routes you can take on the Highlands Trail, but we have some favorite spots. Morlatton Village to French Creek State Park via Schuylkill River Trail and Big Woods Trail (10 miles) This hike begins at the Morlatton Village Trailhead on the Schuylkill River Trail in Douglassville, PA. Spend some time walking through the historic Colonial-era Morlatton Village. The four stone houses at this location date back to the 1700s. Nearby restaurants like Michael’s Restaurant and Brooks Breakfast & Lunch Cafe offer pre-hike breakfast options for those travelling from out of town, and are worth a visit even for locals. This trailhead offers no restrooms, so be prepared before you hit the trail. There is limited parking at this trailhead, accessible from Routes 100 and 422. Once you’ve taken in the scenery, head west (upriver) along the trail towards Union Meadows Park. This section of trail is surrounded by trees, and offers beautiful views of the Schuylkill River. Shortly after leaving Morlatton Village, you’ll cross the Schuylkill River and continue through the wooded area towards the Fred J. Doberstein Overlook Campsite. This is a primitive campsite perched above the river just over a mile from the Morlatton Village Trailhead. This site is open for camping, but operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and only has space for up to 4 tents. So, if you’re planning to stay overnight, try to get there early! Continue another mile and a half down the Schuylkill River Trail and you will reach the intersection with the Big Woods Trail, which splits off from the SRT and heads south, towards French Creek State Park. To stay on the PA Highlands Trail, take the left turn and follow the Big Woods Trail as it winds through the Hopewell Big Woods, the largest contiguous forest in Southeast Pennsylvania. The Hopewell Big Woods encompasses a large area of land, some of which is privately owned, in addition to the municipal, county, state, and federal land in this forested area. The Big Woods Trail offers a connection to the expansive trail network and camping area at French Creek State Park, which is worth its own visit. Once you reach the end of the Big Woods Trail at Crusher Road, you will have hiked just over 5 miles from your starting point at Morlatton Village. French Creek State Park offers a perfect midday rest area. Head back towards the trailhead to complete your 10 mile day! As you plan your hike, remember to follow Leave No Trace principles, and to bring enough food and water for your adventure. Find more information about the route on our PA Highlands Trail Interactive Map, and on the Schuylkill River Trail website. Don’t forget to share your stories on social media – use the #HighlandsTrailChallenge to stay connected. We want to hear how it goes! Find more information about the Hike Challenge