Pa.’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DNPR) has named Delaware Canal State Park Towpath its 2022 Trail of the Year.

The distinction recognizes its multigenerational appeal — past, present, and future — for outdoor recreation.

Cindy Adams Dunn, Secretary of the PA DCNR, called the trail “a gem.” She expressed her hope that the honorific will generate even more interest in the appealing and historic county asset.

The Delaware Canal runs almost 60-miles from Easton to Bristol and still features its original locks and aqueducts.

In the mid-1800s, it was a commercial-industrial necessity. Mules pulled boats transporting coal, lumber, building stone, lime, and produce. In 1978, the route was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The 2022 Trail of the Year announcement came via the Friends of the Delaware Canal (Friends), its nonprofit stewardship organization.

Michael Ginder, Executive Director of the Friends, commented, “The towpath has so much to offer with a rich history and has seen an increase in visitors the past couple of years as more and more individuals spend time outdoors.

“The Trail of the Year recognition will allow the Friends to build on that increased visitor momentum as well as bolster the work we do to ensure the towpath trail is usable over its entire length,” he concluded.

More about The Friends of the Delaware Canal is online.