It’s difficult for John Wengert to pick his favorite section of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail.
There are, however, portions that hold a certain fondness in this heart.
There’s Phase 10, which runs from Route 22 to Lickdale Road and is scheduled to begin construction next year.
“Phase 10, when it is finished, because it is really scenic along the Swatara Creek,” said Wengert, president of Lebanon Valley Rails-to-Trails. “I wasn’t aware – I wasn’t familiar with that area – until we went out, started scoping out that project extension and walking it. I was amazed by just how scenic it is. You feel like you are in a different part of the country. You feel like you are out west. Being that close to Lebanon, it’s just an undiscovered gem in our project.”
Then there’s the section Wengert rode when he was young.
“The other part I have a connection to is near this section along Butler Road,” he said. “As a fairly young kid, I rode this section, either on horseback, because we had horses, or later on my mountain bike. But I was pretty connected to this growing up. And it is also nice. It goes through the woods near Mount Gretna.”
LebTown recently visited with Wengert to update readers on the rail trail’s progress. Wengert had just received an updated chart from the engineering firm in charge of the 25.7-mile rails-to-trails project.