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Hiker Rated
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Number of Vehicles
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Map &
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Parking: 40.860795, -75.292466
From the town of Wind Gap go north on PA 115. Parking area is on the right side of road just before the Route 33 overpass.
From the west on !-80. Take Exit 302A for PA 33 south. Follow PA 33 for 11 miles to the northern exit for Wind Gap. This is the exit to PA 512. Go left on PA 812. go back under PA 33 and continue a short distance to the parking area on the right.
From the east on I-80. Take Exit 304 and follow US 209 west towards Snydersville. In approximately 2.5 miles take the ramp onto PA 33 southbound. US 209 and PA 33 are coincident for a few miles. Continue on PA 33 7 miles to the northern Wind Gap Exit (to PA 512) and proceed as above.
From I-78. Take 71 and go north on PA 33 for 15 miles to the southern Wind Gap Exit. Go east then north and follow PA 512 through Wind Gap to the parking area on the right. This is about 2 miles from the PA 33 exit.
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Wind Gap has a medium size parking lot right on a major road and is frequently used by over-nighters. Not real large, it is ideal on weekdays but often fills up on weekends. NOBO Ascends stairs from the parking area. SOBO crosses Route 115 and walks north along route 115 and under Route 33. 04/22/23
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10-12
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ateditors @ rohland.org
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There is a state game lands parking lot at Katellen. This lot is of ample size to fit an RV and are "off" the road. The Katellen trails are only accessible from the south side of the mountain.
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Dan.Schwartz @ lehigh.edu
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From the southern Wind Gap Exit off PA 33, go est on East Moorestown Road (PA 512) for about a mile, then go right onto Mountain Road (PA 4019). In 2.2 miles, turn right on Clearfield Road. In 0.3 miles at a T intersection, go left. The parking lot will be on the right in a short distance.
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The Katellan Trail mostly follows an old road, passing the Leroy Smith Shelter and reaching the AT in 0.9 miles. Here the southbound AT goes left (west) while the northbound goes right (east). 03/07/10
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12-15
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David Cullen
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Parking: 40.825514, -75.414449
Historical Directions: From the North: From the town of Wind Gap go north on North Broadway. Bear left on old PA 115 (Wilkes Barre Tpke) under PA 33. About 0.,5 miles from PA 33, turn left on Mountain Rd. This will become Upper Smith Gap Rd. Go a total of 8 miles west from Wilkjes Barre Turnpike (PA 115) Turn left in Smith Gap on Point Phillip Road, which then becomes Smith Gap Road and crosses the trail. This is at the crest of the ridge about two miles from Upper Smith Gap Road. There is a pull off of the side of the road on the left before the parking on the right. The parking on the right is on either side of a private road entrance.
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ALERT: From the 2 approaches, there were load restrictions for larger vehicles (5 tons).
Lot is easily located at the point where PAVED Point Phillips Road and UNPAVED (but good condition) Smith Gap Road meet. Note that Smith Gap Terrace is a PRIVATE road.
SOBO goes Southwest/NOBO goes East: Traveling north from this point is a fairly easy hike. Very little elevation gain. This section of the trail, as is most of the PA trail, is very rocky. Significant elevation loss heading into Wind Gap. You pass the Smith shelter and spring side trail. There are nice views once you get close to Wind Gap. Not much else to see until then. Traveling south from Smith Gap is also fairly easy with very little elevation change. 05/03/23
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6
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ateditors @ rohland.org
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There is a game lands parking lot at Delps trail head. Not the easiest place to find. The climb up is a steep one and is good conditioning if you want that sort of climb.
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20-30
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appalachiantrail @ amcdv.org
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At Delps the game lands lot is difficult to find, as you go up an unmarked dirt road between some houses and then make a right turn off into the woods for a ways. If you don't know where it is, you'll probably have difficulty finding this lot.
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The Delps trail is only accessible from the south side of the mountain. This lot is of ample size to fit an RV and are "off" the road.
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Dan.Schwartz @ lehigh.edu
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From Wind Gap take 512 south to Moorestown. Go north on Community Drive (route 946).After 946 makes a sharp right bend, turn right on Point Phillips Road. Turn left on Smith Gap Road. Turn left on Mountain Road. Turn right onto Delps Road. Delps Road will make a 90 degree right turn. You will pass Tu Peek Avenue and Delps Road will make a 90 degree left turn. At this turn there is a gravel road to the right that looks like it could be a driveway. Take this road between a couple of houses and follow it up. The road becomes a narrow, rutted dirt road. 9/10/05
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GPS: N 40.48.546 W 075.27.073 This is a very large parking lot that is well hidden. The dirt road to the lot is narrow and very rutted. I suggest a 4wd vehicle with good road clearance. The Delps Side trail is very steep and not well maintained. There were sections that the trail was hard to follow due to downed trees. It reaches the AT at the top of the ridge in 0.7 miles. Southbound AT is left, northbound is right.
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at @ rohland.org
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Google does not deign to recognize the last section of road. Attempts to use the map in the previous listing for directions will be only partially successful. Therefore the markers on the map attached here are at the point where this last section goes right from Delps Road ( called Gamelands Road on the map.) The road is clearly visible on the satellite view. 03/07/10
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David Cullen
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From the intersection of PA 248 and PA 145 in Lehigh Gap, follow PA 248 south for about 0.3 miles, then go left on Timberline Road. Go 2.7 miles east and then go left onto Mountain View Drive, PA 946. Continue east on this for another mile, then go left onto Blue Mountain Drive. Go north about 1.5 miles to the trail crossing.
From the Wind Gap exit off PA 33, go north on Wilkes Barre Turnpike. In approximately half a mile go left onto Mountain Road. In 3.5 miles this becomes Upper Smith Gap Road. Stay on Upper Smith Gap Road for 4.5 miles where it joins Lower Smith Gap Road. In another 5 miles goes left on Blue Mountain Drive. Go south for 2.0 miles, poassing the entrance to the Blue Mountain Ski Area. The crossing is at the crest of the ridge. The official parking lot is another 0.1 miles south.
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In addition to the parking lot in Little Gap, there is roadside parking just south of the trail crossing on the west side of the road. Rotate to the northwest to see the southbound trail which initially follows the dirt road east towards Lehigh Gap. Rotate ti the north to see southbound trail which goes east near the AT sign visible in the view. 03/07/10 2023 update: I do not think this trail crossing area has parking. There indeed were high clearance vehicles pulled up along what was likely a previous pull off, but I don't think sedans would be able to park here. Best to go .1 miles to the official lot.
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4-5 at trail crossing
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David Cullen
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Main Parking Area (.1 miles from trail crossing): 40.80596, -75.53482
Trail Crossing Coordinates: 40.80791, -75.53463
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All paved roads to parking area. The parking area is about .1 miles south of the AT crossing with Blue Mountain Drive. We walked along the side of the road to access the AT, but there appears there may be a path leaving from the north end of the parking lot. There were a few places at the trail crossing better suited for higher clearance vehicles. At the trail crossing NOBO goes EAST and SOBO goes West.
A reminder to be vigilant in following the AT blazes in this area. It is part of the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site that is working to reroute, rehabilitate or newly construct 14 miles of the AT impacted by the area's past zinc smelting plant 05/05/22
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20
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WardandDA @ gmail.com
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Lehigh Gap, Little Gap, Smith Gap and Wind Gap are areas where roads cross over the mountain so that you can reach parking from either side. On the south side routes 946 and 512 are the quickest way to travel the length, on the north side there is a road that goes pretty much along the bottom of the ridge between Wind Gap and Little Gap.
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There is a large lot at Lehigh Gap (on the east side of the river just over the highway (up an unmarked dirt road).
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Dan.Schwartz @ lehigh.edu
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Due to new parking lot alignment this spring, the once large parking lot here has been vastly reduced in size to hold perhaps 9-10 cars, if that. Previously, 3x that number could have fit. This was to prevent dumping and other abuses. 4/4/06
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9-10 cars
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appalachiantrail @ amcdv.org
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There is a dirt road on the North side of PA RT 248 about 100 yds southeast of the intersection with PA RT 145. This road leads into a parking lot maintained by the National Park Service. It has a gate and says that the lot is open from 6 AM to 10 PM, so it not suitable for overnight parking.
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This is on the east side of the Lehigh River. The lot used to be a lot larger but is blocked about 1/3 the way in by huge boulders. 10/13/06
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15
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wbmcp @ hotmail.com
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Entrance to the railroad bed parking area is an unmarked dirt road which goes east from PA 248 just to the south of the intersection with PA 145. Rotate to the northwest to see the entrance road bearing to the right off PA 248 The AT crosses to the east side of PA 248 at the intersection of the two highways.
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The old railroad grade that serves as a parking lot is at Mile 20.3 according to the "Appalachian Trail Guide to Pennsylvana". The trail crosses the now blocked off northpart of this parking area. The northbound trail leaves the lot at the northeast corner. 04/25/07
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David Cullen
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The attached map here shows roughly the route from the south end of the section (Marker A) to the point where the trail leaves PA 248 and climbs up to the parking lot. Actually the trail bears right onto PA 145 then goes left at the connector, crosses PA 248 at a light then goes north up to Point B. Rotate the street view to the northwest to see (poorly) the northbound trail from Marker B. If you pan up a little bit, a white blaze can be seen. Rotation to the north or south shows the view along PA 248. 03/06/10
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David Cullen
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The following is from the ATC web site. I do not know when these changes will be reversed.
Lehigh Gap Temporary relocation and side trail closure
The National Park Service, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, began a slope stabilization project in mid July 2010 on the east side of Lehigh Gap. As a result, a temporary relocation will be put in place for the A.T. where it passes through Lehigh Gap and the blue blaze Winter Trail is closed. Additionally, the east Lehigh Gap parking area is open for day use only. Overnight parking is available at the west Lehigh Gap parking area. The National Park Service asks that hikers be alert to construction activities while in the area. For additional project information, please visit the following link. http://www.nps.gov/appa/parkmgmt/publicinvolvement.htm. 08/07/11
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David Cullen
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Report of car broken into between 10/15/13 and 10/17/13. Damage to car, as well as theft of belongings. 12/13/13
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1
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kmcginley @ appalachiantrail.org
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From Lehigh Gap - travel south on PA 145 just past the AT crossing at the intersection of PA 145 and 248. There is a small spot on the right hand side of 145 where you can park a couple of cars.
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Travelling north on the trail from Lehigh Gap is about a 1000 feet climb over boulders. The views are great from here. Five elder hikers were able to make this climb with little difficulty. Due to previous zinc mining in this area, the trail above Lehigh Gap goes through a desolate area where there is little to no vegetation. It's like being on another planet. Take a moment to look at the photos from this section. 10/12/06
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2-3
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at @ rohland.org
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Rotate the street view on the attached map to the west to see the parking pull-off. The green arrow marks its location.
Walk back north along PA 145 to the traffic triangle at the intersection of PA 145 and PA248. The southbound trail goes straight along the west side of PA 348. the northbound rail goes right, crosses PA 248 at a light, then goes back north along the east side of PA 248. 03/07/10
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David Cullen
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Main Parking Area: (BE CAREFUL NOT TO BLOCK DRIVEWAY ACCESS NEAR LOT--clearly signed): 40.781400, -75.608700
Preferred AT nearby parking lot: 40.78380, -75.60465
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Access is directly off of paved Rte 873. This is small dirt lot at the official end of section 2 beginning of section 3. It is located at the crossing of the AT with Rte 873 before the Lehigh River bridge. There is a clear sign at this lot suggesting AT hikers park at the AT Lot .5 miles away. NOBO crosses River, SOBO begins uphill ascent directly from parking lot towards Outerbridge Shelter (if you use the alternate lot, then NOBO begins ascent up mountain, and SOBO crosses the bridge).
Map link: shows official section end/beginning lot area for Lehigh Gap. There is signage here that encourages AT hikers to use the second lot across the river (also marked).
A reminder to be vigilant in following the AT blazes in this area. It is part of the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site that is working to reroute, rehabilitate or newly construct 14 miles of the AT impacted by the area's past zinc smelting plant.
05/06/22
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6
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WardandDA @ gmail.com
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