Across Interstate 81 from Connell Park in Scranton lie thousands of acres of the Pinchot State Forest.
A community improvement group hopes to connect the forest to the park — and to many residents who live along the way.
"How rare is it that you have urban populations that are that close to a state forest. So it just seems to be an opportunity to make this connection, to get people outdoor recreation opportunities, and all the benefits that come from that in an urban setting,“ said Gus Fahey, president of Valley in Motion (VIM).
The group works on projects that help Lackawanna Valley residents walk, bike and access health, recreation and fresh foods. Valley in Motion is currently in the process of a feasibility study to connect the park and the forest through three nearby public housing developments.
They’re calling it the South Scranton Connector Trail.
“There's just half a mile, three-quarters of a mile, of a path that can take you right to this amazing public resource that's in their backyard,” Fahey said.
A suburban state forest
There are 20 state forest systems in Pennsylvania, which are managed by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).
The Pinchot State Forest covers Northeast Pennsylvania, including Lackawanna, Luzerne, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming Counties.
Over 2,000 acres of that forest are within the Scranton city limits. DCNR calls it the Montage Tract.
Timothy Lantz is assistant district forester for the Pinchot State Forest.
"The Pinchot is a little bit different in that a lot of our land base is, we would say, a suburban state forest,” Lantz said.
State forests have a lot of unmaintained, unofficial trails which are open to the public for hiking, mountain biking, sightseeing or even bird watching. Hikers often “bush wack” on state forest land, which essentially means they’re following deer paths or making their own trails through vegetation.
"We don't have the really condensed recreation that a state park does, but you do have the opportunity to explore the state forest, kind of like on your terms,” Lantz said.
There is a forest management planning process, in which the state forest bureau looks at current roads and trails and if they can be maintained or upgraded. They also look at the protection and conservation of plants and animals who call the forest home.
“So there's a number of that we have to look into before we start throwing paint on trees and saying 'hey, this is open,'” he said.
Some state forest land has maintained and marked trails, but currently the Montage Tract does not, Lantz said.
Making the trail happen
That 2023 land acquisition that further extended Pinchot into Scranton got Valley in Motion thinking. The nonprofit already hosts a Saturday morning walking club at the park and the city will upgrade Connell’s trails.
"This project was one of three that we identified at a strategic planning session last year to see if we could bring partners together that could make a trail like this happen,” Fahey said.
The Scranton Housing Authority owns Hilltop Manor Apartments and Valley View Terrace Apartments. Skyview Park Apartments is privately owned. Fahey said ownership just switched hands.
There’s a break in the fence between Skyview and Valley View Terrace. Fahey calls that area “no man’s land.” On property maps it’s a little sliver of land that doesn’t appear to have an owner.
Connell’s trails end there. That’s where Valley in Motion hopes to pick them up and continue into the state forest.
Roxy Brown is Valley in Motion’s recreation access specialist. She helps connect residents with Connell Park.
Valley in Motion hosted an event with residents who live around the park to ask for their ideas for the connector trail.
“It was a pretty broad range. It went anywhere from lots of benches and tables to be able to the to do passive recreation with picnics, all the way to the more rocker the hills the bikers can get to, the happier they’d be,” she said.
Patti Mitchell is vice president of the South Scranton Neighborhood Association.
"Anything they do to make an improvement for people to get out and enjoy outdoor recreation, I think that is wonderful," she said of the plan.
She hopes any plan would include ways to make a trail safe, like lighting.
"This is something free and something they can explore and enjoy together," she said.
Fahey said they’re also working with other stakeholders to get feedback on the trail.
Trail development and the creation of other outdoor amenities often spark gentrification of an area, he said.
“Driving out people who were intended to benefit in the first place. But since these are affordable housing developments … those are residents that are not going to be gentrified out," he said. "They're staying there. I think that's sort of a rare and unusual aspect of this project.”
