The Lackawanna River might get a new designation as a state “water trail” to highlight it as a source of aquatic recreation and activities and help make it more user-friendy, proponents said.
The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority hopes to get 31 miles of the Lackawanna River, from Carbondale to the Coxton confluence with the Susquehanna River in Duryea, designated as a water trail. Such a designation could lead to efforts to improve or add public access points and amenities, and thus raise the river’s potential for recreational and economic development impacts.
Trees line Sweeney’s Beach along the Lackawanna River in Scranton Thursday, May 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Lackawanna River runs along Sweeney’s Beach in Scranton Thursday, May 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Lackawanna River flows through Blakely at the Blakely Borough Recreation Complex Thursday, May 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Parker Street Landing in North Scranton Thursday, May 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Trees line Sweeney’s Beach along the Lackawanna River in Scranton Thursday, May 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The effort stemmed from conversations between the LHVA and state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources about five years ago, when Sweeney’s Beach in Scranton stood alone as a ready river access, said LHVA Director of Operations Owen Worozbyt. Since then, five other river access sites have opened, including two in Dickson City and one each in Scranton, Mayfield and Carbondale, he said.
“Now we have a lot more public sites open for river access,” for fishing and paddling activities, Worozbyt said. “We felt it would be a good time to explore this opportunity, to find out where there are weaknesses in the system” and how they could be improved or strengthened.
To that end, the LHVA issued a public notice in The Times-Tribune on April 28 requesting proposals from design firms “interested in conducting a comprehensive study of the Lackawanna River to develop the waterway as a statewide Water Trail,” and with a deadline for submissions of May 21.
Possible outcomes of the initiative might call for improving existing accesses or adding new ones, as well as installing signs along the river itself and developing interactive digital mapping for the public. Installation of mile-markers along the river and signs on bridges identifying them to paddlers passing underneath could help them know exactly where they are at on the river, as well as distances to downstream destinations.
“It just helps with navigation,” he said of such signs and markers.
Digital maps available on smart phones and online also could readily show access points and amenities.
Nearby water trail designations include the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, the Delaware River along Wayne and Pike counties, and the northern part of the Lehigh River from White Haven to Easton.
Established in 1991, the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority is the management entity of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley National and State Heritage Area. Based in Scranton, the heritage area encompasses the Lackawanna River watershed that includes most of Lackawanna County and parts of Luzerne, Susquehanna and Wayne counties.
The national heritage area was created by a designation of Congress in 2000. The founding legislation noted the area’s anthracite coal mining, iron, rail and textile industries and development of labor unions as nationally significant.
The heritage area’s signature project is the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, which hosts various recreational, educational and community activities and events and has become a key driver of both recreation and economic development in the county.
“We’ve been building trails for last 20 years. We’ve been trying to connect people to the river and now want to expand on it and try to get the river some more recognition” as a designated water trail, Worozbyt said.
He anticipates LHVA might award a contract for a water trail study in late June, and the study would start in July and take about 18 months to complete. It also would involve gathering a good deal of public and stakeholder input. DCNR will fund the $50,000 cost of the study, and this step only involves doing the study itself; any actions that a study might recommend to undertake would come later, depending on availability of future funding to implement improvements, he said.
Pennsylvania’s water trails program dates to 2008 and now consists of 2,200 miles in 28 waterways that link outdoor recreation and water conservation efforts, according to the nonprofit Pennsylvania Environmental Council that partners with DCNR, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the National Parks Service in running the program.
Once a feasibility study is completed, the proponent entity submits an application for designation to PEC, which convenes the other partners to determine if the designation should be approved, said PEC Water Program Director Tali MacArthur.
In boiling down a description of a water trail, MacArthur said it’s basically a paddling destination between two points with a reasonable number of launches or public accesses along the way, and that also allows for a variety of activities and amenities and signs to direct the paddlers.
“The great thing about being a designated water trail is it really benefits the community. It’s a real asset to the paddling public and we like to think those trails bring some economic benefit and recognition to those towns,” MacArthur said. “We definitely have a goal of expanding the water trail network. It has a lot of benefits all around.”
Kayakers make their way towrads the finish line at Sweeney’s Beach during the Lackawanna Riverfest Canoe-A- Thon on Saturday, May 20, 2017. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Looking to cool off on Sept. 5, 2023 during a late-summer heatwave, Ava Pontius, 8, of Gouldsboro splashes water while sitting in the Lackawanna River in Blakely. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Matt Hill of Roaring Brook paddles the Lackawanna River during the annual RiverFest at Sweeney’s Beach in Scranton in May 2019. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Ducks float in the Lackawanna River in Archbald on Sunday, June 7, 2020. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Samantha Bird of Scranton approaches the finish line of the Extreme Kayak/Canoe Race at the Lackawanna River Conservation Association’s annual ShiverFest at Sweeney’s Beach in Scranton on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Fly fishing enthusiast and host of Sportsman Channel fishing show Charlie Charlesworth of Clarks Summit fishes for trout on the Lackawanna River in Dickson City on May 28, 2014. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Fish and Boat Commission officer Bob Webber holds a year-old brown trout in his hand on the bank of the Lackawanna River near Archbald in September of 2006. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Kayaks are loaded onto Sweeney’s Beach after making the run down the Lackawanna River for RiverFest in May of 2019. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Bike Tour boat makes their way down the river during the Lackawanna River Corridor Association’s RiverFest on Saturday, June 9, 2012. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
The Lackawanna River Conservation Association held its annual RiverFest on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023 at Sweeney’s Beach along the river in the Pine Brook section of Scranton. Debbie Gartelmann of Lake Ariel brought her dog, Huxley, for some rover-romping in the river. She tossed small stones in the water for Huxley to try hunting down, sinking his snout under the surface and popping back up again for air. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Adam Eiden, 13, of Moosic, left, and Peter Nicholas, 13, of Scranton, make their way down the Lackawann River in a boat they named “The Whillett Float” during the Lackawanna River Corridor Association RiverFest 2014 on Saturday, May 31. They named the boat The Whillett Float because they wondered, will it float? (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
People gather at Sweeney’s Beach in Scranton to watch kayakers make their way down the Lackawanna River during the Lackawanna River Conservation Association’s RiverFest in May of 2016. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO).
Bernie McGurl, Executive Director of the Lackawanna River Conservation Association, walks Sweeney’s Beach on Monday, June 22, 2020, after the Lackawanna River was honored as Pennsylvania’s 2020 River of the Year. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Pete Nicholas of Scranton pulls his son, Colten Nicholas, 6, and their pirate-themed boat through the Lackawanna River during Lackawanna River Corridor Association’s RiverFest 2015 in Scranton. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Jude Colarusso, 6, of Jermyn, looks at a container with fish and other creatures found in the Lackawanna River in Blakely as he participates in Pennsylvania American Water’s Wonderful World of Water camp on Aug. 3, 2022. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO
Kevin McDonough, left, and Martin Toth, both of Scranton, near the finish line during the Lackawanna River Canoe-A-Thon at Riverfest in Scranton on Saturday, May 7, 2011. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
The Lackawanna River is seen from Chestnut Street in Mayfield on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
The Lackawanna River surges through Old Forge near South Main Street on Sept. 1, 2021. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Jason McNamara, 15, and his father Joseph, Clarks Summit, make their way down the Lackawanna River in Olyphant during the Riverfest Canoe-a-thon in 2003. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Lackawanna River Corridor Association’s Riverfest canoe-a-thon passes through the Senator Robert Mellow Recreation Complex in Blakely Borough on Saturday morning, May 10, 2008. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO_
A scary dragon float makes its way down the Lackawanna River in Green Ridge during Riverfest in 2004. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Tom Greene, Fish and Boat Commission Cold Water Leader, left holds an electrode and a net as Jason Brown, FBC cold water unit worker holds a brown trout in his net as the commission tested waters in the Lackawanna River near Archbald in July of 1998. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Gilligan’s Island 40 years later, make their way down the Lackawanna River during the Regatta at Riverfest 2006.(from left) Sharon Quinn as Ginger, Rochelle Ferraro as Mrs. Howell, Connor Jefcoat as Skipper and the bunny as Gilligan. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Lackawanna River at the Connell Street bridge on May 13, 2021 near the Old Forge borehole that drains out underground mine water into the river that turns the waterway orange. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
A long line of canoes paddle down the Lackawanna River in Olyphant during the Riverfest Canoe-a-thon in May of 2003. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
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Kayakers make their way towrads the finish line at Sweeney’s Beach during the Lackawanna Riverfest Canoe-A- Thon on Saturday, May 20, 2017. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)