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The Luzerne County Levee Trail is a paved path on top of the Susquehanna River flood levees in the Wyoming Valley. This reach runs about ten miles from Wyoming Avenue near the Wyoming Monument down the west bank through Forty Fort and Kingston, crosses the Market Street Bridge into the River Common in Wilkes-Barre, then follows the east bank through Hanover Township to Solomon Creek. The grade is dead flat, the surface is asphalt, and most road crossings pass beneath the bridges. Riders get open river views the whole way, the end of the airport runway near Forty Fort, and city parks at Nesbitt Park, Kirby Park, and the River Common. A short on-road detour links the two Wilkes-Barre sections.
Luzerne County Levee Trail
Your comfort. Prognosticated.
-Cory
In a typical year the Luzerne County Levee Trail has about 115 to 161 days of excellent weather for popular activities such as hiking, dog walking, e-biking, running, biking, birding, and walking, with May, September, and October the best months.
Hourly comfort scores for the next 15 days of weather, tuned to your activity and your own thresholds.
Plan your visit to this trail. Get the best windows for a comfortable outing.
Enjoy the Luzerne County Levee Trail!
In half of past years, color along the Luzerne County Levee Trail peaks October 19 to 29, typically around October 24. The trail has 37% deciduous coverage, with the majority being red maple, chestnut oak, black cherry, northern red oak, and sweet birch.
The Susquehanna River rose over Wilkes-Barre in March 1936, and the Wyoming Valley's flood protection system began as the answer to that flood. This corridor never carried a railroad. The land under the levee was populated by settlers from Connecticut, and the northern trailhead sits beside the Wyoming Monument, which marks the graves of those killed at the Battle of Wyoming on July 3, 1778. The earthen levees built after 1936 held until Tropical Storm Agnes. On June 23, 1972, the river topped the Wilkes-Barre levee at 38.5 feet and the city was evacuated for four days. For decades afterward the levees stood as necessary but daunting banks that cut residents off from the river. In 1996 the county formed the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority as part of the $200 million Wyoming Valley Levee Raising Project. From the mid 1990s into the early 2000s the project raised the level of protection by three to five feet. The rebuilt levee crests were paved, and that levee raising gave the valley its river trail, more than 12 miles of paved path in four reaches across five municipalities. In 2009 Wilkes-Barre opened the River Common, a riverfront park with new flood gates through the levee, fishing piers, and an amphitheater, reconnecting the city to its river. The Authority now runs a beautification program along the trail with new landscaping and educational wayside kiosks.
