DCNR photo, via penn capital-star One of the waterfalls along Glen Onoko Falls trail in Carbon County is pictured.

Elena Eisenstadt/Capital-Star
The Glen Onoko Trail, overlooking a series of waterfalls near Jim Thorpe, was a popular but dangerous hiking spot before the Pennsylvania Game Commission made it off limits in 2019. Legislation transferring the land to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources could lead to its reopening.

Neil Bogin bikes weekly on a portion of the rail trail in the Lehigh Gorge State Park in Carbon County.

But, he has always steered clear of what sits just below it: the trailhead of one of the most popular, yet challenging hikes in the Pocono Mountains — Glen Onoko Falls trail.

While tourists and locals have attempted and completed the hike, others like Bogin have avoided its 800 foot cliff along a series of waterfalls. “It was never safe,” even before they closed it down, he said.

Glen Onoko has a reputation around Carbon County for its majestic views and steep incline, which draw experienced and inexperienced hikers alike. But, the trail frequently overwhelmed county emergency medical service agencies, who are largely staffed by volunteers.

On any given day, upwards of 50 volunteers would go to rescue people on the mountain. Even after it was closed in 2019, some people continued walking the trail. In one instance in 2022, a 72-year-old woman died. Rep. Doyle Heffley, (R-Carbon) said rescue missions have proven dangerous for emergency responders, as well as hikers stuck on the trail.

Now, Pennsylvania is one step closer to reopening the Glen Onoko Falls Trail after Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill in late June to incorporate the trail into Lehigh Gorge State Park. While the move provides the necessary land to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), funding in the state’s 2025-26 budget will ultimately determine the specific plans to improve the trail.

“After a planning process and improvements, DCNR would reopen the Glen Onoko Falls Trail, increasing safe access to waterfalls and scenic views,” Wesley Robinson, DCNR press secretary, wrote in a statement to the Capital-Star.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission controlled the property, but the measure finalizes a land transfer to DCNR, which has more leeway to secure and maintain the trail.

As a result of this year’s land conveyance bill, the DCNR will transfer roughly 368 acres of land in Lehigh Township, Carbon County, to the Game Commission, in exchange for 495 acres of land that includes Glen Onoko in Nesquehoning Borough and Lehigh Township, Carbon County.

The Game Commission wrote in an April statement that it was unable to improve or reopen the trail, since its focus is on wildlife management and not natural resource management.

The land swap is fruitful for both parties, according to the agency, since the property that the commission will receive in exchange will offer better hunting opportunities than the steep land around Glen Onoko.

The community of Jim Thorpe has gained a reputation for its old-world charm and easy access to outdoor activities and people in the town are cautiously optimistic about the possibility of Glen Onoko Falls reopening. Shop owners and tourism advocates are looking forward to the economic gains, while they also stress the need for safety measures, given its grave history.

Neil Bogin, who has lived in Jim Thorpe for 20 years, is also excited about the potential reopening, but only, he said, “if it’s done right.”

Investing in tourism through state parks has been a priority for Shapiro throughout his first term as governor. His proposed 2025-2026 state budget includes $5 million in new funding for expanding and improving public lands, including Glen Onoko.

DCNR spokesperson Wesley Robinson declined to comment further about how the budget impasse will affect the proposed funding.

Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation industry provided nearly $19 billion to the state’s economy in 2023, representing a two percent share of its gross domestic product, according to 2023 data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The industry sustains more than 168,000 jobs, which provide nearly $9 billion in salaries, according to the analysis.

Outdoor recreational tourism has a significant impact on Carbon County alone, since it accounts for nearly 12% of the Pocono’s annual 30 million tourists visiting the area, according to Chris Barron, president of the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.

Glen Onoko first became a popular tourist destination in the 1800s, when the Lehigh Valley Railroad offered train service to the falls. The Wahnetah Hotel — originally known as the Glen Onoko Tavern — provided a popular summer vacation spot nearby.

After decades as a quiet coal shipping community, Jim Thorpe, the closest neighboring town to Glen Onoko, began to see another tourism boom after the 1980s, said Beth Beers, owner of Everything Nice Gift Shop, which has been open for 40 years.

Beers has seen tourism reshape Jim Thorpe over the decades. She remembers how most of Broadway, the main thoroughfare in town, was boarded up and empty. Now, tourism supports the economy with many mom-and-pop shops, like her own, she said.

Jim Thorpe has been chasing the tourism industry for decades. In 1954, the town renamed itself from Mauch Chunk to Jim Thorpe after the legendary Native American athlete who was laid to rest in the community with the hope of attracting more visitors.Thorpe, originally of the Sac and Fox Nation of Oklahoma, was sent to the Carlisle Indians Industrial School, which was designed to assimilate Native American children into society. According to the National Park Service, its mission was to “kill the Indian” to “save the Man.” A 2010 lawsuit challenged his burial site, arguing that his remains should have been returned to the Sac and Fox Nation.

Despite the economic benefit of outdoor tourism in the area, Glen Onoko’s natural gems have become off-limits in recent years because of the safety risks they pose.

“It’s been a major issue for quite some time. It’s a wonderful piece of property, and many people hike it,” Rep. Heffley said during the land conveyance bill’s final passage on the House floor in late June.

Heffley told the House about one incident where two people had died falling off the falls, but there were only enough EMS volunteers to recover one body. Another crew went back the next day for the second one.

“It got to the point where people were leaving the first responder service, because every weekend they would spend their whole weekend up there at this trail,” he said.

According to Heffley, the land transfer will allow more and safer access to the facility, which will in turn promote local tourism and relieve a burden on volunteer first responders.

“What we want to do is take this property, which is a liability right now to the Game Commission, a liability to the residents in Carbon County, and turn it into an asset,” he said.

Shop owners and tourism advocates agree.

Brooke Lenker, executive director of the Keystone Trails Association, agrees. “Reopening a trail brings people, which brings dollars nearby,” she said.

James Lambert, assistant manager at Pocono Biking, says he thinks more people would visit if they had the chance to hike Glen Onoko. Even in its disrepair, “we definitely get people [who] ask about the trail and don’t even know it’s closed yet,” he said.

But from experience, he also knows it’s not an easy hike. “It’s sketchy,” Lambert said. “There’s definitely some parts that an experienced hiker is gonna have to really take their time and, like, work for it, but the views on it are awesome.”

According to Karen Bly, general manager of the Broadway Grille and Pub in Jim Thorpe, far too many amateur hikers attempt Glen Onoko without proper training or gear, she said.

If it did reopen, Bly hopes to see a park ranger stationed near the trail and a canteen to rent or buy gear at the base of the hike, borrowing an idea from some of the national parks she’s visited out west.

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Elena Eisenstadt is a 2025 Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association summer intern.

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Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.