LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — The Countryside Conservancy manages more than 264 acres of land, but now the nonprofit is focused on the heavily used Trolley Trail in the Abingtons of Lackawanna County.
Large sections of the trail were washed away by flash flooding.
Caution tape covers the entrance to the Countryside Conservancy's Trolley Trail near Clarks Summit. The trail is now closed due to storm damage.
"There are sections that are still usable, but there's also so much damage, and we don't want to see people turning an ankle or spilling their bike," said Countryside Conservancy executive director Bill Kern.
Kern says the trail is used by thousands of people every year.
Now, the once-perfect gravel path is full of ruts and debris.
"I was expecting to see a couple of bad blowouts, and when I did my survey on Sunday morning, I was just blown away by how much of the entire trail was impacted," Kern said. "We are working with local contractors to determine how much it's going to cost to sort of band-aid the worst spots and get the trail back open to as many people as possible, but also looking longer term."
Kern says the damage is worse in some parts than others and expects the cost to be hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.
"We're doing everything we can to raise funds and get financial support and relief from municipalities, county, the state."