2019 in Review: Glen Onoko Falls trail closed to hiking

After years of injuries, rescues and deaths, officials decided to close off the popular Glen Onoko Falls trail in 2019.

The issue prompted a visit from Gov. Tom Wolf and a petition signed more than 20,000 times.

On May 1, the Pennsylvania Game Commission officially closed the trail, citing deteriorating trail conditions.

Game commission officials said when it closed the trail that conditions had deteriorated and they lacked the resources to make necessary upgrades.

The decision was ultimately made in an effort to protect hikers and first responders who must rescue the injured, a game commission official said at the time.

“The justification is really to protect human life, reduce injuries, protect first responders. And also, the trail itself has just been deteriorating from overuse,” said Mike Beahm, a land management supervisor.

Local firefighters said the decision to close the trail belonged to the game commission. However they had been asking the game commission for several years to improve the trail.

They said the rescues at the Glen take a lot of time and manpower. With no agency dedicated to trail rescues, that responsibility often falls to them.

“It usually takes 5-6 fire departments to get enough manpower to successfully extricate someone from up there depending on their location. It’s very time consuming, it’s rough on all the guys of course, and it’s getting worse,” said Tim Rossman, chief of Lehigh and Lausanne Rural Fire Co.

At least eight people have died in the past 40 years at the falls. Injuries occurred about once a month while the trail was still open, officials said.

In the final days of the trail numerous hikers visited for one last hike.

On May 21, Gov. Tom Wolf visited the base of the closed falls trail with Sen. John Yudichak to promote Restore Pennsylvania, his proposal to use a tax on the state’s natural gas industry. Wolf promised that he would make the investments necessary to reopen the trail if lawmakers made Restore into law.

Wolf said it would cost more than $4 million to make the necessary changes to the trail in order to make it safe for hikers.

On June 3, about a month after the trail officially closed, crews had to rescue a woman who fell while hiking the falls trail. Officials said that she would be cited for using the closed trail.