Jim Thorpe, PA | Experience Jim Thorpe and Pocono Mountains

hi everyone this is jose for on tour in the town called the switzerland of pennsylvania the town that acts as a gateway into the pocono mountains and shares its name with an olympic gold medalist on this adventure we'll go on a bike ride across the dnl the delaware and lehigh bike path we'll explore this victorian town called one of pennsylvania's best tourist attractions and we'll take a train into the mountains to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the lehigh valley gorge so let's go on tour and enjoy a trip to jim thorpe [Music] [Music] on this trip we start at the dnl the delaware and lehigh bike path spanning across five counties three regions from wilkes-barre down to philly over 140 miles of biking trail and one of the stops on the dnl is jim thorpe a small town in between the anthocy coal mines and philadelphia [Music] the delaware and lehigh corridor or better known as a dnl trail a path stemming from the anthocyte region to the lehigh valley and delaware valley regions the dnl trail spans over 140 miles for a day of adventure and exquisite sightseeing while riding your bicycle it gives you a taste of the beautiful pennsylvania outdoors and the wonders hidden within the pocono [Music] mountains traversing the path leads you to sights of beautiful rivers historic and forgotten venues and racing against freight trains like the redding and northern [Music] the dnl trail was once a bustling transportation system for areas in these regions and exploring the trail takes you to forgotten ruins like this cave in the glenonco portion of the trail left unfinished with plans for expansion i leave the bikes behind and take a walk into the cave curious and intrigued to see what's inside and all you see from a distance is darkness there's some light at the end of the tunnel almost it's pitch black in here how did i wind up in a cave this is pretty awesome so it's in the middle of nowhere and jim thorpe on the dnl train a cave that leads to the other side of the mountain let's go check it out [Music] [Music] no nothing the dnl trail is an integral excursion for jim thorpe and the path was made famous by the canals they were used to transport goods between the cities it was the first means to make anthocyte coal reach the masses and now we enjoy this recreational bike route with a history filled with pennsylvania's groundbreaking industries [Music] we were just in that cave all the wonders that are hiding in pennsylvania it was pitch black and look at where it ends the pulse of jim thorpe the lehigh river and along with the lehigh canal it helped develop the corridor to transport these revolutionary goods all across the country [Music] the lehigh river a river that flows with a strong current through jim thorpe many times you'll see the waters full of adventurers enjoying white water rafting the river is a tributary of the delaware river where they merged in eastern pennsylvania the force of lehigh river's strong current propelled early settlers to use it for the transportation of supplies and raw materials it was the intersection of shipping numerous breakthroughs so let's enjoy the moment as i throw rocks along the river and take in the rushing sounds of the water we live in the lasting legacies of pennsylvania's rivers [Music] so [Music] so the borough of jim thorpe it's a small town that's become a major tourist attraction in pennsylvania it has really unique shops trendy eateries and it's packed full of adventures let's explore the borough of jim thorpe also called mach chunk a borough sitting between the anthocy coal mines lehigh valley and philadelphia this small burrow attracts thousands of visitors with all the fun adventures it has to offer a true brochure guide of a pocono gateway mach chunk stands for bear place as it's nestled in the shadow of bear mountain walk in the streets gives you a grand experience of the unique mom and pop shops delicious eateries and colorful buildings that make up its scenery this setting has come to be a touristic part of the borough's identity attractions like the mock chunk opera house which was originally used as a farmer's market and housed a theater on the second floor the opera house was one of the first vaudeville theaters in america now it serves as a home for live theater and local productions [Music] but one of jim thorpe's biggest storied attractions is the molly mcguire executions known as black thursday the molly mcguire were a secret irish organization working within the coal mines the organization had a history of crime that caught up with them leading to their trial and eventual execution this marked one of the largest mass executions by u.s federal government in the old jail museum you can re-imagine the conditions of their imprisonment [Music] wow [Music] the legend of jim thorpe the multi-talented all-american all-star athlete who left an imprint across several different sports the man named jim thorpe has a history full of highs and lows which is best captured in books and novels his sportsmanship and uncanny athleticism inspired the town's name when eastmac chunk and mak chunk merged to form jim thorpe the town's role during the great age of industrialization started as a shipping center for anthocy co it was an ideal location resting between larger cities and the coal mines making it an easy shipping port for the early call companies but the railroads brought a new advantage to the town the lehigh valley railroad it made it easier to transport goods and reduce travel time to cities like philadelphia the trains will later expand into passenger trains building excursions to the states of new york and new jersey at the top of its mountain we take in the grand view of the poconos and notice the mansions lined up on the hill the mansions belonging to the packers a sub packer in particular packer was one of the early pioneers of the railroads in pennsylvania becoming a major stakeholder and numerous railroad companies like the delaware lehigh schuylkill and susquehanna railroads in 1853 he merged these railroads to create the lehigh valley railroad this opened the path to transport from jim thorpe to easton it further extended the rail lines to the wyoming valley and the susquehanna valley in harrisburg the susquehanna valley connects straight to new york packer made it possible to exchange pennsylvania's materials with neighboring states in these beautiful mansions you fall in love with the design and the interesting ways they created sheds within the land and from this peak you can see the whole [Music] town [Music] jim thorpe's architecture makes it stand out as you drive past the town the buildings display vibrant colors that bring them into life the culture of the town is filled with musicians painters filmmakers photographers designers and writers becoming a hotbed for art so jim thorpe the switzerland of pennsylvania all the colorful architecture i mean now i see the comparison [Music] so [Music] [Music] oh as the day winds down it's time to grab some dinner and jim thorpe has tons of great restaurants and a couple of vineyards but we're just going to go right outside of jim thorpe into sailorsburg to the blue ridge winery to enjoy a venue just like the great brochure a summer in the mountains [Music] to break away from the adventure we explore the adult settings in the poconos jim thorpe and the rest of the poconos are filled with wineries and one of the more popular wineries is blue ridge in sailorsburg a couple of miles outside of jim thorpe the atmosphere is engaging while everyone enjoys a glass of wine and live music a fantastic place to get away and enjoy great company what i love about wineries is taking a walk through the field full of grapes to enjoy conversation and the serene peace of nature [Music] and this venue has truly amazing foods those that catch my eye like my favorite dish pizza [Music] where's my adventure going how am i in the corn maze how does this happen where am i the owners of the winery were inspired by the vineyards of the west coast bringing that california feel to the poconos a nice change of pace after a long day of bike riding and touring jim thorpe [Music] and making our dinner more exciting we drive a couple of miles to beltsville state park to wind down a bit and just enjoy the beauty of nature [Music] what a perfect date a perfect venue for an exciting afternoon now let's get back to the tour [Music] on this train ride we take a scenic trip into the mountains the lehigh valley gorge [Music] our jim thorpe tour couldn't be complete without a train ride through the lehigh valley gorge the lehigh valley gorge scenic railway dates back to 1985 when blue mountain and reading railroad began running passenger excursions throughout the state as they acquired more track lines the operations grew larger leading to the birth of the scenic railway in jim thorpe [Music] the lehigh valley railroad it established a connection between mock chunk and easting and even further it also created a path from new york city all the way to buffalo this train ride is a collaboration between redding and the lehigh valley railroad a beautiful scenic trip all through the mountains into the lehigh valley gorge [Music] this train ride is a fantastic adventure into the mountains as i peek through my window i look back at the start of our adventure watching the train pass the dnl trail it gets me excited to revisit the trail from a different perspective [Music] and i enjoy watching the cyclists runners and walkers fill the trail similar to the beginning of our trip only a couple of hours ago if you told me the borough of jim thorpe packed so many activities i wouldn't believe you because when you drive past this small town going from the coal mines to lehigh or philadelphia you only get a small glimpse of the colorful architecture but it's the multiple layers of adventures found in jim thorpe's visitor center and all the brochures that display the reasons why the town gets so many visitors and in our short time i can only give you a sample of why it's a hidden gem in the poconos [Music] so [Music] in the pocono mountains an adventure awaits filled with tourism excitement a vibrant indie scene and a history that only adds to pennsylvania's riveting story jim thorpe has some of the very best that commonwealth has to offer while maintaining its own identity this is jose for on tour if you like what you've seen today please subscribe give it a thumbs up and share if you want to know more about the places i've been to please see the links below until next time [Music] wait i didn't know the train was leaving thank you it's a good time it's a good time [Music] you

Channel: On Tour Exploring

Views: 16,011

Rating: 4.96875 out of 5

Keywords: ontourexploring, pennsylvania, nepa, jim thorpe, lehigh river, pocono mountains, discover nepa, D&L trail biking, Glen Onoko falls, lehigh gorge scenic railway, beltzville state park, pocono tourism, mauch chunk, mauch chunk opera house, anthracite coal mining, jim thorpe train ride, jim thorpe town, jim thorpe bike trail, jim thorpe jail museum, old jail museum jim thorpe, jim thorpe pennsylvania, jim thorpe visitors guide, jim thorpe visitors center

Id: 2bC_pUTCawo

Length: 21min 23sec (1283 seconds)

Published: Thu May 06 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/Batman1384]

As a resident of Jim Thorpe I have to say this was really well done. Great work

[u/ontourexploring]

Hi All,

Its been awhile since I've posted on r/Pennsylvania

I wanted to share a recent trip to Jim Thorpe. Its a small town in the Poconos in-between Hazleton and Lehigh Valley. I tried to capture as much fun and detail as possible if your curious and never been. Thank you, have a great day!

[u/shake-dog-shake]

Nicely done. I grew up camping in JT and hiking the falls (I guess I am one of those tourists), it sucks they've closed the trail to the falls, though it's perfectly understandable why. I brought my kids up there a few years ago and was shocked by how much more crowded the area has become since the 80s-90s.

[u/AnnVealEgg]

Very cool - I love Jim Thorpe! Thanks for sharing.

[u/bayoubilly88]

Is the Falls Trail open?

[u/HaverfordHandyman]

Love Jim Thorpe - hated during this last election cycle.

[u/adio1221]

Nice video. Thanks!

[u/Allemaengel]

I live just to the east of JT near Beltzville S.P. and the entire area including those 2 places as well as Lehigh Gorge and Hickory Run are beautiful.

I am fortunate to live here.

My main concern is just how swamped with tourists the area will be this summer after what we saw last year. It was terrible at Beltzville and on the D&L Trail near Glen Onoko.

[u/LindseyElkadim]

Literally wearing a shirt I got From the thrift store in Jim Thorpe me and hubby love it there