The Monocacy Way Pathway is a nice walk with both paved and dirt paths and gives the feeling of being deep in the woods while still in the city. Recent renovations had the path closed for a while, but it opened up in late spring this year and we decided to give it a try.

There are two ways to walk the trail, and one side version, as far as I can tell. We decided to go on a Sunday and park at the Old York Road Lot when the parking is free (it’s a pay lot for the rest of the week). We had to cross over W Union Boulevard and walk under the sign for the Route 378 North exit to get to the path entrance. Can you see the road on the left? That’s the onramp.

It means that you can hear the cars zooming past, but the noise quickly fades as you walk beside the Monocacy Creek. There are little paths leading to the creek every few feet, it seemed, for fishermen to use. We saw a few young hopefuls on our walks.

One part of the trail leaves the dirt trail behind for a wooden walkway that’s on a slight downward slope (or upward depending on the direction) that reminds me of the wooden walkways at Ponce Inlet in Florida. There’s plenty of room to walk side-by-side or for bicycles.

You cross over an old railroad track (where we met a couple walking the rails instead of the path) and there was even a pile of what looked like forgotten railroad ties along the way. We’ve been tempted to walk the rails to see where it comes out, but haven’t yet. Maybe when the weather is a bit cooler.

Eventually, the path takes you behind Burnside Plantation and the large garden that is surrounded by a high, wooden fence. The farmhouse was built by James and Mary Burnside in 1748 and was the first private home in the Bethlehem Moravian community.

The path seems to disappear at this point but you continue on across the back grounds along the row of enormous willow trees until you come out to the driveway. To connect to the next part of the path, you need to cross busy Schoenersville Road. There isn’t a crosswalk, so use an abundance of caution here.

For the next half, you’re still following along Monocacy Creek, but the creek less visible, and the dirt trail has changed to pavement. You can see the active railroad track at various points in this section, more often than the creek. The first time we walked Monocacy Way the tracks were easily accessible in this section, but when we returned a few weeks later fencing had been installed.

Along the way you hear and see birds of all kinds (we saw mostly robins) and squirrels dart across the path or rustle high in the trees. And different flowers and berries created bursts of color along the edges of the path, along with vine-twisted trees that gave much needed shade on the hot days.

Odd cement structures poked out of the foliage, decorated with graffiti, and I wondered if they had been part of a building for the railroad once upon a time, but haven’t found anything about them yet online.

The path begins a slight but noticeable incline once you leave the shade of the trees. Ahead on the hill is a dog park beside Memorial Pool on Illick’s Mill Road. The path ends (or begins) just beyond the parking lot. If you start at this point, you can always park for free here.

Just down the road is Illick’s Mill (which is on the National Register of Historic Places) and Monocacy Park, where the other entrance of the path is (just off the parking lot). This section is a slim dirt path that I have never walked completely to connect with the rest. (The bit that I did walk was very nice, but a little overgrown.)

Using my walking app, the whole walk from and back to the car was around 4 miles, but felt more like 2 miles. Along the paved section there are benches spaced out nicely to take a break or just sit to enjoy the day, but there was only one trash can that we saw, and it was at the beginning of the path at Memorial Pool. Thankfully, the usual bottles, masks, and crumpled fast-food bags were missing along the way on our visits, which was appreciated.

I recommend taking a walk on the Monocacy Way Pathway in Bethlehem if you are in the area. Bring your camera!