Union Canal Bicycle & Walking Trail
Following a portion of the old Union Canal Towpath, the trail is 4.2 Miles long. The Union Canal, which paralleled the Tulpehocken Creek, was 79 1/2 miles in length and ran from Reading on the Schuylkill River to Middletown on the Susquehanna River. The Union Canal’s first engineer, William Weston, copied the narrow and shallow construction methods used in building canals in his native England. The canal, completed in 1827 at a cost of over six million dollars, was never an economic success because of the reluctance of boatmen to use the narrow channel and locks.
Infrared Photo.