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One Year Later: The Lehigh Valley Loves It Out Here at Black River Sanctuary

When Black River Sanctuary opened in October 2024, it opened the Lehigh Valley’s newest retreat for schoolkids, hikers, runners, photographers, birders, and nature enthusiasts alike. One year later, this nature preserve already feels like home to some, with maps rarely needed, while others continue to discover it for the first time.

According to Placer.ai, Black River Sanctuary has hosted more than 7,000 visitors for more than 12,000 visits through September 30, 2025. Every visit represents a unique experience and a shared love of what’s out here along these 3+ miles of trails on 187 permanently protected acres.

Read on to see how friends and neighbors right here at home are connecting with this nature preserve, and learn how you can explore it, too!

GAINING TRACTION WITH TRAIL RUNNERS, HIKERS, AND NATURE PHOTOGRAPHERS

Early Foot Traffic from Andrew Doggett

Andrew Doggett is the first to arrive most days. He moved to the Lehigh Valley from Philadelphia two years ago to take a position working nights in an industrial manufacturing position. In the morning, when most of the Lehigh Valley is still asleep, he’s lacing up his sneakers to get a running start on the end of his day.

“I get to go from a very loud, busy environment to a quiet, slow environment,” says Doggett. “I just enjoy the serenity of it, especially after work, just to reset at the end of my day. Being outside kind of lets me wash away whatever happened that day.”  

At first, he walked and hiked. He soon tried running a mile, and he eventually worked his way up to regularly running a 3-mile loop at the new nature preserve.

With lots of training giving him steady ground to stand on, Doggett has become more involved with the trail running community at Black River Sanctuary.

“I live right on the edge of the city. It takes me like two minutes to disappear into the woods and forget I’m in a city,” says Doggett. “And having public lands close by is such a huge win. I think it’s so important.”

Photos by Steve Miller

Trailblazer Aimee Kohler Introduces Folks to a New Favorite

Meet Aimee Kohler with The Running Kind, a local, environmentally sustainable running company. She has logged about 50 miles at Black River since it opened  – not all at once, running and hiking here and there before work and on weekends.

And being the trailblazer she is, she also introduces folks to their new favorite nature preserve.

In June, The Running Kind organized Hike with PRIDE at Black River Sanctuary

“Those that joined us for the PRIDE hike had not been to Black River before and everyone loved it and was excited to return,” says Kohler. “Everyone found it accessible and enjoyable with a wide array of terrain, which always makes a hike or run more fun!”

Kohler believes in helping community members find their personal, happy pace in their happy place, whether that’s a 10-mile trail run in the summer months or a hike to stop and smell the meadow wildflowers.

Photos by Aimee Kohler

Emmie Itterly is Back on the Trail

Emmie Itterly’s first hike since her injury three years ago was the September ’25 Peak Seekers hike guided by Wildlands, up to the top of the Horizon Trail.

“My friend signed up for the hike and invited me along. I thought, if Rebecca can do this, so can I! What are friends for, if not to tackle a mountain hike together for the first time in years?” Itterly says.

Emmie packed her trekking poles, new boots, and a positive outlook—everything she needed to conquer a new-to-her mountain.

“Being last in the group didn’t matter; it gave me time to walk alongside the Wildlands guide and soak it all in,” she says.

Photos by Emmie Itterly

Through the Lens of Nature Photographer Nick Keck

Meet the photographer behind an honorable mention from Wildlands Conservancy’s fall 2024 photo contest. Nick Keck is clearly one to FALL in love with nature. Just look at his work!

“More times than not, I’m usually out chasing the light,” says Keck. “So, I’ll aim to go out in the early morning for the sunrise and early fog, or the evenings for colorful sunsets.”

Keck carefully chooses windows of time that reward him with special glimpses of wildlife.

“You never know what you’ll come across, whether it’s a turkey vulture flying overhead, a black bear looking for food in the distance, a doe and her fawn. It’s hard not to feel lucky when something like that happens.” Photography is often so much more than getting the perfect shot; it’s about being in the right place at the right time – and natural places like Black River sanctuary are protected to make that possible, permanently.

“I believe that if you show people the beauty that the world has to offer, they will forge a personal connection with it. This personal connection can inspire them to protect our natural wonders and the living things that inhabit them,” says Keck.

Even when the skies are gray, and there is no color on the trees, and creative block sets in, even then, Keck likes to just be at Black River Sanctuary.

“My favorite part about being at Black River Sanctuary is the fortuitousness of a walk in nature,” he says.

Photo by Nick Keck

Patricia Sonne’s First Visit Becomes Many More

On a recommendation from a friend, Patricia Sonne traveled the short distance from Bethlehem to visit  Black River Sanctuary for the first time, not really knowing what to expect.

“My first visit, I went with a friend and spent about an hour,” says Sonne.

Sonne began up the switchbacks from the entrance on Church Road. She took notice of all the jumping insects that found a home in the meadow habitat under the powerline right-of-way.

“Most memorable is the wildflower meadow that was bursting with life. Butterflies, grasshoppers, crickets, and all kinds of bees were dancing and jumping, some bounded so quickly, I wasn’t even sure what crossed my vision,” she says. “What a wonderful habitat you have fostered here!”

She quickly made plans to visit again (and again) with friends and family.

Photos by Pat Sonne

AN OUTDOOR CLASSROOM FOR LEARNERS OF ALL AGES

Listening to Learn

Conservation intern Nate Sletvold spent his summer coming back to a small, weatherproof box strapped to a tree. The box, no bigger than a lock box, is an Autonomous Recording Unit, or ARU. The device listens to, and records birdsongs in Black River Sanctuary’s forests all day and all night. For Sletvold, that little box at Black River was one component of the perfect learning environment for an avian studies project monitoring the near-threatened wood thrush. Sletvold is a student at SUNY ESF studying environmental science with a focus on watershed science.

The intact woodlands at Black River Sanctuary are engaging him first-hand in field work, while teaching him about the prime wildlife habitat for migratory birds like the wood thrush.

“We set recording times to 1.5 hours before and after sunrise and sunset as that is when the birds are most active,” says Sletvold. “I would estimate that over the 6 ARUs, each recording for 3 hours a day for 7 weeks, over 1,600 hours of data were produced.”

For Nate, this project was a blend of professional development and meaningful contributions to conservation biology.

“As for data analysis, the ARUs indicated that there were wood thrush using the buffer forest (forest area closest to the power line right of way),” says Sletvold. “The presence of wood thrush in the buffer will influence how future forest management will unfold.”

Wood thrush photo courtesy of Steve Miller

Seven Generations Charter School

Elizabeth Hardy was introduced to Black River Sanctuary by visiting with her child, who’s a sixth grader at Seven Generations Charter School. The school uses the preserve weekly as an outdoor classroom. Now, Hardy is a regular, too.

“After the Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary bridge broke, we were speaking to a colleague, and we decided to check it out,” says Hardy. “It’s a great place for family hikes. It’s not too hard, but it’s a good challenge for the children.”

Hardy’s sixth grader is one of 130 students studying science with Megan Ramirez, ELA & science teacher at Seven Generations Charter School. Out here at Black River, science can look like pulling weeds, clearing invasives, planting natives, and tying it all back to biodiversity through ARU studies.

“Giving sixth graders a pair of loppers to hack away at invasive Japanese Barberry (under careful supervision!) and seeing the looks of satisfaction on their faces when they have painstakingly weeded and cleared some breathing room for a baby tree is worth all the hard work,” says Ramirez.

Teachers like Ramirez, it turns out, have lives outside of school, too. She spends her free time at Wildlands’ nature preserves, trading whiteboards for switchbacks and worksheets for winding trails.

“Despite the number of times I have visited the preserve, there is always something new to see,” she says. “Wildlands properties such as Black River Sanctuary and South Mountain have been my home away from home since I began teaching at Seven Generations in 2015. Both have a special place in my heart.”

Photos courtesy of Seven Generations

THE NEWEST TRAIL

A Network of Trail Builders

At just 0.4 miles, the Perseverance Trail may seem short, but with steep terrain that scales straight uphill, it earns its name.

The newest addition to the trail network at Black River Sanctuary was built not long after the grand opening, through the time, talent, muscle, and determination — yes, perseverance —of Wildlands’ volunteers.

It began with Eagle Scouts teaming up with Preserve Manager Michael Hock to map the trail, carefully considering slope to prevent erosion and avoiding sensitive habitat areas. They logged 120 hours in that process. From there, corporate volunteer groups cleared the path, removing invasive species and laying the groundwork for what would become the Perseverance Trail.

Find Black River Sanctuary on AllTrails

The Perseverance Trail, along with other loops at Black River Sanctuary, is now available on AllTrails. Real-time GPS navigation and directions in the app support hikers, trail runners, and birders like Andrew Doggett, Aimee Kohler, and YOU.

THREE OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE

Black River Sanctuary is a testament to what happens when community takes care of community. From corporate volunteer groups clearing invasives, to Seven Generations students planting natives, to the giving community who makes it possible to enjoy this amazing return on investment not just one year later, but forever! Black River Sanctuary is out here, and it’s clear the Lehigh Valley loves it.

Wildlands is grateful for the collective impact of the community’s combined efforts. Together, we’re keeping Black River Sanctuary open, safe, and accessible for first-time visitors and experienced explorers.

Upcoming Outdoor Adventures

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