One affirmation of the value Iola places in its burgeoning network of trails can be found in the handful of volunteers who turned up last Saturday in below-freezing temperatures to continue work on the area’s newest project.
The Lehigh Portland Rail Trail will go from Elm Creek Park, on South Washington Avenue, then cut east along the south side of the creek, where it will continue on a gradual rise above the north side of the quarry, which was created more than a century prior by the former Lehigh Portland Cement Company. From there it will travel east and connect to the opposite trailhead at South Kentucky.
The main trail, tracing the steep shelf of limestone overlooking the scenic quarry and running, in total, for about a mile and a half, will offer impressive views of what is now Elks Lake. (Note: while trailside views of the lake are free of charge and open to the public, recreational use of its water continues to be reserved for Elks members only.)
