Forest Park Initiative

More than 760 acres of land on South Mountain owned by Lehigh University, containing more than 900 species of plants and animals identified by citizen scientists

Two loops -- blazed Green and Mist -- are available via a trailhead at South Mountain Park for public hiking and enjoyment. The community is invited to explore these trails. The Lehigh student, staff and faculty community may access additional trails. All trails are blazed with colored markers and trailhead signage clearly displays trail rules and regulations.

With the exception of the newly opened trails, the land is not currently open to the public. The land can be accessed with permission of the university for research and educational purposes

• An accessible, shared natural resource benefitting campus and community with shared enjoyment of the outdoors, experiential learning and academic research, and ecological restoration and stewardship
• A healthy regenerating forest containing a network of woodland trails linking parts of the Lehigh campus and nearby parts of Bethlehem. 
• Lehigh students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the Bethlehem community will gain access the trails for mobility, recreation and contemplation
• Forest Park will serve as an embodiment of Lehigh’s motto: Homo minister et interpres naturae Man, the servant and interpreter of nature

Faculty members wishing to conduct research that will involve setting up permanent or semi-permanent structures such as fences, tracking cameras and other devices should use our space allocation process.

Please refer to the Events on Campus webpage for general information regarding student event planning and to complete an event planning form.

No.

At this time, the primary trails open to the public are those accessible from South Mountain Park. It is important to note that these specific areas are utilized for active University research; therefore, mountain bikes are restricted on these two trails to ensure the integrity of those research sites and the safety of our community on those two loops already blazed.

We are continuing to plan for the future expansion of our trail network, and those plans do include consideration of the development of areas specifically intended for multi use including mountain biking. However, we do not have an established timeline for that phase of the project yet and the majority of our property will remain closed to use until that time.

This is the first phase in the larger Forest Park initiative of opening and engaging the forest, and connecting the entire Lehigh campus through safe multi-modal transportation.

Future phases of the Forest Park initiative will include greater active management of the forest to ensure its sustainability. This includes interventions to encourage regeneration of desirable tree species.