The High Line in NYC is an almost 1.5 mile long elevated public park which was “built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side,” according to thehighline.org.
We’ve enjoyed walks along The High Line many times including one during OpenHouseNY when one section wasn’t yet open to the public.
One problem with The High Line is that it can get very busy, making visits at times not as enjoyable.
While reading about things to do in Pennsylvania not too far from home, I came across the SteelStacks Hoover-Mason Trestle.
The Hoover-Mason Trestle reminded me of something like The High Line (but of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) so we had to visit.
Some details about the Hoover-Mason Trestle, the HMT “was once used as a narrow gauge railroad to carry the coke, limestone and iron ore needed to make the iron from the ore yards to the blast furnaces. Now a public walkway designed to be part museum, part community recreation resource and part attraction, the trestle stands 46 feet tall and 2,000 feet long,” according to steelstacks.org. 
We visited on a chilly day which made for a really great visit.
(FYI- the Visitor’s Center was closed when we were there.)
Due to the weather, there was probably less than 15 other people visiting the Hoover-Mason Trestle. This meant a great opportunity to get photos with nobody else in them!
From the moment we arrived, we were impressed by the site.
We started our walk at the far end, passing the blast furnaces.
The blast furnaces were a great backdrop for Lucas and Theo to jump.
The site is well maintained and the paths are great for walking (and swinging little kids) on.
We passed a few rail cars which were left on the railroad tracks. Too bad you can’t go inside the trains for a closer look.
We liked that there were some really cool sitting areas incorporated into the paths. 
When we were done wandering around the Hoover- Mason Trestle, we had some fun at the small playground area. 
We also had a fun photo-op with a very famous college mascot, the Penn State Nittany Lion!
Final Thoughts:
We loved checking out the SteelStacks Hoover Mason Trestle. If you happen to be in the area or around Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, it’s well worth a visit. I’d recommend giving yourself at least an hour to wander around.
Find out more about The High Line of Bethlehem, PA here.
Nate- That sounds awesome! We definitely plan to head back to Bethlehem in the future. Our next PA visit is back to Philly. 🙂
During the winter of 2020 in the height of the pandemic we were looking for anything to do outside of our home in Philadelphia that would be cheap and convenient. We stayed at the Hyatt place in downtown Bethlehem and had a great time. I love hotels that are in a town and walkable to restaurants, breweries, cafes, etc. weirdly enough I had some of the best Thai food in Bethlehem. The nearby zoo is also a fun little diversion for kids and there’s a big park to walk around in around the property.
Christian- We definitely plan to head back one of these days!
They have a great museum on site at the Bethlehem Steel plant as well, filled with all sorts of inventions from the 1800’s well into the 1900’s.