How to join in eastern Pennsylvania’s 2025 outdoor trail challenges for prizes

May 1 brought the launch of 2025 challenges for logging miles in the great outdoors of eastern Pennsylvania.

Get Your Tail on the Trail, in its 12th year, is a partnership between the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor and St. Luke’s University Health Network. It runs through Nov. 9.

The separate Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Challenge is a hiking initiative of the Appalachian Mountain Club and continues through Dec. 31.

After registering, participants are urged to log and report their miles to earn prize incentives, while of course getting in some quality exercise outside.

Here are more details:

Get Your Tail on the Trail

The Get Your Tail on the Trail 165-Mile Challenge encourages people to paddle, bike, run, walk or roll a cumulative 165 miles. That’s the distance that the National Heritage Corridor’s D&L Trail spans from Bucks County through the Lehigh Valley and into the Pocono Mountains region.

Participants can register anytime up until Nov. 9, and back-log any mileage accumulated since May 1. Any miles count — on the D&L or anywhere you exercise. (Yes, that includes time indoors on cardio equipment, according to organizers.)

Prizes and incentives are due to be awarded Nov. 9 during St. Luke’s D&L RaceFest. Past years’ prizes have included a foldable picnic blanket, winter gloves that are phone compatible, dry bags, foldable and regular backpacks, water bottles, socks, duffle bags, and hats and scarves.

Register at tailonthetrail.org to get started, and watch those miles progress on the program’s dashboard. Organizers say a welcome letter with more information will be sent to the address participants use to register, within a few weeks.

Challenges and Tail on the Trail events are listed on the website to help motivate people to meet the 165-mile goal.

A bike/run/walk kickoff event was held Saturday at Bethlehem’s Sand Island D&L Trailhead near the boat launch at 134 River St. There is also a Northeast PA Chapter of Tail on the Trail, with a kickoff that had been scheduled for Wednesday. Visit tailonthetrail.org to learn more.

Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Challenge

The Appalachian Mountain Club invites outdoors enthusiasts to set out on a hiking challenge through Dec. 1, and earn prizes and recognition for their efforts.

The goal is to explore the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail, a 300-mile network of multi-use trails and rugged footpaths that connects 13 counties in the Highlands Region of Pennsylvania — from the Delaware River to the Appalachian Trail in Franklin County.

Hikers can learn more and submit their completed miles by Jan. 5, 2026, at pahighlands.org.

Those who submit their miles in the 10- and 25-mile categories receive a Highlands Trail patch and a completion certificate. Hikers who submit 50 or 100-plus miles will receive a patch, certificate and re-usable PA Highlands Trail water bottle.

Find the Highlands Trail segments through pahighlands.org. The D&L Trail in Northampton County is part of the Highlands network.

Participants can highlight their efforts on social media using the Get Your Tail on the Trail hashtags #GetYourTailOnTheTrail, #GYTOT and #TailontheTrail. Highlands hikers are encouraged to share their hiking stories and photos with the community through social media with the hashtag #HighlandsTrailChallenge, by mentioning @HighlandsTrailNetworkinPA on Facebook and by email to Patricia McGuire at pmcguire@outdoors.org.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.