ABOUT THE LHT

The LHT’s 20-mile trail winding through Hopewell and Lawrence Townships offers safe access to various sections of the towns for kids, families, bicyclists, joggers, hikers and commuters. This family-oriented trail belongs to all of us and is designed to promote recreation, healthier lifestyles, better mobility and commuting, and a cleaner environment. Thousands of your neighbors support the trail and we hope you will, too.

The Lawrence Hopewell Trail is a community asset. We want you and your family to use and enjoy it

OUR MISSION

The nonprofit Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corporation:

Creates and leads cooperative initiatives to build and maintain the 20-mile LHT multi-use trail in Hopewell and Lawrence Townships, providing alternative transportation options and safe, equitable, and enjoyable access to the outdoors for recreation, health, and wellness.

Connects people and communities and promotes development of links to wider trail networks.

Engages people of all ages, abilities, ethnicities, and backgrounds from Mercer County and beyond in supporting the LHT and its programs to meet diverse needs and interests.

Collaborates with communities, corporations, nonprofit organizations, and governments to achieve its goals.

OUR STORY

2004

The first trail segment was constructed, the same year that the LHTC received its federal tax exemption as a 501-c-3 corporation.

2006

The NJ Department of Transportation supported a major study that projected use of the trail and identified possible approaches to some of the most challenging segments. That seminal document continues to serve us well. Financial and/or in-kind support for the LHT has come from BMS, the largest single donor to the trail since its inception, as well as ETS, Mercer County, the Mercer County Park Commission, Lawrence and Hopewell Townships, the NJ Department of Transportation, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the Watershed Institute, D&R Greenway Land Trust, the Lawrenceville School, Prism Capital Partners, Capital Health, and individual donors.

TODAY

Community use of the LHT and community support continue to grow. Trail counters placed at strategic locations along the LHT document over 100,000 visits. Work continues on the few short sections of uncomplete trail, and we expect to be finished in 2026.

Meanwhile, the Johnson Trolley Trail, a re-envisioned connection from Princeton to Trenton is gaining momentum. More ways to connect you to where you want to go.

To receive a copy of our financials, please email us.

TRAIL PARTNERS

Since its inception, the LHT has achieved many milestones with the support of public and private partners. These include:

TRAIL CONNECTIONS

The LHT is about connections—with people, and places. There are a few short connector trails to other communities and trail systems, with more being planned. A short trail leads from the LHT to Pennington. Princeton also has a trail network that currently leads close to the LHT. At the Brearley House, a short connector trail leads to the D & R Canal, a 70-mile pathway along the Delaware River and canal system through Hunterdon, Mercer, and Somerset counties. Additional connections to Hopewell Borough, Ewing, and Princeton are under consideration.

The LHT is a key member of the Circuit Trails, an 800-mile network of bicycle and pedestrian trails connecting people to jobs, communities, and parks in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The Circuit Trails network begins south of Philadelphia, extends northeast to the LHT, and connects to the East Coast Greenway to the east and to the Appalachian Trail to the west.

Once complete, the Circuit Trails will be one of the nation’s premier urban trail networks. It will make our region stronger by providing a place for healthy transportation and recreation, connecting our communities to green space, and making our neighborhoods more attractive places to live and work.

For more information, visit the Circuit Trails.