Taste of the Trail will offer food & drink while benefiting Lebanon Valley Rail Trail

A unique fundraising event benefiting the Lebanon Valley Rails-to-Trails system will offer guests samples of local food and beverages – and a chance to work off those calories on the trail.

Taste of the Trail will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at the entrance to the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail outside the Lebanon Valley Expo Center & Fairgrounds off Rocketry Road.

According to a press release, the event will welcome “approximately 200 guests for an afternoon of curated tastings along the scenic trail.” The ticketed event will raise funds for trail maintenance, preservation, and future improvements.

“Guests will stroll along the trail, stopping at tasting stations hosted by outstanding local vendors,” the release explains.

Confirmed tasting partners include Ancestor Coffeehouse & Crêperie, Mead Hall-Drunken Smithy, Revive Café & Craft, Ridgewood Winery, Rotunda Restaurant & Brewery, and Tröegs Independent Brewing. Additional tasting vendors are still being secured for the event, and interested businesses are encouraged to enquire about participation.

“Taste of the Trail is designed to celebrate local flavor while supporting a community asset that serves thousands of residents and visitors each year,” LVRT president John Wengert said in the release. “We are grateful for the strong early support and look forward to welcoming additional partners.”

The event will also include a fun run at 3 p.m. More information about the event is available on the event website.

Tickets are available online for $50, or $20 for participants under 21. After May 23, ticket prices rise to $65 and $30.

Early sponsors for the event include Ameriprise Financial/Jay Green, Byler Holdings, Chrisland Engineering, Penn State Health, Swiss Premium Dairy, Walmart, WellSpan Health, and Wilson Consulting Group. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

The event coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail, a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 that purchased its first 5-mile section of the trail in December 1999 and opened it to the public in 2000.

Wengert told local government officials in October that he anticipates opening the last section of the trail in 2028, at which time the trail will stretch 25 miles from the northern end of Lebanon County near Swatara State Park to the Lancaster County line, near Elizabethtown.

The trail connects to the Swatara State Park Rail Trail in the north and the Conewago Recreational Trail in the south, and intersects with the Appalachian Trail and Horseshoe Trail along the way, passing local attractions such as the Cornwall Iron Furnace, Union Canal Tunnel Park, downtown Lebanon, and the Lebanon Valley Mall.