The Liberty Bell's Allentown hideout and what's on your ballot next Tuesday

Allentown · Lehigh Parkway along the Little Lehigh Creek (Fish Hatchery Rd up to Robin Hood Bridge)

Lehigh Parkway in late fall: where to park and what to walk

If you've only ever driven past Lehigh Parkway, this is the week to pull in. It's the big park that follows the Little Lehigh Creek on Allentown's south side, with a path that crosses the creek on a bunch of bridges, so you can walk out on one bank and loop back on the other. The state's latest foliage report, dated Oct 22, lists Lehigh County as "Approaching Peak." That puts the creek valley right in its moment.

Where you park changes the whole walk. The Lil-Le-Hi Trout Nursery at 2901 Fish Hatchery Road is the quiet end, with signs for a self-guided tour and a vending machine that sells fish food. Robin Hood Bridge, up at the end closer to the city, has its own lot and restrooms. One catch this fall: Bogert's Covered Bridge, built in 1841 and the oldest covered bridge in Lehigh County, is still closed for repairs. The city's project page lists completion as late 2026, and back in July the city said the closure could stretch into early 2027.

The path is open dawn to dusk and has no lights, and the clocks fall back this Sunday, Nov 1. So go early and plan to be back at the car before it gets dark. The full guide has every lot and how I'd do the loop, plus the Trexler and WPA story behind the park.

Election Day is next Tuesday, Nov 3, and a few places around here have yes-or-no questions on the ballot. This is just what each one says and what a yes or a no changes. Polls are open 7am to 8pm on Tuesday, Nov 3. If you vote by mail, your ballot has to be received by your county elections office before 8pm on Tuesday, Nov 3. Over in Northampton County, there are no ballot questions this year in Bethlehem, Easton, Nazareth, Bath, Hellertown or Northampton.

Allentown · ballot question · Tue Nov 3

Allentown asks: should businesses have to give paid sick time?

Allentown voters get a yes-or-no question on adding a "Paid Sick Leave Act" to the city's public health code. It came from a citizen petition, and in July City Council chose to send it to voters instead of voting on it themselves. According to the county's plain-language explanation, workers at businesses with 15 or more employees would earn at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours they work in Allentown. Workers at smaller businesses would earn sick time at the same rate. A yes adds the chapter, starting Jan 1, 2027. A no leaves the health code as it is. No dollar amount is listed. The official wording fits on a phone screen, so it's worth a read before you're standing in the booth. Official plain-language text · WFMZ

Halloween morning, Nazareth's farmers market closes out its outdoor season on the square. Then on Sunday, a Bethlehem fire hall fills two floors with crafters.

Allentown · the old Zion's Reformed Church, Hamilton St between Sixth and Seventh (new bell at the corner of Hamilton and S. Church St)

The bell under the floorboards

Every time I walk Hamilton Street between Sixth and Seventh now, there's a six-foot bronze bell on the corner of South Church Street that wasn't there a year ago. It went up in May for America's 250th, and it marks something most of us half-learned in fourth grade and then forgot: for most of a year during the Revolution, the Liberty Bell was hidden in Allentown.

In September 1777, with the British about to take Philadelphia, the city's bells were carted out so they couldn't be melted down for ammunition. The State House bell, the one we call the Liberty Bell, went north by wagon through Quakertown and Bethlehem and ended up under the basement floorboards of Zion's Reformed Church, in a little town that was then called Northampton Towne. It stayed until the British left Philadelphia the next year.

The church basement later became the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum, and plenty of people who grew up here remember ringing its full-size replica. That museum closed in 2023, and its exhibits now live at the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum at 432 W. Walnut St., open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 4. The longer cut has the whole story, including why the old replica is still stuck in the basement.

The state's latest foliage report, dated Oct 22, lists Northampton County at "Peak" and Lehigh County at "Approaching Peak," so the hills are doing their thing right now. Pumpkin season's basically done. Apple and cider season isn't.

Bethlehem · Mon to Fri 9am to 5pm, Sat and Sun 9am to 4pm

Scholl Orchards farm market

Scholl Orchards says it started as a table of apples on the side of Center Street, and the family dates its main orchard to 1948. Today it's a full farm market at 3057 N. Center St. in Bethlehem. Fall is apples and cider, and they press their own apple blend into cider in the fall and winter months. They've also planted newer varieties like EverCrisp and CrimsonCrisp. If you'd rather not drive to Center Street, they set up at the Easton Farmers' Market in Scott Park on Saturdays, 9 to 1. The market closes Sundays after Thanksgiving, so get your weekend cider runs in before then. A gallon of local cider is the cheapest way I know to make my kitchen smell like I have my life together. Hours · Scholl Orchards

Emmaus · Sundays · 10am to 1pm · rain or shine

Emmaus Farmers' Market at Triangle Park

The Sunday market at Triangle Park in Emmaus runs rain or shine, and its regular season goes all the way through November. That makes it a good spot to start lining up Thanksgiving produce from local growers before the holiday rush. In December it switches to winter hours, every Sunday 10 to noon, and January through April it's only the second and fourth Sundays. With the clocks falling back this Sunday, Nov 1, a 10am market start basically feels like 11. I'll take any farmers market that lets me sleep in by accident. Emmaus Farmers' Market