The River Walk runs along the western bank of the Lehigh River, and it has become one of Allentown’s gathering places. Summer concerts, yoga at the water’s edge, farmers markets, food trucks: the calendar gives neighbors a reason to show up, and the river gives them a reason to stay. This is where a development becomes a community.
Summer concerts
Live music draws a crowd, and the River Walk leans into it through the warmer months with outdoor concerts featuring local bands and regional acts. People spread out blankets, grab a bite from a food truck, and settle in as the light fades over the river. The shows are free and open to all, and they are built for families.
Yoga by the river
Each week, the River Walk hosts yoga sessions open to every skill level. The classes pair physical health with something the research underscores: the largest international study on blue space, surveying more than 18,000 people across 18 countries, found that being active and social near water carries some of the strongest wellbeing benefits. A mat by the Lehigh River is a good place to feel it.
Farmers markets
On market days, the River Walk fills with local farmers, makers, and vendors offering fresh produce, handmade goods, and prepared food. The market is part shopping trip and part weekly ritual, a steady way to support local businesses and run into neighbors.
Pop-up food trucks
Food trucks line the path regularly, with a rotating lineup that runs from street tacos to dessert. The draw is the food, but the value is the gathering: people eat together by the river, talk, and turn a lunch break into a small social event.
Events for every season
The programming does not stop when the weather turns. Holiday markets, autumn art fairs, and seasonal celebrations keep the River Walk active year-round, so the community has a reason to return each month of the year.
Local pride, national company
Great riverfront and public spaces have long shown how thoughtful programming turns a place into a landmark; think of San Antonio’s River Walk or New York City’s High Line. Allentown’s River Walk belongs in that conversation, built on the same idea that a well-used public edge becomes the heart of a city.
There is a larger story underneath the calendar. The Waterfront is a 29-acre redevelopment on the Lehigh River within Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone (NIZ), the Pennsylvania program launched in 2012 that has helped draw more than $1 billion in new investment to downtown Allentown. Public investment has followed, including a $21 million federal RAISE grant supporting Riverside Drive and the broader riverfront. The events on the River Walk are the visible, everyday payoff of that work: a former industrial riverbank turned back over to the people of Allentown.
Walk the route and check what’s on at the River Walk, then see homes along it at River House. Schedule a visit.