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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

For 40 miles the Middle Delaware River passes between low forested mountains with barely a house in sight. Then the river cuts through the mountain ridge to form the famed "Water Gap." Exiting the park, the river will run 200 miles more to Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at Wilmington, Delaware.

The Basics

Hours:

Dingmans Falls and Visitor Center PA

Boardwalk trail: OPEN daily daylight hours from spring until and snow cause CLOSING of the entrance road in fall.

Park Headquarters (Information Desk), Bushkill PA

OPEN: Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round, except federal holidays .

Park grounds, trails, roadways, and the Delaware River are open 24 hours a day, year-round, unless closed due to hazardous conditions such as heavy snowfall, strong river currents, or hazardous trees.

Day use areas and river accesses are open dawn to dusk daily.

Address:

HQ River Road off Route 209
Bushkill, PA 18324-9999

Phone:

570-426-2452

Phone:

570-426-2435

Fax:

570-426-2402

Directions

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is located within an hour and a half drive of the New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. It is about 2 1/2 hours drive from the park to Pennsylvania Dutch country.

The northern end of the park is within a half hour drive of the southern end of Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. The southern end of the park is within a half hour drive of the northern end of Lower Delaware Wild and Scenic River.

Fees

No Fees.

Reservations

Additional fee required to reserve group areas.

Things To Do

The Delaware River is the primary focus of recreational activiites with canoeing, kayaking. boating, fishing, and swimming. In addition, the recreation area offers more 100 miles of hiking trails, including more than 27 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Also popular are biking, crosscountry skiing, horsebacking riding rock climbing, and the quieter pursuits of picnicking and eagle-watching, and autotouring the scenic countryside. Hunting is permitted in most parts of the recreation area.

Hiking

Hiking in Pennsylvania

Trail Suggestions:

Hikes from 2 to 6 hours in length
Mt Minsi at the Gap (loop hike: Hikes 1 and 3)
McDade Trail: Hialeah to Turn Farm (5 miles each way, climbs slowly but steadily northbound)
Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) PA (a variety of trails open to all park visitors)

History Hikes and Strolls
McDade Trail I: Hialeah to Turn Farm
Lime Kilns near McDade Trail and Zion Church
McDade Trail II: Milford Beach to Pitman Orchard

(Fairly) Flat and Easy TrailsMost sections of McDade Trail
Toms Creek Trail
The Appalachian Trail from Totts Gap to the view of Mt. Tammany

Wheelchair-Accessible Trails
The boardwalk trail at Dingmans Falls

Hiking in New Jersey

Trail Suggestions

Hikes from 2 to 6 hours in length
Mt Tammany (Hikes 5 and 6)
Sunfish Pond via the AT or spur tails to the AT (Hikes 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 11)
Day hikes (Hike 4) along the Appalachian Trail
Blue Mountain Lakes and Hemlock Pond
Buttermilk Falls to the AT or to Hemlock Pond

History Hikes and Strolls
Millbrook Village NJ
Military Trail, Walpack Center NJ

(Fairly) Flat and Easy Trails
Karamac Trail from the traffic light to the railroad piers
A loop around Blue Mt. Lakes
Upper Hamilton Ridge Trail (northern 1/2 to the power line: Hike 7)
The AT south one mile from Blue Mt. Lakes Road

Wheelchair-Accessible Trails
There are no designated wheelchair accessible trails on the New Jersey side of the park. The "terrace" overlooking the Delaware River at Kittatinny Point (behind the visitor center building) is accessible. Ask at a visitor center for what trails might be negotiated with some assistance.

Link to our Kittatinny and Ramapo Mountains Hiking coverage for more information.

Link to our Morristown Hiking coverage for more information.

Link to our Scranton Hiking coverage for more information.

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