Delaware Water Gap, Pocono Mts. NJ - PA

Text: Tony Pisarra

Delaware Water Gap Nat'l Recreation Center preserves 40 miles of the middle Delaware River and almost 70,000 acres of land along the river's New Jersey and Pennsylvania shores. At the south end of the park, the river cuts eastward through a scenic water gap in the Appalachian Mountains. The park includes numerous scenic backcountry camp sites on the river's banks and many islands.

The recreation area was originally envisioned as lands surrounding the proposed Tocks Island Reservoir. Early planning, management and land acquisitions were accomplished amid much controversy over the dam project. In 1978, Congress designated the section of the Delaware River within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. In 1992 the Tocks Island Dam project was officially de-authorized

Getting There

The northern end of the park can be accessed from I-84 at the Matamoras PA and Milford PA exits immediately southwest of New York State. The northmost Park Service access is Milford Beach off State Rt. 209 in Milford. Parking and river access is also available at a commercial site, Kittatinny Canoes, several miles north in Matamoros (also on Rt. 209). Kittatinny rents canoes and will arrange paid shuttles for non-customers.

The southern end of the park can be accessed from I-80 near Stroudsburg PA. The NPS Kitattinny Point Visitor Center, which is southernmost takeout, has its own exit on the eastern (NJ) end of the I-80 bridge over the river.

The Smithfield Beach Access about 5 miles north of Kittatinny can be accessed from Rt. 209. The access is down some backroads of 209 and can be a challenge to find, but is a slightly more pleasant place to leave a car and a much nicer place to end a journey.

Planning

The protected section of the Middle Delaware includes 40 miles of the river. About thirty-five of these miles can be practically included in a typical park-and-shuttle trip.

Riverside and island backcountry are typically spaced about 3-5 miles apart. River access points are similarly spaced, but not all include overnight parking.

Park regulations limit use of backcountry campsites use to use on "overnight" trips. "Overnight" trips in turn are defined as river trips of about ten miles (or about 5 river miles a day).

The spacing of the major access areas provides a shuttle framework for planning trips of ten, twenty, twenty-five and thirty miles (with campsites about every five miles along the route).

Putting in at the commercial access (Kittatinny Canoes) in Matamoras adds another five miles of river.

The Middle Delaware has a nice steady current. As such, five miles would be a conservative day's paddle even for a novice canoist or kayaker.

An intermediate paddler can quite handilly average ten miles a day through the park.

In moderate conditions, a kayaker will average 3-5 miles an hour through most sections of the Park. Depending on the load (and wind) a canoist will average 2-5 miles an hour

While seasoned paddler could in fact navigate the entire park in a single day, 10 miles on the Middle Delaware is a reasonable ovenight trip for most non-marathoners.

For intermediate paddlers, 20 - 30 miles provides a slightly more challenging but still manageable weekend (2 nights, 2 1/2 days).