Northern New Jersey Tourism


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Rentals, Recreation, Camping, Birding and Wildlife ~ Green Accommodations
Itineraries ~ State Parks ~ Delaware Water Gap & Appalachian Trail

Explore The Upper & Middle Delaware River

The magnificent upper and middle Delaware River is one of the most under-used stretches of recreational fresh water in the United States. Twenty million people attest to its pristine quality through drinking and using 700 million gallons of it every day. The Delaware is one of the cleanest bodies of fresh water in the US and it boasts the largest fresh water port in the world at Philadelphia.

Take a ride in a canoe, raft, or kayak from one of the many liveries that dot its shores and enjoy the lazy three knot current as it takes you through some beautiful formations including, Delaware Water Gap, the falls at the Lehigh River confluence, the Elephants ’ Feet, St. Anthony’s Nose, Nokamixon Rocks, and the Palisades to name a few. Paddle quietly enough, and you just might see some of the hundreds of bald eagles that have returned to the area along with the rare golden eagles, cormorants, red-tailed hawks, mergansers (diving ducks), red knots, great blue herons, white egrets, and Canadian geese to name a few.

fishing for shad on the Delaware River If you have a license, you might want to try and catch one of the myriad species of fish that populate the depths including pike, bass, trout, shad, channel cats, and sturgeon (Careful, they’re endangered!) to name a few. If you’ve worked up an appetite, pull over and picnic or stretch out along some of the hundreds of picnic spots and hiking trails along the shore. Overnight accommodations range from riverside campgrounds to some of the best Inns restaurants and B&B’s in the area.

Pay attention, because being a northeast American river you will find the deep slow-moving pools routinely interrupted by riffles and rapids that break up the lazy and easy pace characteristic of the Delaware most summers. Foul Rift, which runs from just below Belvidere NJ to Martin’s Creek PA, is perfect for beginner's sporting rapids that range as high as class III at times. But this last of the free-flowing, undammed rivers on the East Coast is mostly known as a gentle slow-moving giant interrupted by playful riffles, for 331 miles from Point Mountain to Cape May, NJ.