Exploring the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

As I-80 crosses the Pennsylvania-New Jersey line it goes right through the Delaware Water Gap, a huge cleft in Kittatinny Mountain with the Delaware River running through the middle. This is one of the unofficial gateways to the Pocono Mountain region, an ill-defined area in northeast Pennsylvania, sometimes called the Endless Mountains, which means different things depending upon whom you talk to. For many it’s a haven for shopping outlets, antique shops, and get-away resorts. Others see it as a great place for outdoor recreation. That’s the way I prefer to view it and it has an abundance of things to do such as hiking, biking, canoeing, camping, cross-country skiing, and bird-watching. Scenic drives and a number of outstanding waterfalls also draw people to the area. More officially, the eastern escarpment of the Poconos is encapsulated in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, a 66,671 acre preserve in the National Park system. While the Gibraltar-like water gap lies in the southern section of the park, the park spans about 40 miles of the Delaware River in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania, whose banks it was meant to preserve. The northern gateway to the park is accessed through Milford, Pennsylvania just south of I-84.

The Poconos have long attracted tourists. The growth of railroads made this area popular and various hotels sprang up in the 1850s. Before that stage coaches brought visitors and in 1829 the Kittatinny Hotel was built by Anthony Dutot on the Pennsylvania side of the Gap.* It was the area’s first grand hotel. Over the years it was expanded until it was finally consumed by fire in 1931. Some remains of the resort’s foundation are still visible on the forest floor and the Resort Point Overlook roughly marks the hotel’s location. The era of grand hotels eventually evolved into today’s resorts many of which have golf-courses and offer all-inclusive packages to attract the crowds from metro Philadelphia. However, the idea for the park did not gain ground until a dam was proposed along the upper Delaware River in the early 1960s. The dam would have flooded 30,000 acres in what is now the park and was slated to be built in the area of SmithfieldBeach. In 1965 the National Park Service created the recreation area which began through a grass-roots movement to block the building of the dam. Consequently the upper Delaware River remains one of the longest stretches of un-dammed rivers in the northeast. Of course the most eye-catching natural phenomenon is the imposing water gap. The Delaware flows right through Kittatinny Mountain, splitting it and exposing the faces of the mountain. On the New Jersey side is Mount Tammany, (1527’), and the opposing side is Mount Minsi (1463’) in Pennsylvania, which extends farther southwest as what is known as Blue Mountain. Both peaks have trails to the summit and can be easily hiked in 2-3 hours. Trailheads are located at Lake Lenape and Dunnfield, off I-80, for Mounts Minis and Tammany, respectively. If you are a through hiker on the Appalachian Trail (AT), the trail goes over the top of Mount Minsi, crosses the river at this most imposing point, and continues into New Jersey with a side trail to the summit of Mount Tammany. The AT also spans almost 27 miles of the park mostly along the crest of Kittatinny Mountain in New Jersey.

Scenic drives are found on both sides of the river. One such excursion is River Road on the Pennsylvania side. This narrow road skirts the forest’s edge and has great views of the river. Caution should be exercised as the road is narrow and has a number of blind curves. Deer on the road are also frequent. Eventually River Road leads to Route 209 but not before passing the park’s headquarters. Behind the headquarters is an interesting swamp that is worth a stop. The inundated forest floor looks like a bunch of matchsticks on a green carpet of jelly. It’s especially interesting in the morning and evening as the changing light accents the colors. On the New Jersey side Sunfish Pond is worth the three mile effort along the AT. A major destination for hikers, Sunfish Pond is a glacially formed tarn, as many of the lakes are in northeast Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey. At 1379 feet above sea level the lake’s unspoiled isolation and location on Kittatinny Ridge give it a quasi-alpine feel and it is reminiscent of lakes found farther to the north in New England. It has been designated a National Natural Landmark by the Department of Interior.

The area is also well-endowed with some of the finest waterfalls on the east coast. Just outside the park’s boundaries are Bushkill Falls. A series of falls and gorges, some over 100 feet, the falls are privately owned and are probably the most impressive in the area. Within the park’s boundaries are a number of other waterfalls worth visiting and accessible within a few hundred yards from the roadsides. On the New Jersey side one can visit Buttermilk Falls, close to the Walpack Environmental Education Center, and accessible by an unpaved road. On the Pennsylvania side the Childs Recreation Area has a trail to Fulmer Falls which tumbles through a nicely wooded area of hemlocks and white pines. Farther down stream are Dingmans and Silverthread Falls. These two are accessible via boardwalk from the Dingmans Falls Visitor Center which is accessible from a side road off Route 209. About three miles south of Milford off Route 209 the Raymondskill Falls are also worth viewing. The falls in the park are in highest volume during spring and early summer.

* Spanning the gap. (1984) . Newsletter of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Vol. 7, no. 2. Retrieved June 21, 2009 from http://www.nps.gov/dewa/historyculture/upload/cmsstgRESRT.pdf