Delaware Canal State Park - Pennsylvania DCNR
Loop Trails for Hikers and Bikers - Friends of the Delaware Canal
November 16, 2021 News Release: Commission Opens New Delaware River Crossing - Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.26483, -74.84787
Scudder Falls Parking Lot on the New Jersey Side |
TRAIL MAP:
This hike is the second from the bottom. |
HIKE DISTANCE: 10.3 miles
THE HIKE:
From the Scudders Falls parking lot, a right on the towpath ... |
... then a right onto the newly opened ramp to the I-295 shared use path. |
A few bump outs along the way for views ... |
.. of the Delaware River on this dreary, foggy day. |
On the PA side the path veers left then right over the crosswalk onto the ... |
... towpath. |
The path goes under several small bridges with no more road crossings. |
The highlight of this hike was the beaver in the canal who "hiked" with us for quite a stretch. |
Belted Kingfisher |
To complete the 7-mile loop shown in the graphic, this would be the right turn to access the bridge but we continued straight to explore the Washington Crossing Historic Park first. |
This great blue heron ... |
... was overseeing the takeoffs and landings of many, many groups of Canada geese. |
At the next bridge after the pond on the right ... |
... we turned right along the soccer fields along the opposite side of the pond. |
We meandered around the other side of the park and would return to the pond side later. |
These must be the boats used in the Washington crossing reenactment. |
The bridge we would be crossing later. |
Back over at the pond, all of the many, many geese were gone. |
But that great blue heron was still there. |
On the road heading towards the bridge back into New Jersey. |
I-295 where we had crossed at the beginning of the hike in the fog in the distance. |
The ramp on the right ... |
... leads straight to the towpath between the canal and the Delaware River. |
Back at the parking lot, we first made a hard right onto a road that was closed to traffic. |
This backtracked parallel to the towpath but along the Delaware River. |
It ends at a gas cut. A gravel path leads steeply back up to the towpath but we retraced as the towpath was now getting busier. |