Sunday 15 August 2021
Separating Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Delaware Water Gap provides a welcome natural stop when traveling the Northeast.
Click over to the official Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area website for detailed information.
Once arriving, our first stop was the Poconos Environmental Education Center. It was a busy summer Sunday, so we avoided crowds and found this spot with free parking and walking trails.
The actual Environmental Education Center building had a few exhibits, the largest of which was “skyPod” blooming through the roof of the building.
Sasha Zhitneva created the sculpture out of 2,653 bottles to highlight the environmental impact of plastic bottles. A plaque shared that 50 billion plastic bottles are produced per year and a bottle takes 500 years to decompose.
Dingmans Campground had room for us as most of the weekend visitors were all checking out.
After securing a site we drove to Dingmans Crossing Town, but there wasn’t much to see. We thought about taking the pretty walk to Dingmans Falls, but the main road was lined with cars on both shoulders and the entrance road was closed due to crowds, so we returned to the campground.
Campsites are nicely spaced. Ours was site 108 in the “Forest” section. The charge, for Senior Pass holders, was $21 with no utilities.
If you have a tent, you can stay on the shore of the Delaware River. Even from the Forest sites, it was only a short walk to the water.
The river is pretty, but I had to be selective in the photographic view to avoid having trash like this in the photos. The campground was understaffed due to the pandemic, but they shouldn’t have to pick up after visitors.
Remembering that the hike to Dingmans Falls was easy and the Falls are pretty, we rose early Monday and drove over right after breakfast. In contrast to yesterday’s crowd, we were the only car in the parking lot.
Cool water and dappled shade made walking the 0.4 mile trail pleasant.
The trail thus far was a boardwalk making this view accessible for almost anyone. If you are looking for more of a challenge, the boardwalk ends and the trail continues climbing 130 vertical feet (39.6 m) to the top of the falls.
It wasn’t long before other folks hiked in. A couple was kind enough to capture a snapshot with our camera.
On the return walk we stopped to admire woodland flowers and ferns thriving on the moist forest floor.
Silver Thread Falls is a bonus on the trail back to the visitor center. At 80 ft (24.3 m) tall, these falls have their own charm.
The “Gap” offers plenty more opportunities for hiking, but we had plans to be in upstate New York that night, so needed to move on.
Click through to Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and make your own plans to visit!
0830 36,141 Leave The Brewery at Hershey 68° F
1015 36,233 Dietrich’s Meats & Baked Goods, Krumsville, PA 71° F
1143 36,304 Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area 71° F
1305 36,313 Poconos Environmental Education Center 1328 76° F
1356 36,329 Dingmans Campground 76° F Site 108 $21 no utilities