Delaware Canal State Park

One of Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks

Delaware Canal State Park was chosen by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and its Bureau of Parks. Though small, relative to other state parks, it is rich in history and wildlife. The narrowest of state parks.

There are numerous access points along the 60-mile length of Delaware Canal State Park. The park follows the Delaware River from Easton to Bristol, paralleled by Pennsylvania Routes 611 and 32.

Delaware Canal State Park is a 830-acre Pennsylvania state park in Bucks and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania. The main attraction of the the Delaware Canal State Park is the Delaware Canal, which at 60 miles long is the only canal that remains fully intact from the towpath canal-building days of the nineteenth century, on which barges were towed up and down the canal bringing supplies and transporting people from one area along the Delaware river to another destination. From 1832 to 1931, canal boats plied the Delaware Canal alongside the Delaware River between Easton and Bristol and obtains its’ water source from that river.

The towpath trail was once the main artery of commerce and transportation for this region of  Pennsylvania. It runs beside the remains of the Delaware Canal, a man-made waterway, which is essentially a ditch twenty-five feet wide and seven feet deep, that was dug entirely by hand beginning in 1825.

Sturdy teams of stout-bodied mules walked the towpath, pulling boats laden with up to 100 tons of cargo toward their destinations. Mule drivers, often the children of the boat captains, walked with the teams. It was their job to make sure the mules kept to the path and kept moving.

An easily accessible portion of the canal  can be reached in Easton, taking Rte. 611 south on Reiglesville Road. Almost immediately upon leaving Easton and traveling along Rte. 611 south, looking to your left side along the Delaware River reveals what appears to be a very large ditch. Much of this area is overgrown and still being reconstructed in the hope of creating a tourist destination, but the original canal can still be clearly seen. As you approach the town of Reigelsville you will notice some areas that have received more attention than others and evidence of old water gates and crossovers that still exist

The Delaware River is the longest free-flowing river east of the Mississippi River in the United States. It serves as a major migration path for American Shad and waterfowl. Recreational opportunities include hiking, biking and cross-country skiing along the towpath, fishing in the canal and river, and canal boat rides.

The Delaware Canal was used to haul coal and other products from the Lehigh Canal beginning in Mauch Chunk (today Jim Thorpe) to the industrial centers of the Philadelphia area near Bristol, Pennsylvania. The canal was built in the mid-1800s and ran its last commercial traffic on October 17, 1931. The state bought 40 miles of the canal in 1931 and bought the remaining 20 miles in 1940.

The Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal and its towpath became Theodore Roosevelt State Park in the early 1950s, when the berms were restored and the canal was refilled with water. The park was renamed Delaware Canal State Park in 1989. The U.S. Congress designated the Delaware Canal as a Registered National Historic Landmark and its towpath is a National Recreation Trail. Visitors to the park are given the chance to explore the canal in historic canal boats provided by the Delaware River Canal Boat Company.

Natural areas

Pennsylvania state park natural areas are special areas that are set aside within the state parks to allow the natural condition of biological and physical processes to operate, usually without human intervention. There are two such areas at the Delaware Canal State Park: River Islands and Nockamixon Cliffs. These natural areas are set aside to provide scientists with the chance to observe the natural ecosystems at work and to protect examples of unique and typical plant life, animal habitats, and to protect examples of natural beauty.

River islands

There are eleven islands in the Delaware River that are protected from further development. The islands contain archeological clues to the past, provide habitats for migrating waterfowl and songbirds, and offer recreational opportunities in a wild setting for fisherman and canoeists.

Some of the islands were originally part of the shoreline of the river and have since been cut off by the effects of erosion, river movement or intervention by man, but other islands have been built up naturally in the river. These islands are mostly stable but can be shifted by the erosion effects of the river and flooding.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Delaware Canal State Park

11 Lodi Hill Road
Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972-9540
610-982-5560

E-mail: delawarecanalsp@state.pa.us

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