|
|
The D&R Canal Tow Paths(2004, 2005, 2006, 2007,
2008, 2009, 2010)
2009 Update We road *almost* the whole feeder trail this year;
Washington's Crossing to Frenchtown, 44 miles. This was our first big ride with
our new tandem on an unpaved path.
2008 Update The flood damage south of Lambertville has been repaired.
The D&R
canal is really a two part trail system, the Main
Canal, and the feeder canal along the Delaware River. The two trails have very different characteristics.
The feeder canal’s tow path was converted to a railway, which gives the feeder
section the feel of a rail-trail, level, straight & smooth. The main
canal’s tow path is just that, a mule tow path, no underlining rail bed of
ballast rock to keep tree roots in check. The last time we rode the main canal
path from New Brunswick
south we encountered some rough terrain, and turned back after 12 miles.
Here is a map of our
usual biking route along the D&R feeder trail; this is a ~28 mile
round-trip ride from Washington’s Crossing State Park
to the Bull’s Island
State Park campground.
Here is the GPS route with waypoints. This 14
mile section can easily be split into two pieces with Lambertville as the center,
when our children were younger we would park at Washington’s Crossing, and bike
to Lambertville, have pizza in town, and cross the
bridge (there is a pedestrian walkway) into New Hope for ice cream, then head
back to the car for a ~14 mile total trip. When the river is low (as it usually
is) there is a wing dam just south of Lambertville, which kids like to explore.
The northern 7 miles from Lambertville to Bull’s Island passes through Stockton, where there is
a deli/store located right on the trail, this is also a great place for lunch.
At Bull’s
Island campground you’ll find a pedestrian bridge to PA, this used to offer
a great return loop on the Delaware canal path on the PA side, but the floods
of 2004/2005 did major damage to the Delaware canal and large portions of the
path are closed. Unfortunately I don’t think repairs will be happening any time
soon, check the Friends of the Delaware Canal
web site for updates.
The D&R path continues north of Bull’s Island to
Frenchtown, even though the canal does not (about 9+ miles). In April 2007 we road this section
of the trail to find that it dosn't end in Frenchtown but continues for another
2 or 3 miles, in frenchtown there is a resturant located right on the trail next
time we will plan a lunch stop. We found this section of the
trail to be very quite, and probably the least traveled part of the whole
trail system, there was also a good amount of tree cover which is always welcome for
summer cycling.
The last time we rode the D&R
trail south of Washington’s crossing we found that the trail sort of disappears
after 3 or 4 miles, the trail changed to dirt & heavy roots, so we turned
back (not sure this was even the trail anymore). To my knowledge there is no
trail connection between the feeder canal and main canal paths.
In late April try to ride the D&R feeder during the
annual Shad Fest
in Lambertville; it is a great way to visit the festival without all the
traffic and parking issues in the tiny town.
The path is very safe, with few road crossing, however
you are riding almost continuously along a canal which is more than 6 feet
deep; small children should be kept in sight as is the case with any body of
water. The only other caution (again this is off the trail) is that a short
section (~100 feet?) of the trail south of Lambertville runs along a vertical
drop straight down to the Delaware River. The
path also crosses over the canal a number of times via small bridges, so
remember, bridges attract kids like ants to a picnic, they love to hang over
and look at the water!
The state of NJ D&R bike brochure
for the feeder canal.
2008 Update The flood damage south of Lambertville has been repaired.
|
