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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.. photo is just around the bend ...
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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Backpacking the Appalachian Trail
 

Within the recreation area, backcountry camping is permitted only along the Appalachian Trail and only for hikers on extended trips. An extended hiking trip is planned for two or more days, with camping occurring more then 1/2 mile from the departure point.

Mohican Outdoor Center, a facility of the Appalachian Mountain Club is located less than 1/2 mile off the Appalachian Trial in New Jersey. The nearest trail shelters to the recreation area are Kirkridge PA, 6.4 miles south of the Interstate 80 bridge, and Brink Road Shelter in Stokes State Forest NJ, 2.4 miles north of the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain.

For regulations and a map of areas where backpacker campsites are permitted, please link to the park's AT Bulletin at right. (pdf)
For the sections of the AT that lead to Sunfish Pond, or Rattlesnake Swamp please link to the park's Hiking Bulletin at right. (pdf)

 
 
A black bear standing at the edge of a snowy cornfield
Safety:
Camping & Black Bears/El Acampar y los Osos Negros
more...
Triangular marker for the AT
Park Bulletin:
Hiking & Backpacking on the Appalachian Trail
more...
a mountain outcrop shaped like a human profile looking to the right
Park Bulletin:
Hike the Gap/New Jersey/Tammany
more...
A sketch of two mountains and river between them
Park Bulletin:
How the Gap Formed (a basic explanation)
more...
A young man in colonial uniform, with a musket  

Did You Know?
... that in the 1750s, the northwest border of New Jersey (now Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area) was a frontier of the English colonies. In the French & Indian (Seven Years) War, a string of forts protected these settlements. The sites of seven of these outposts are in the park.
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Last Updated: July 28, 2009 at 18:10 EST