• Winter sunrise, Kittatinny Ridge

    Delaware Water Gap

    National Recreation Area NJ,PA

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  • SAFETY ADVISORY

    UNTIL DELAWARE RIVER LEVELS DROP, SWIMMING PROHIBITED AND LIFE JACKETS (PFDs) MANDATORY WHILE ON BOARD ANY VESSEL (ON WATERS OF DELAWARE RIVER WITHIN DELAWARE WATER GAP NATIONAL RECREATION AREA). More »

Farm Crops, Orchards, and Cultivars

An ear of corn on the stalk

Corn along McDade Trail PA

The recreation area has nearly 3,000 acres in agricultural production. These leased lands provide food and shelter for wildlife and help preserve the rural landscapes of the river valley. Corn, wheat, hay, and oats are the chief crops grown in the park. (See Features: Plants for more about Farming the Park.)

Since this section of the Delaware River valley was inhabited for centuries before it was taken over for the Tocks Island Dam Project, remnants of home gardens abound along trails. Even on the remotest trails of the recreation area, a hiker might come upon plant survivors of an orchard or flower or vegetable garden, such as daffodils, spurge, or catalpa.

The orchard at Roberts Farm in Montague NJ (See Features: Plants) is believed to be the oldest in the National Park system, with trees more than 200 years old.

 

Features Pages on Plants

Did You Know?

Sketch of a dam with forests on the river banks.

... that the reservoir of the proposed Tocks Island Dam would have inundated 30 miles of the Delaware River and 30,000 acres of its river valley (now part of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.) The defeat of the dam was an early victory of the environmental movement in this country. More...