• Winter sunrise, Kittatinny Ridge

    Delaware Water Gap

    National Recreation Area NJ,PA

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  • Areas closed or newly opened

    Childs Park opens May 25. Dingmans Falls, Blue Mt Lakes/Skyline and unpaved Old Mine roads are open. STILL CLOSED PA: Mt. Minsi spur trails closed due to falcon nesting; Hornbecks & Adams Trails closed; McDade Trail closed trail miles 24.5 to 27.5 More »

Nature & Science

Satellite image of a river valley. Boundaries are overlaid on the image in red and yellow.

Satellite image of the Middle Delaware River. North is at the top. The park boundary is in red. The Water Gap is at the lower left and Walpack Bend is just below the center of the image.

The recreation area encompasses 67,000 acres of mountain ridge, forest, and floodplain on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Among the more surpising species of animals in the park are black bear, timber rattlesnakes, bald eagles, and, recently, nesting peregrine falcons. Ecosystems include hemlock ravines with bountiful rhodendron and ridgetops with prickly pear cactus.

Forty miles of the Middle Delaware River are within the park, as well as trout streams, lakes, ponds, and some of the highest waterfalls of either state. Water quality is exceptional in this section of the valley.The river's path through the mountains includes the S-curves of Walpack Bend and the Delaware Water Gap.

Did You Know?

The "AT" symbol routed on a wood sign on a tree.

... that the Appalachian Trail (AT) runs more than 25 miles through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The AT crosses the Delaware River and the Water Gap on a walkway on the Interstate-80 bridge. With bus service to New York and Philadelphia nearby, a hike on the AT is only a ride and a backpack away! More...