Friday will be mostly spent in the Delaware Water Gap Area and areas north of camp. Scouting high and low in the area (starting back in October 2013) has been extensive to find the best of the best. An exciting selection has been compiled to bring you a broad list of choices.
Even though there are many ways to experience the Middle Delaware, quietly paddling a canoe or kayak is about the best way to capture all the magical sights and sounds the Delaware has to offer. The Middle Delaware River is for those recreational users who wish to enjoy a more solitary river experience in a relatively untamed setting. This stretch of river and the land around it is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) and winds through mature forest woodlands and small island chains. The noise of busy highways is lost to a quiet wilderness setting.
This area is well-suited even to the most novice paddlers. This 40-mile river stretch has no difficult rapids to navigate. The vast majority of this area offers large, peaceful pools and the occasional shallow ripples with modest current. During normal summer and early fall conditions, the Delaware River flows about 1.5 miles per hour through the national park.
The Delaware is home to a wide range of wildlife. Whitetail deer, fox, raccoon, otter, beaver, mink, muskrat, and even black bear inhabit the woodlands along the river. A variety of waterfowl such as, Canadian geese, mallards, teal, mergansers, and wood ducks, also call the Delaware home. The great blue heron and white egret are often seen sneaking through the shallow shoals along the river for crayfish and minnows. Osprey and the majestic bald eagle also live here and can be seen gliding, fishing, and resting in the tall treetops that line the Delaware’s banks.
We will be paddling 10 miles / 3 to 4 hours from Bushkill Access to Smithfield Beach. $39 per person for rental of boat and shuttle, $23 Shuttle fee if you bring your own boat. Distance from camp 60 minutes. (9am ~ 3pm)
Spanning 31 miles along the Delaware River, the McDade Trail runs the gamut from easy to challenging and offers scenic river views, shady forested areas, wide open farm fields and bustling wetlands. It even throws in some history for good measure. Designed for bikers of all abilities, the McDade is a wide gravel trail that is flat with small rolling hills and varies from rugged foot trail to wide bike paths. Trail heads provide access every 0.5 to 5.3 miles to the main roads. Along the ride are designated areas for picnicking and swimming as well as restrooms.
Your 14 mile bike ride will start out at the Jerry Lees Access riding south along the McDade trail following a narrow ribbon of land between cliffs to the west and the Delaware River to the east. As the cliffs fall back to open up the area it continues nearly level through agricultural fields and forests. About halfway, we near the State Park office and the terrain becomes rolling hills. Numerous structures, foundations, and other traces remain from the once thriving community of Bushkill. After stopping for a water and bathroom break at the park office, the trail goes over a boardwalk overlooking a swamp area. Then it drops down 300 feet on switchbacks on the side of Hogback ridge. Once down, it is a fairly level ride with a few gentle rises as we cross over five more bridges on our way to the terminus of your ride at Smithfield Beach. $29 includes bike rental, helmet and shuttle or $23 Shuttle fee if you bring your own bike (you will need to drive your own car). Distance from camp 70 Min (9am ~ 3pm)
Info by TrailLink.com Edge of the Woods Outfitters Map of Trail Reviews of trail
The best view of NJ’s Mt. Tammany is actually from Mt. Minsi, on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware Water Gap – the break in the Kittatinny Mountains that was carved by the Delaware River. The views are wonderful of Mt. Tammany and the Delaware River from this short, steep route to the top. 5.1 miles round trip. This hike takes you all the way to the summit of Mt. Minsi on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail with an elevation gain of 1,060 feet in 2 miles. Uphill, couple of steep rocky areas; a rock hop over a small stream. The return trip is more gradual, on a woods road. Distance from camp 40 Min (9am ~ 3pm)
NJHiking.com NJ/NY Trail Conference CNYHiking.com
Starting at 1220 Feet Elevation at Fox Gap trail head for the Appalachian Trail, you will travel along a ridge line with views abound. One famous view, along the first mile, is Lunch Rocks. But beware, thru-hikers of the AT refer to the Keystone state as "Rocksylvania" because the trail seems paved haphazardly with jagged stones. The long, rolling views from countless outcroppings and balds offer a generous payoff for the occasional stubbed toe. After passing by Totts Gap, a few more miles along this ridge, you will climb up to the top of Mt. Minsi at 1480 Foot Elevation. There you will gaze at 1,527-foot Mt. Tammany across the Delaware Water Gap, as well as amazing views of the Delaware River itself. From that point you will go down in the town of Delaware Water Gap at 300Ft Elevation. The 7 mile hike will take will have a 900 foot overall elevation gain and a 1200 foot elevation loss. Expect to take 4 hours to complete this hike at moderate pace. Distance from camp 40 Min. (9am ~ 4pm)
CNYHiking Trails.com
1000 Feet elevation. Start by hiking along the Appalachian Trail just about 4 miles up to Sunfish Pond, a slow, steady uphill on a wide rocky path. You will reach a monument and see a sign for Sunfish Pond in 3.7 miles and will have climbed almost 1000 feet. This is a popular destination, because the hike then takes you through some of the prettiest forest in New Jersey to arrive at Sunfish Pond, a glacial lake 1,000 feet ABOVE the surrounding area. After Lunch we will go around the pond to head back down towards the cars on Dunnfield Creek Trail. This trail stays close to the creek as it heads southwest toward the Delaware River. Dunnfield Creek trail is very rocky and uneven for the first mile but begins to get smoother further along. The trail follows most of the twists and turns in the shallow creek and you will cross back and forth to avoid the steep banks on one side or the other a number of times. Three miles down this trail crosses the creek near what is sometimes called Dunnfield Falls. From there it is a short distance back to the cars along the famous AT trail. Distance from camp 45 min. (9am ~4:30pm)
AMC NJHiking.com Pics of Sunfish Pond Loop
Tumbling Waters Trail is along gurgling creeks through tranquil hemlock ravines, down to roaring waterfalls and up to views of the Delaware River Valley and the Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey. This 3-mile orange blazed trail begins along with the Fossil trail, across from Pocono Environmental Education Center's two group lodges, 30 yards up the campus road from PEEC's dining hall. At the end of the first mile, hikers are rewarded with a beautiful overlook of the Delaware Valley and Kittatinny Mountains in New Jersey at Hermits Hill. At 1.5 miles, take a series of switchbacks down 240Ft. to the waterfalls. We will enjoy listening to the waterfalls while taking lunch. Afterwards, you must climb back up the switchbacks before continuing on the main trail, which quickly ascends Killer Hill (total of 340Ft elevation gain from the falls to top of hill). We will pass through 3 forest types: a hemlock forest, a mixed oak forest, and a pine plantation before arriving on the shore of Pickerel Pond, which is a few minutes from the end of this trail.
After a break at the main lodge for bathrooms, head back out for about another hour towards the Moderate to Easy 1½ mile Scenic Gorge which begins with Ridgeline Trail. Experience an open hardwood forest ecosystem & a dark, cool hemlock canopy along Spackman's Creek. Distance from camp 45 Min (10am ~ 4pm)
The Ridgeline Trail is a well-marked and well maintained 4.5 mile/3 hour (without stops) moderate hike with less than 250 Ft elevation gain. You pass through the oak-chestnut forest and then climb up and over ridges of sedimentary rock descend from a steep ridge – with the help of a rope – to the gorge below, where you visit the ruins of a cabin and its abandoned earthen dam. Follow around forested wetlands, and dives deep into a mature Hemlock forest following Spackman’s Creek. Before you leave the forest, you come to a 15-foot waterfall on Alicia Creek (AKA Sparkman’s Creek) and then hike alongside the stream back to your starting point. Distance from camp 45 Min (10am ~ 4pm)
Pics of Ridgeline Trail at PEEC You tube Video of Trials at PEEC
The George W. Childs Recreation Site is a former Pennsylvania state park that is the site of a number of cascade waterfalls along Dingmans Creek. The site contains three gorgeous main waterfalls: Factory Falls, Fulmer Falls and Deer Leap Falls and is a few miles upstream from Dingman's Falls and Silver Thread Falls.
After getting your fill of these beautiful falls we will head over to the Pocono Environmental Education Center to the two Ponds Trail. This trail is 1.5 miles long, relatively flat, and follows the white blazes. It winds past two ponds and through several different habitats. 45 Min from Camp (10am – 3:30pm)
Grey Towers is the ancestral home of Gifford Pinchot, first chief of the US Forest Service and twice Governor of Pennsylvania. Today Grey Towers serves as a conservation education and leadership center, with programs that interpret the lives of the Pinchot family. We will have a private 1.5 hour tour of the mansion and grounds.
The George W. Childs Recreation Site is a former Pennsylvania state park that is the site of a number of cascade waterfalls along Dingmans Creek. The site contains three gorgeous main waterfalls: Factory Falls, Fulmer Falls and Deer Leap Falls and is a few miles upstream from Dingman's Falls and Silver thread Falls. Limit 12 people. $10 Additional charge. Distance from camp 55 Min (9am ~ 4pm)
Pics of George W. Childs Park Gray Towers US Forrest Service Site Heritage Association Video of Gray Towers
Explore and learn about some of the world's most amazing animals through our educational Wolf Watch tours. Be surrounded by 4 different packs of wolves. Wolf Watch tours are led by owners Jim Stein and Becky Mace, who have raised and care for all the animals at the preserve. During their presentations you will learn about the social structure of wolf packs, their eating habits, their interaction with man, and many other interesting facts. They will try to educate you about the true behavior of the wolf and will be glad to answer any questions you may have. While in the observation area you will be able to watch the wolves play, interact with each other and maybe even hear them howl! Truly an experience of a lifetime. You will also get to see and learn about the fox and bobcats that live at the preserve. Lakota Wolf Website.
After visiting the Wolf Preserve, we’ll be able to make a few stops on the way back to camp to explore the surrounding countryside, and still come back to camp early enough to hang out and relax before dinner. Rick Dronsky will be driving the van, and, on the way back, we will make a couple of stops to make it a fun day of adventure. Where we stop will depend on the specific interests of the group in the van. No matter what, get ready for a fun of exploring the area after we leave the preserve.
Additional charge of $26. Distance from camp: 60 Min (9:00am -4:00pm)
The Everhart Museum is a non-profit art and natural history museum located in Nay Aug Park in Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1908 by Dr. Isaiah Fawkes Everhart, a local medical doctor and skilled taxidermist. Many of the specimens in the museum's extensive ornithological collection came from Dr. Everhart's personal collection. The Everhart is the largest public museum in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is a non-profit institution dedicated to the collection, care and display of a diverse array of artifacts, including natural history, science and fine arts.
In addition to the zoological displays, the permanent collection includes works of visual art (many by Northeastern Pennsylvanian artists), ethnological artifacts, and fossils. The museum has an excellent permanent display of American folk art. Which serves as a repository for 62,000+ natural history and cultural artifacts, as well as works of art from the ancient world to the present day. Facebook of Museum: Nay Aug Park grants residents and visitors a touch of nature amid the city landscape of Scranton, PA. The Everhart Museum is also located within the park. A rock-strewn gorge and waterfalls add to the allure and have been named a National Natural Landmark. A pedestrian footbridge opened in 2007 to access parkland across the Roaring Brook untouched for many years. The David Wenzel Tree House was built so that the people of Scranton could peer down into the gorge without tumbling over a cliff. The first of its kind in Pennsylvania, the treehouse opened on Friday, May 25, 2007. It overlooks the gorge, rising an awesome 150 feet above.
Distance from camp 40 min (9:30am ~3:30pm)
Video of the Falls
Pics of the falls and Treehouse
Gabe Goldman will help your own Shabbat candles -- using animal tracks as molds! And, spend a few minutes making a Havdalah Torch to fire up at the end of Shabbat.