The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is absolutely stunning and encompasses a huge area…read more There are many trails and lookout points so find a map and choose where you want to see before heading there. This review is specifically for the Mount Minsi Loop Trail. There is also a lookout point you can drive/easily park at a few minutes away. The small parking lots here fill up quickly, but if you can snag a spot it is worth the visit. There is a small trail around Lenape Lake; the fall colors around the lake are beautiful. There is also a picnic table near the lake. This area is part of the Appalachian Trail making it a great spot for hikers and nature lovers alike. You do not need to be an avid hiker to enjoy the easy trail here. There are no restrooms facilities here and parking is very limited.

This is one of the best parts of the State of New Jersey. It's a huge state park with mountain…read moretrails and the scenic Delaware Water Gap rolling right in the middle of it all. I've never been one to go hiking but the park is beautiful especially during the fall. The leaves change quicker up here so it starts in September. The fishing is pretty good as well, visited here to fish many times as a kid. It has a nice visitor center with picnic tables and rest rooms. New Jersey gets a bad rap. Most critics don't know about the better parts of the state such as this one.

Beautiful Sunday afternoon at Swartswood State Park Plenty…read moreof different activities including a nice BBQ with some Friends of Bill. Very relaxing to sit at a picnic bench and just watch the fishermen and other boaters on the lake.

This state park holds a very special place in my heart, as most of my childhood summers were spent…read morehere. I still revisit it now, and it's like a beautiful time capsule for me. There are so many activities that you can do here: camping, fishing, ice fishing, picnicking, swimming, birding, boating, canoeing, biking, mountain biking, horseback riding, and my favorite, hiking. The four main trails are: Duck Pond Trail, Spring Lake Trail, Bear Claw Trail, and the Grist Mill Trail. Know Before You Go: There are entrance fees charged per vehicle.(Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day) Weekdays: $5.00 for NJ resident/ $10 (non-resident) Weekends: $10.00 for NJ resident/$20 (non-resident) There are plenty of secluded picnic tables and areas for grilling. And if you're like me and don't want to bother with grilling, food concessions are available during the summer months. Also, there are shower facilities by the main restrooms to rinse off after swimming in the lake. Go and enjoy this beautiful park that was New Jersey's first state park. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Crater Lake is a non-lifeguard private area that's tucked deep into the Delaware Water Gap…read moreRecreation Area. It's a two hour drive from Long Island and 3.5 hours when there's a fire that's closed down the Throgs Neck Bridge. But this lake, also near Blue Mountain Lake is amazing. A few years back you would have been hard pressed to find anyone else there but on a hot Saturday in summer, there were about 30 people and some families picnicing, lounging and boozing by the water. The water was warm and almost everyone was a local who had their own kayaks, rafts and floatation devices. We traded beers for rafts and sat in the middle of the lake for at least an hour. The park closes at 10pm but most people leave around sun down so if you bring music, BUG SPRAY, a lantern and flashlights, and the game Apples to Apples you can have yourself a private lake side party undisturbed from 8 - 10p. Downsides: It costs so much money to go over bridges now from NY to NJ make sure to borrow mom or dad's EZ Pass! DAMN! Again, bring bug spray. My legs are itchy, itchy, itchy now. WARNING: It is very easy to get lost coming to this lake. Your GPS may not know what you're talking about because it's hard to enter a town name for the location in Jersey. Here's how to get there (you can thank me later - just don't tell a lot of people) Take 80 to Exit 1 - the entrance of the delaware water gap rec. area. Ask for a map w/ the person at the visitor's entrance but basically you're looking for a general store that leads you down a windy road (past blue mountain lake) and veer left at the rocky path at the end of the road. There really aren't any signs so getting a map and coming in from Exit 1 is your best bet. ALSO BE CAREFUL if you get lost and someone points you to CRANDon lake. This is Crater Lake and that's what you're looking for. My friend got very lost because of his bad hearing.

This was my first time at Crater Lake. It was a Saturday at 1pm. It was part of a hike that passed…read moreBlue Mountain Lake and Hemlock Pond as well. Since this lake has a nearby parking lot, it was much more populated than the other two, although Hemlock Pond had a good share of visitors. There's a peaceful and back to nature type feel.

Great hiking there as usual. Took short hikes up to the Appalachian Trail…read more Saw some trail magic, so added to it for through hikers.

SHOTWELL -- I camped at a lean-to at Showell camp grounds. The shelter was great, had plenty of…read morespace for my queen sized bed and my double seater folding chair. I used my small portable generator for power/lights. Wood purchased at the ranger station seemed to burn better than any wood I found around the campsite so I used purchased wood to start camp fires then used wood found around camp. What I didn't like was the shower facilities are at another camp entirely, Lake Ocquittunk, and that kind of sucked especially when I went looking for it at night. It's about 6 miles away but it gave me the opportunity to pull off at the gas station for some snacks, still it's location is super inconvenient. This place is great for winter camping and although the shelters are relatively close to each other, it's so cold that nobody is out bothering anyone. I plan on visiting this place in the summer to see how the tent sites are but I'll bring a portable toilet since the bath rooms are relatively far from the better more private camp sites.

This place is very interesting here. It looks like an abandoned village. We had fun here,read more

The ORCHARD (orange) Trailhead is across the road fro the driveway to the parking lot and is a…read morelittle hard to spot...it's across the road from the restrooms (which were clean and well kept). We initially tried to park at Van Campens Glen but all the parking locations were closed with no access allowed. We took the Orchard trail to take a left onto the Hamilton Ridge "Road" (more like a Parks Road that's covered in moss with remnants of asphalt). Hamilton is supposed to the be the blue trail, but we didn't see a single trail marker. Off Hamilton we turned right onto Pioneer (also the orange trail). We covered about 2.5 miles from the parking lot, trails were well marked, while some steep hills (up and down)...there wasn't much to see except forest. We only ran into 2 people during our 3 hour excursion. We caught a glimpse of the Delaware River before turning around, but it wasn't a close/good view.

They are amazing! I've been going to Chamberlain Canoes in Stroudsburg, PA for over 10 years, and…read morethey've never once let me down. They are a family owned business and are absolute pros - always friendly, always knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about making your river trip fun and easy. From the moment you pull into their huge parking lot, to the moment you're back on dry land, they take really good care of you. They walk you through the route clearly, answer all your questions and let you decide your exit point on the river while you're out paddling. That flexibility is a great option. I look forward to my next paddle!

Came here for white water river rafting with ralph and co (Scott, Alvin, etc.) and it was sooo much…read morefun!! My first (and so far only whoa) time white water rafting and it was so exhilarating and cool. Alvin did fall out at one point which was a bit scary. But he made it back inside, and rest of us stayed in the raft going through the intense rapids with water spraying everywhere and beautiful scenery around.

This was one of the best kayak experiences I had. From the initial moment we pulled up in the…read moreparking lot the staff was great. We were directed to a parking spot. Which was great because the lot was very full. There are two walk up windows to check in. I walked up to the window and had to wait literally 1 min; the line was short and quick. The girl found my reservation went over paper work that needed to be filled out, was very friendly and helpful. I will say the other girl was not particularly friendly. They're talking to you threw a window and I am partially deaf, when I asked the girl to repeat the last thing she said she was so annoyed she spoke in short sentence like I was dumb. And just before she helped me there was another group of girls that seemed to be very annoyed with her because she refused to help them. Like I said there were two lines and they were in her line but she wanted to help the gentlemen infront of me in the other line. Idk why, he wasn't even paying attention and only needed to drop his car keys off. Whatever. We grabbed our life vests, got our overview of the river and quickly hopped on a very nice, 12 pax van. It was about a 10 min ride to the drop off area which wasn't bad. I really liked that the staff grabs your kayak and paddle and brings it to the water. All you have to do is sit down and paddle away. There is another company that shared the drop off area so just be aware that you don't get the wrong kayak lol The DR is beautiful. The water is so nice and clean. There are lots of places to stop off at to eat lunch or take a swim. There were a lot of people camping along the banks. So be mindful of that when pulling off to a beach. When we go to our pick up location it was just as smooth as our drop off spot. You just paddle to the beach and a staff grabs your kayak and pulls you in. You take your things and they take the kayak and paddle. At the top of the stairs you just walk to the right and the van is waiting to take you back. Overall, wonderful company to book a kayak or raft from to enjoy the beautiful river. In highly recommend and will rebook with them. I recommend wearing a hat and water shoes and bringing a cooler for drinks and snacks.

(This was a few months ago so the details could be a bit iffy.)…read more This was a very impromptu trip and everything at Edge of the Woods makes doing that easy. Head to the website, book the date & time you want and you're done. www.watergapadventure.com/river-trips A few things worth noting: They offer multiple trip lengths. The standard 4-, 6- and 10-mile trip (Smithfield to Portland) are all booked generically and then when you get there you tell them what you want to do. All pricing is the same which believe me compared to others companies, that's very different - in a good way. They do offer two other longer trips but those require calls to the main office I assume to assess river conditions; your own competency and shuttle availability. The main office in Delaware Water Gap is very easy to find and there was plenty of parking on a quiet post-Labor Day Monday. You check in, you're handed a laminated map, life jacket and given a brief route explanation and then you're off in the van. One problem arose and it was kind of a PIA but it was worked around. Most companies have different types/sizes/models of kayaks and quite often, will ask you what you prefer. Not here. When we left the office, the guy driving didn't say a word to me until we get to Smithfield Beach to unload. He had a few kayaks pre-loaded in the carrier but definitely did not look at them before we left. One of them had a broken foot pedal that he said couldn't be used, another was very much designed for a smaller individual (i.e. if you're taller and/or taller & larger it ain't happening safely) which only left two tandem models. Using a tandem as a single individual is not the end of the world but especially when the seats are still left in the two person configuration (i.e. one front and one back versus the rear one being placed more towards the middle), it's a PIA to maneuver the craft and you are paddling harder to get the job done compared to a single. The scenery along the route was decent. You could see a bit of the Shawnee Resort and Golf Course, an old stone bridge abutment in the middle of the river, under and along 80 and then when you get into the Water Gap itself with the high cliff sides. Very picturesque. Once you go under the old train viaduct in Portland, you give the office a call for the shuttle to meet you at the out point which is at the Portland Pedestrian Bridge. The whole experience was about four hours door to door to cover the ten miles on the water plus the shuttle to & from the pick up and drop off points. Lots of nice scenery, due to the low water level there wasn't much in the way of current except for the area around viaduqt in Portland and even that wasn't bad. I'm not a big fan of the equipment here but I wouldn't let that deter me from coming back in the future for one of their northern longer trips.

We are on vacation staying in Bushkill. We were looking for things to do since there was no snow on…read more the ground. We found this place on google and gave it a shot. The people in the community center were so nice and helpful. We hiked the Fossil Trail Tuesday and loved it so much, we returned to hike Scenic Gorge Friday. We would have done the more intense trails if our 12-year old wasn't with us. We will definitely return! Don't forget to leave a donation as this is a non-profit organization.

If you are in the area and want to hike a trail or two then you should visit here. The folks at…read morethe welcome center were friendly and welcoming. There are trail maps available to take along with you that include numbered "stations" giving interesting facts as you hike. The trails are very well marked. The office is also a kind of nature center with exhibits of nearby features and animals. There is even a "bookstore" where you can buy books for a dollar or two (not necessarily about nature etc.) because most folks in the area are tourists. Visit here and have fun and even learn some things.

I think other reviews said it but I'll include my thoughts too -- the noise curfew is non-existent…read more We are night owls so we didn't mind. Let's dive in ... Campsite (3/5): These are a bit stacked on top of each other but our group had two next to each other so it didn't impact us too much. Ambiance (4/5): These campsites are right on the water which is absolutely stunning! You really feel like you're in nature, but there is a major road near the top campsites and even by the water you can hear road noise. There was a huge group at the top which partied into the night though we're up late anyhow and it was no issue for us. Consider earplugs if you're not like us. Bathrooms (4/5): These were relatively clean for a campground bathroom. Minus a star here because on the last day the women's room was out of order -- but I believe it was due to another guest, as a member of our party heard someone say "oh no it's not flushing!" TL;DR: Great for those late-into-the-night campers. If you stay here make sure you get a waterfront spot.

These guys are great! we just held an event for 80+ river rafters last weekend June 28th 2025 and…read moreeverything went off like clockwork! the staff was so friendly and effieicient (special shout out to Kayla!) for making the day so incredibly special and we'll look forward to doing our 3rd Annual Paddle 4Pride Event with you next year! thank you again for helping us to make some beautiful memories!

You lost out on $900 this season, and annually. Agree with the recent reviews. Take the Dingman's…read moreparking option and route off your website entirely. Emails and calls for months, constantly got the run around and was told on the phone I need a group of 30 in order to park there and be taken to River Beach and float down, instead of the 14 that I was bringing to your company. Gladly chose Adventure Sports for $200 less and canoeing the lower river. Will actively use other outfitters going forward for our annual reunion trips. You tried to undo last years trip and sorry I gave the benefit of the doubt that a group would be honored this year.

I believe this is one of the greatest places to go for kayaking in PA. This company offers 17 miles…read more(one of the few), 10 miles, and 6 miles kayaking. If you are looking for a good workout then 17 miles is definitely the option to go for. My group and I kayaked a year or two ago and it took approx. 5 hrs nonstop to get it done. Thus, you may need to show up early to the place around 9 am to account for resting and other delays. Also, the company closes at 6pm and if you return the equipment past 6pm then you will be charged of some penalty... Anyways, my group and I also kayaked 10 miles and it took approx. 3 hrs to be finished. The water in this river is very calm with some currents that may be able to help you out to gain speed from time to time. There is nothing dangerous at this river so you can easily enjoy and have an amazing time with your group. There is a cliff that you can climb almost at the end of the ride where you get to jump down into the water. The height can be approx. 10-15 feet high. The feeling that you get from jumping down can be amazing!