DELAWARE CANAL TRAIL LETTERBOX:

YARDLEY, PENNSYLVANIA

-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-

Planted:               April 20, 2008

Length:                Delaware Canal Trail; 60 miles

                              D & R Canal Trail ( Feeder Canal ); 31 ½ miles

                              D & R Canal Trail ( Main Canal ); 34 miles

                              Washington Crossing parking lot to Letterbox; 6 ¼ miles

                              Black Rock Road parking lot to Letterbox; ½ mile   

Difficulty:            Easy. Former towpath is flat and consists of stone dust.

Directions:

To start from Washington Crossing; From I-95 take exit 51to Taylorsville Road and travel north. Turn right on Washington Cross Road (Route 532) and the parking area will be on your left next to the canal. If you continue along Washington Cross Road you'll come to River Road (Route 32) just before the river. Turn left to visit Washington Crossing Historic Park

To start from Black Rock Road parking lot; From I-95 take exit 51to Taylorsville Road and travel south. Taylorsville Road turns into Main Street . Take a left onto Black Rock Road and the parking lot will be next to the canal.

Inspired by the tremendous success of New York State 's Erie Canal , the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began building a 1,200-mile system of canals to connect Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , and Lake Erie . These new transportation routes would carry the raw materials and manufactured products that would power this country's industrial revolution. The sixty-mile-long Delaware Canal is part of this great network. Completed in 1832, it runs from Bristol to Easton , where it connects with the Lehigh Canal . The primary purpose of these two waterways was to transport anthracite coal from the northeastern Pennsylvania coal regions to the cities on the eastern seaboard. Over its course of 60 miles, the Delaware Canal drops 165 feet through some twenty-three locks. Ten aqueducts carry the waterway over small valleys and streams. Including its towpath and berm bank, the canal is approximately 60 feet wide and originally was five feet deep. As railroads began to seriously compete for freight contracts, canal-generated revenues to the Commonwealth dropped. In 1858, the decision was made to sell the Delaware Canal to private operators. From 1866 to 1931, the Delaware Canal was run by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, which also owned of the Lehigh Canal . Canal traffic and revenue declined until the "iron horse" finally beat the mule, when the last paying boat locked through in October 17, 1931 . The same day, 40 miles of the Delaware Canal was deeded to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . It was named Roosevelt State Park by Governor Gifford Pinchot, to commemorate his fellow preservationist, Theodore Roosevelt. It was not until 1940 that the Commonwealth finally acquired all 60 miles of the canal. By popular demand, the park was renamed Delaware Canal State Park in 1989. The significance of the Delaware Canal was recognized in 1978, when it was designated a National Historic Landmark. It is preserved today as the most intact and fully watered of America 's towpath canals. 

Be sure to check the Delaware Canal State Park link below for updates along the canal. Many sections are currently closed due to flooding damage. On the New Jersey side of the Delaware runs the Feeder Canal for the Delaware & Raritan Canal . There are many bridge crossings bikes can utilize to create a loop along both sides of the river. See loop map below. The Main Canal of the Delaware & Raritan Canal runs northeast from Trenton . See the D & R Canal link below as well as this link for my other Letterboxes in the area;  D & R Canal Letterboxes . For more information visit; DELAWARE CANAL  ,   D & R CANAL  or   DELAWARE CANAL STATE PARK  .

Starting from the Washington Crossing parking lot; A trail from the parking lot brings you to the towpath. Right takes you north along the canal, we headed left (south). The towpath travels under many bridges, but the pedestrian bridges over the canal are especially low, so keep your head down while passing under them or you’re in for more then just a headache. You come to your first Lock at 0.9 miles. There is also an informative signboard located here and at many other locations along the path. You travel over a sluiceway at 2 miles and come to a water release gate. Lock 7 (Borden’s Lock) and possibly an old Tenders House at 2.5 miles. A Porto-potty is located near by. After traveling underneath I-93, you cross another sluiceway and come to Lock 6 (Lear’s Lock) at 3.1 miles. A ¼ mile on-road section along a residential drive brings you through Yardley at 4 miles. Lock 5 (Yardley Lock) at 4.7 miles and you travel underneath a railroad bridge. You come to the Black Rock Road parking lot at 5.8 miles where you’ll find some picnic tables. The canal then forms a pond at what is called “Wide Water”. You’ll come to a bench at 6 ¼ miles with an informative signboard on “Wide Water”. Head past this signboard and into the woods along a small dirt path. You’ll cross over some water on a sort of wooden bridge and come to a T in the path next to a tree with two green stripes. Turn left and follow the path for 14 paces (2 steps = 1 pace). Look left and you should see a small boulder. Continue to 23 paces and look left and you should see a two-trunked tree forming a V. Finish at 25 paces, look left and you’ll see another tree forming a V about halfway up its trunk. Go to the backside of this tree and spot 2 sticks stuck in a cavity of the trees trunk. Inside this cavity is the Delaware Canal Letterbox. Continuing along the trail you’ll come to E. Ferry Road at 6 ½ miles. We stopped here; however, another ½ mile will bring you to the Trenton Ave/Calhoun Street Bridge over the Delaware River to Trenton , NJ where you can then access the Feeder Canal along the Delaware & Raritan Canal . You can then head north to Washington Crossing State Park where you can cross over the Washington Crossing Bridge and return to Washington Crossing parking lot, for a loop trail of about 16 miles.

HH

CLICK HERE FOR DELAWARE CANAL MAP

CLICK HERE FOR DELAWARE RIVER BIKE PATHS

CLICK HERE FOR LOOP TRAIL MAPS

 

LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON

APRIL 20, 2008

TO EMAIL A VERIFICATION

CLICK HERE

 

BEFORE YOU SET OUT BE SURE TO READ THE

WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER

 

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