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
BIKE IT OR HIKE IT
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