Hiking Trails in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

This hiking blog is dedicated to providing the best information on hiking trails near where the borders of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York connect. This area is best know for the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area which is a 70,000 acre protected area that surrounds a 40 mile stretch of the Delaware River between Port Jervis, NY and the Delaware Water Gap. It was officially established in 1978 when the Tocks Island Dam Project was scrapped by the US Army Corps of Engineers. That project began as an idea to build a large 37 mile long lake between New Jersey and Pennsylvania with a hydroelectric dam that would help supply New York and Philadelphia with fresh drinking water. Much of the area, including generations of historical buildings, were taken from their owners by eminent domain so the project could begin. However, protests and financial concerns, along with the realization that the land was too close to an active fault line, resulted in the project being scrapped. The land was then turned over to the National Parks Service which officially established it as the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It has since been converted into a beautiful retreat that gives outdoor enthusiasts the opportunity to go fishing, hunting, cycling, kayaking, swimming, horseback riding, and most importantly to this blog, hiking. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area has some of the best hiking trails in this area of the country with hikes to a number of beautiful waterfalls, historic sites and even along the infamous Appalachian Trail. That's why I decided to start this blog. I recently fell in love with hiking and have been frequenting many of the hiking trails in the surround areas and figured that I might be able to help others with some of the knowledge I pick up along the way. Stay tuned as I document hiking trails in NJ and PA (and maybe even some in NY), with tons of pictures, gpx tracks, gps coordinates of important locations and much more!

Hiking Trails in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

If you'd like to read more about the history of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area I'd strongly suggest picking up a copy of Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series book on the topic. It really gives you a good look at what this area was like back in the day. Check it out here.