Sept 11 Biking the Delaware River canals

The D&L Canal originated in the Scranton area, followed the Lehigh River to Easton, then followed the Delaware River to Philadelphia. On the New Jersey side, the D&R Canal was designed to move freight from the D&R Canal, across the Delaware and toward New York City. It runs for 30 miles along the Delaware River but doglegs toward the east at Trenton. Here it hooks up with the Raritan River cutting eastward across New Jersey.

I based my rides out of New Hope, PA, about 15 miles north of Trenton. Today I rode south on the PA side to Morrisville. All indications were I could continue to Bristol, another 10 miles. However, about a mile south of Morrisville I ran into a divided highway that obliterated the canal. I rode around looking for where it picked up on the other side but gave up after some time. Turning around, I retraced back to Morrisville. On this short return, I saw 2 dirt bikes and an ATV roar along the towpath, spewing red dust into the air. I guessed this was not a well traveled part of the towpath.

Morrisville and Trenton have 4 bridges between them. Rt 1 and I-95 are not open to pedestrians. One other bridge was closed for repairs, so I crossed on the only open bridge. Once on the Trenton side, I had to find the canal. Trenton is not a nice venue for riding around lost. Finally, I did locate the D&R Canal and began north. I quickly learned the canal and towpath were popular hangouts for colorful groups of Trentonians to gather and consume something out of large cans. It also was a popular place to sleep for some individuals who may have had a few cans of whatever that was.

The colorful aspect of Trenton gave way to working class backyards and finally a relatively remote area on the way to Lambertville. This is the area made famous by Washington's Crossing. I rolled into Lambertville mid afternoon and quickly learned the local brewery, River Horse, had 25 cent samples of their brews. Needless to report, it was a packed house.

The final part of today's journey was a walk across the bridge from NJ to PA.