The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

in northwest

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and northeast

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. It is centered around a stretch of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

designated the Middle Delaware National Scenic River. At the area's southern end lies the

Delaware Water Gap The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Wa ...

, a dramatic mountain pass where the river cuts between Blue Mountain and Kittatinny Mountain. More than 4 million people visit the recreation area annually, many from the nearby

New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also called the Tri-State area and sometimes referred to as Greater New York, is the List of cities by GDP, largest metropolitan economy in the world, with a List of U.S. metropolitan areas by GDP, gross metropo ...

. Canoeing, kayaking, and rafting trips down the river are popular in the summer. Other activities include hiking, rock climbing, swimming, fishing, hunting, camping, cycling, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding. Worthington State Forest and a section of the long-distance

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

are located within the area, alongside numerous waterfalls and historic sites. The region, known historically as the Minisink, was inhabited by the

Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...

at the time of Dutch and French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

colonization in the late 17th century. The national recreation area was established in 1965 ahead of a dam project which would have flooded a large region north of the Water Gap. Over 15,000 people were displaced as the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

acquired land for the reservoir. The controversial project was ultimately canceled in 1978 and the land transferred to the recreation area. There are efforts as of 2022 to re-designate the area as a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

, the first in New Jersey or Pennsylvania.

Description

The recreation area includes parts of

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and Warren counties in New Jersey, and Monroe,

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, and Pike counties in Pennsylvania. The

runs along much of the eastern boundary of the park and is maintained and updated by the

New York–New Jersey Trail Conference The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC) is a volunteer-based federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations (mostly hiking clubs and environmental organizations). The conference coordin ...

The park offers historical and cultural sites including the Minisink Archaeological Site, Millbrook Village, and the arts center in Peters Valley and rural scenery approximately an hour's drive from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The park has significant Native American archaeological sites. In addition, a number of structures remain from early Dutch settlement during the colonial period. Outdoor recreational activities include canoeing, hiking, camping, swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and picnicking. Fishing and hunting are permitted in season with valid state licenses. The area is also noted for its many waterfalls. These include Buttermilk Falls, the tallest falls in New Jersey at about , and Raymondskill Falls, the tallest in Pennsylvania at about .

Geology and geography

Delaware Water Gap

The namesake feature of the recreation area is the prominent

, located at the area's southern end. The Delaware River runs through the gap, separating Pennsylvania's Mount Minsi on Blue Mountain, elevation , from New Jersey's Mount Tammany on Kittatinny Mountain, elevation . The gap is less than wide at river level and less than wide at the ridge line. The river is about wide at the gap. The gap has long facilitated transportation across the ridge, with Pennsylvania building the first road through the gap in 1793. Today,

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

occupies the eastern side of the gap, while PA 611 and the Pocono Mainline of the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad runs through the western side.

Minisink

The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area incorporates much of the historical Minisink. The Minisink (or more recently "Minisink Valley") is a loosely defined geographic region of the Upper

valley in northwestern

(

and Warren counties), northeastern

( Pike and Monroe counties) and New York ( Orange and Sullivan counties). The name was derived by Dutch colonists from the

name for the area. While the term "Minisink" is not used often today, it is preserved because of its historical significance in the early European settlement of the region during the American colonial period and as an artifact of the early "first contact" between Native Americans and early European explorers, traders and missionaries in the seventeenth century.

History

At the time of European contact, the Minisink was inhabited by

, the northern branch of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

. The area's first European settlers arrived in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and were Dutch and French

families from colonial New York's Hudson River Valley.

Tocks Island Dam project

The Delaware River is prone to floods—some resulting from seasonal snow melt or rain run-off from heavy rainstorms. However, record flooding occurred in August 1955 in the aftermath of two separate

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

s ( Hurricane Connie and

Hurricane Diane Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage (in 1955 dollars, which would be $11,764,962,686 today), including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It tropical ...

) that passed over the area within the span of one week. On 19 August 1955, the river gauge at Riegelsville, Pennsylvania recorded that the Delaware River reached a crest of 38.85 feet, or 16.85 feet above flood stage. A project to dam the river near Tocks Island was in the works before the 1955 floods. But several deaths and severe damages resulting from these floods brought the issue of flood control to the national level. The

proposed the construction of the dam, which would have created a 37-mile (60-km) long lake between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with depths of up to 140 feet. The area around the lake would be established as the ''Tocks Island National Recreation Area'' under the oversight of the

, to offer recreation activities such as hunting, hiking, fishing, and boating. In addition to flood control and recreation, the dam would be used to generate

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

and provide a clean water supply to New York City and Philadelphia. Starting in 1960, the present-day area of the Recreation Area was acquired for the Army Corps of Engineers through

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

. Approximately 15,000 people were displaced by the condemnation of property along the Delaware River and the surrounding area. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 dwellings and outbuildings were demolished in preparation for the dam project and subsequent flooding of the valley. This included many irreplaceable historical sites and structures connected with the valley's Native American and colonial heritage.

Establishment of the recreation area

In support of the Tocks Island Dam project, Congress authorized the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in 1965. The area was intended to encompass a narrow strip of shoreline surrounding the reservoir, in part to make the project more cost-effective. The dam project was embroiled in controversy, engendering strong opposition from environmental groups and embittered, displaced residents. Due to this opposition, the unavailability of funding for the dam, and a geological assessment revealing the dam would be located near active fault lines, the federal government ultimately decided to abandon the project in 1978. The lands acquired were then transferred to the

and added to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Recent history

The recreation area is currently facing major under-funding. Deferred maintenance costs total over $161 million, with an annual $6 million routine maintenance cost. In November 2021, a proposal was introduced to redesignate the recreational area as a full-fledged

, which would make it the first such park in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. Local

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

chapters have supported this proposal, claiming it would help to improve the Recreation Area's infrastructure and capacity for tourists.

Superintendents and regional affiliations

Previous and current superintendents of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area include: * Peter DeGelleke, 1965–1973 * James McLaughlin, 1973–1979 * Albert "Amos" Hawkins, 1979–1988 * Richard Ring, 1988–1992 * Roger Rector, 1992–1997 * William Laitner, 1997–2003 * John Donahue, 2003–2017 * Sula Jacobs, 2018–2022 * Doyle Sapp, 2022–present The park is currently a part of Interior Region 1 of the National Park Service. It was originally a part of the Northeast region, and later the North Atlantic-Appalachian Region.

Gallery

File:Marie Zimmerman Farm Hog Barn DWG NPS.jpg, The Hog Barn at the Pennsylvania farm of artist Marie Zimmermann File:Raymondkill.jpg, Raymondskill Falls File:Dingmansfalls.jpg, Dingman's Falls File:Middle Delaware River above Walpack Bend.jpg, Middle Delaware River above Walpack Bend File:Delaware Water Gap.jpg, View of Mount Tammany from Delaware Water Gap File:Delaware Water Gap NRA.jpg, Two recreationalists rest in a beached canoe at the base of Mount Tammany

Notable sites within the Park

* Brau Kettle * Brodhead Farm * Callahan House * Cold Spring Farm Springhouse * Dingman's Ferry Dutch Reformed Church * Metz Ice Plant * John Michael Farm * Military Trail * Nyce Farm * Schoonover Mountain House * Capt. Jacob Shoemaker House * John Turn Farm * Marie Zimmermann Farm * Van Campen's Inn * Raymondskill Falls * Zion Lutheran Church * List of waterfalls of the Delaware Water Gap

References

External links

National Park Service: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation AreaThe Friends Of The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
{{authority control National Park Service National Recreation Areas National Park Service Wild and Scenic Rivers Wild and Scenic Rivers of the United States Pocono Mountains Delaware Water Gap National Park Service areas in New Jersey National Park Service areas in Pennsylvania Protected areas of Sussex County, New Jersey Protected areas of Warren County, New Jersey Protected areas of Northampton County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Monroe County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Pike County, Pennsylvania Protected areas established in 1965 1965 establishments in New Jersey 1965 establishments in Pennsylvania