Park 8: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area: New Jersey

6/14/12. We had a whole day to devote to visiting parks so we chose Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area since it would take about an hour and a half to get there. We had a lovely drive and found the Kittatiny Point Visitor Center with no problem.

One of the harder parts of the trail

We picked up a map of the park and got our cancellation stamp, then asked the ranger for advice on visiting the park since there is so much to do. He suggested that we might like to hike to the top of Mount Tammany, which consisted of a difficult trail of one mile up and an easy trail of three miles back down. He said there were the best views of the park from the top. It sounded like a great idea so we headed back to the car to get our water. We couldn't find the start of the trail so we asked another ranger who was walking by. It turned out it was across the highway and we had to drive to it.

We finally found the entrance to the trail and headed up. Within a short while we realized how hard this trail really was! We had to stop every few minutes to catch our breath, and the path was very rocky. Catherine had on Vibram five finger shoes and Muriel had on brand-new thin-soled sneakers. These were very comfortable to wear because they were light-weight, but horrible shoes for hiking because of the rocks. You can tell we are novices!!

View of the park from close to the top of the mountain trail

It took us about an hour or so to reach the part of the mountain with spectacular views of the valley and mountain range. We stopped to take photos and a quick break, then kept moving up. It seemed like we hiked and hiked and hiked forever. Every time we thought we were at the top, we encountered another steep trek up higher. By the time we got to the top, we were tired, but very happy we made it!

We started the "easy" trail down the mountain, which we both thought was actually as hard as the trail going up because it was solid rocks that shifted under our feet. By this point, our muscles were so tired we were a bit shaky and had trouble keeping our balance. Along the way, we passed a few small groups of people looking very perky - we smiled thinking that they didn't know what they were in for!

We finally made it almost to the end of the trail, where it joined Dunnfield Creek. This area was incredibly beautiful - just like a view in the movies, with the creek alongside the trail, tall trees overhead and a feeling of being completely removed from the rest of the world.

We reached the end and stumbled to the car to relax for a while. We had tremendous satisfaction that we made it the whole way. After a rest, we got out the map and decided to drive up to Millbrook Village.

The park road wound around the peaks, and at times it was only one lane. We went for miles and miles - and were suprised at how huge the park is and we were only in a small part of it so far! We finally reached Millbrook Village, but it was closed. We toured the area and peeked in the buildings, then drove farther north int the park. It started getting late, so we decided we'd have to save the rest of the park for other days. There is enough to see here for at least a couple more days of visits!