Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Millbrook Village Area Trails Home Page
Length: 1.1 mile, one way
Time: 1.5 hours with time to view and photograph the various waterfalls
Difficulty: Moderate with a few short-but-very-steep hills
The Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is located near Millbrook Village. It is an out-and-back trail that runs right along Van Campen Brook and passes multiple waterfalls along the way. Parking lots are located on Old Mine Road at each end of the 1.1-mile trail, so if you have two vehicles, you can park one at either end and save yourself the walk back. The trail is easily one of the best within the park.
Millbrook Village Hiking Trails map
The Van Campen Glen Trail is marked with yellow blazes. These are paint splotches on trees that serve as Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs. In a perfect world, you can see from one blaze to the next, but we don’t live in a perfect world, and the Van Campen Glen Trail is even less perfect. There is one section where there is no indication of where the trail goes, and there is no blaze in sight. Some sort of hiking GPS would sure come in handy, but if worse comes to worse, just stick to the brook, as the trail follows very closely to it.
Yellow blazes mark the route of the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
I started my hike on the Van Campen Glen Trail from the upper parking lot, and if you plan to hike the entire trail, this is where you should start. If you just want to see a waterfall, you can start at the lower parking lot and hike a quarter mile along relatively flat terrain to the Lower Van Campen Glen Waterfall. There are other falls along the trail, but the lower falls is as good as any, and it is easy to get to.
The upper parking lot is located on the opposite side of the road from Van Campen Brook where the trail starts. The crosswalk is behind a large trail sign in the parking lot. Once across, look for a paved path with a vehicle gate across it.
Northern trailhead for the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Less than a hundred yards from the start, the trail crosses over Van Campen Brook via a footbridge. You can get a nice photo of the creek from the bridge.
Van Campen Brook near Millbrook Village in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The trail forks just after the bridge. One of my hiking apps shows the Van Campen Glen Trail heading north (left at the fork), but the National Park Service map shows the trail heading south. This is the proper way to go, so stick to the paved path.
First fork at the north end of the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
In less than a tenth of a mile, the Van Camp Glen Trail forks again. As with the previous fork, there are no directional signs pointing the way. In fact, neither fork is shown on the National Park Service map. To stay on the correct route, take the fork to the right, this time on the dirt trail. The paved path, which according to my hiking app, is the former Brink Road that cuts over to Millbrook Road.
Second fork at the north end of the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
At this point the Van Campen Glen Trail becomes extremely rocky and full of roots. It now follows along a ridge quite high above Van Campen Brook. It’s a pretty steep slope down to the creek. If you trip and fall down the hill, you are most likely going to be seriously injured, so pay attention.
Van Campen Glen Trail runs along a ridge above Van Campen Brook, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Van Campen Brook as seen from the northern end of the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Van Campen Glen Trail eventually runs right along the brook, so getting there from the ridge high above it obviously takes some downhill hiking. The descent starts .3 mile into the hike. It is a two-tier descent with a short, level reprieve between the two drops. The first descent is about a hundred yards long and has an average grade of 15% (which is where strenuous hiking begins). The second descent is 125 feet in length and has an average grade of 16%.
The Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area heads steeply downhill towards Glen Campen Brook
Towards the end of the hike down to Van Campen Brook, the right side of the ridge is no longer a steep slope but an actual cliff. The neat thing about this section of the trail is that there is another ledge directly below that you cannot see. It is right on the water where a series of cascades and a small waterfall flow. The trail descends via some irrigation steps and veers away from the water. When you get to the bottom, you’ll see a path to the right that leads back to the brook. Take this detour and you’ll find the lower ledge.
Path to Van Campen Brook and the ledge that runs along it, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Once at this lower ledge, you can walk along it back up the creek for a closer view of the falls. Just moments earlier, you were on the trail directly above. (Note: This is not Van Campen Glen Falls.)
Lower ledge along Van Campen Brook in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
First waterfall along the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Once back at the main trail, it’s not very clear where to go, and there are no blazes in sight (this is the place mentioned at the start of the review). I could see a big pool of water and Van Campen Brook, but I was somehow stuck on a ledge at least fifty feet above it. I decided to walk along the edge of the ledge, following as close to the brook as I could, and I eventually saw stairs that led down below.
Ledge above Glen Campen Brook, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
At the bottom of the hill is a pool of water and a small waterfall. According to a hiking app I use, this is Upper Van Campen Glen Falls. It comes about the halfway point on the hike.
Upper Van Campen Glen Falls at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Upper Van Campen Glen Falls in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Across from the waterfall are a bunch of rocks that you can sit on to view the falls. It’s not very evident where the trail continues, but behind the rocks is a tree with a lot of exposed roots and a yellow blaze on it—the trail is behind it. At this point it follows right along the water.
Continuation of the Van Campen Glen Trail near the upper waterfall, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The lower half of the Van Campen Glen Trail follows along Van Campen Brook, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
After hiking a third of a mile along the creek, you’ll come to another steep section of trail, this time up hill. The section is only 200 feet long, but the grade is nearly 20%. Half of the climb is along a wooden staircase, so it’s not as bad as it looks.
Steep section of the Van Campen Glen Trail south of the upper waterfall, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
No sooner do you get to the top than you start heading back down on an equally steep hill to the next waterfall .2 mile away. At the bottom is the Lower Falls, though the Van Campen Glen Trail does not come very close to it. If you want a decent photo, you’ll have to hike off-trail, scurrying your way down another steep hill (150 feet long, 30% grade) along some tough terrain, including crossing the brook on stepping stones to get to the side where the waterfall is located. Even then, the only view of the falls is from the side. You’d have to wade out into the pool of water to get a frontal view. When I visited, there was a group of guys photographing a girl in a bikini, so evidently this is a popular spot for photos.
Lower Falls on the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Lower Falls on the Van Campen Glen Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The lower Van Campen Glen parking lot is just a quarter mile farther ahead, and the trail is finally on level terrain. From here to the parking lot, the trail runs right along the water.
Typical terrain on the last quarter mile of the Van Campen Glen Trail, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
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Last updated on February 2, 2024
