Delaware River near Worthington State Forest, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

WORTHINGTON STATE FOREST TO KITTATINNY POINT RIVER TRIP

Length: 3.5 miles
Water Level at Time of Trip: 5.95 feet
Average moving speed:  3.5 MPH with two paddlers
Top Speed:  5.4 MPH
Time: 1 hour

The Worthington State Forest Boat Ramp is a convenient place to launch a trip down the Delaware River. The ramp is concrete and can accommodate both trailer- and hand-launched watercraft. There is no fee to use the ramp. Keep in mind that if you do start here and you plan to stay within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, you only have a 3.5-mile trip to Kittatinny Point, the last take-out spot within the park.

Boat Ramp at Worthington State Forest on the Delaware River

Before starting a river trip through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, it is a good idea to check the water levels so you are aware of the river conditions. At the northern end of the park, the USGS water level gauge at Montague (which is at Milford Beach) is the gauge used by the National Park Service to assess conditions. Levels between five and seven feet are typical and provide plenty of water for a trip down the river with conditions suitable for anyone with basic paddling skills. If the Montague gauge reads less than four feet, there may be spots on the river with very little water. Levels over seven feet require more paddling experience, and the river is closed due to extreme danger when water levels at Montague reach fifteen feet. Be aware that regardless of water levels, extreme winds can cause turbulent conditions that require advanced skills on water otherwise suited for all paddlers.

On the day of my trip, the gauge at Montague reported 5.9 feet of water, and the only other gauge within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the Water Gap gauge at the southern end of the park near Depue Island and the Worthington State Forest Campground, reported 5.95 feet. Keep in mind that the observations in my report are based on these water levels. If you do the trip when the levels are lower, you may be dragging your boat to deeper water in some places and probably won’t experience the same degree of rapids as I report (historically, water levels at Montague rarely dip below five feet). If the water levels are significantly higher, you may experience more intense rapids, and more of them.

As soon as you take off from Worthington State Forest, there is a small island and a larger one, Shawnee Island (it actually has a golf course on it). Just stick to the New Jersey shore and pass both on the left side. Current usually picks up whenever the river splits into smaller channels to flow around an island, but here the water remains quite calm. You may see some campsites along the way that are part of Worthington State Forest.

Delaware River near Shawnee Island at the southern end of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

River campsites at Worthington State Forest in New Jersey

Just beyond the downriver end of Shawnee Island—1.75 mile from the boat ramp—are two piers of an old bridge, and on the New Jersey shore is the bridge’s mainland abutment. Prior to this is another structure covered in graffiti, which is to be expected since hikers and paddlers never leave home without their spray paint.

Remnants of an old bridge over the Delaware River near Shawnee Island, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Graffiti on an old structure along the Delaware River near Shawnee Island, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

I tried to go past the piers on the right, hugging the Pennsylvania shoreline, but there were too many rocks that way, and I ended up getting stuck. After back paddling, I went between the two piers. You could also just stick to the New Jersey shore and pass them on the left. (Note: the photo below is looking back upriver after I passed the piers.)

Remnants of an old bridge over the Delaware River near Shawnee Island, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Within eyesight of the old bridge is the confluence of the Delaware River and Broadhead Creek, a fairly decent-sized body of water. Once you pass this, the current picks up significantly and the water gets a little choppy. Ever since the Bushkill Access Boat Ramp twelve miles upriver, the water had been very calm and slow moving, so this was a welcome change. My top speed on the Worthington State Forest-Kittatinny Point section of the river, 5.4 MPH, was reached about a half mile past Broadhead Creek.

Small rapids downriver of the confluence of Broadhead Creek and the Delaware River, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

A mile past the creek is the I-80 bridge, the last notable landmark before Kittatinny Point. Once passing under it, the current began slowing, and by the time I got to the take-out spot, I was back down to 3.5 MPH, which is about as slow as I paddled anywhere on my trip through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Delaware River at the I-80 Bridge in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

From the bridge, Kittatinny Point is just .6 mile farther ahead. The river was as still as a lake, and if I stopped paddling I went nowhere.

Calm water on the Delaware River near Kittatinny Point in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The Kittatinny Point Boat Ramp comes before the famed Delaware Water Gap, so after going down the entire river through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, you don’t even get to pass through the Gap. Instead, you’ll face a huge tree-covered slab of quartzite in front of you and another mountain on the Pennsylvania side of the river. It looks like the river just dead ends up ahead. However, it actually makes a 90-degree right-hand turn and passes through a gap between the two mountains. A water gap, as it turns out, is nothing more than a spot where a river cut through a mountain, in this case the Appalachian Mountains.

Kittatinny Point just upriver from the Delaware Water Gap near Stoudsburg, Pennsylvania

If you decide to paddle through the Delaware Water Gap, the next public boat ramp is four miles ahead in Portland, Pennsylvania, which is outside of the park. I did this a few days later when I paddled the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River, and to tell the truth, it’s really a little underwhelming. I have included a review of this trip here on National Park Planner.

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