Paddling the Delaware River between Milford Beach and Namanock, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

MILFORD BEACH TO NAMANOCK RIVER TRIP

Length: 4.8 miles
Water Level at Time of Trip:  6.15 feet
Average moving speed:  4.8 MPH with two paddlers
Top Speed:  5.5 MPH
Time: 1 hour

The Milford Beach Boat Ramp is the northernmost concrete boat ramp within the boundary of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It can accommodate both trailer-launched and hand-launched watercraft. If vehicles with trailer-launched motorboats are lined up to use the ramp, those with hand-launched watercraft can use the dirt canoe launch 75 yards away to the south (downriver).

If departing from Milford Beach, keep in mind that fees are collected for parking from mid-April through early October. There is no specific fee to use the boat ramp, so you can get dropped off or picked up for free as long as the vehicle transporting you does not park at the facility. Get the latest fees on the National Park Service’s official Fees and Passes web page Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Milford Beach Boat Ramp in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

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 north end of the park, the USGS water level gauge at Montague (which is right 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.

It had been raining heavily for a few days prior to my trip, so there was plenty of water. The gauge at Montague reported 6.15 feet. Keep in mind that the observations in my report are based on this water level. 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. Also be aware that regardless of water levels, extreme winds can cause turbulent conditions that require advanced skills on water otherwise suited for all paddlers.

Within eyesight of the Milford Beach Boat Ramp is the US 206 bridge, and another mile farther ahead is a large island, Minisink Island. The most direct route around it is to stay to the right along the Pennsylvania shoreline. Because the river channel narrows as it splits in two and flows around the island, the current picks up and the water gets a little choppy, like small waves stirred up by a soft wind. Prior to that, the water was as calm as a lake. What you see in the second photo below is as exciting as things get on this stretch of the Delaware River.

Highway 206 bridge just downriver from Milford Beach, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Choppy water where the Delaware River forks around Minisink Island, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The stretch of river along the bank of Minisink Island is 1.75 mile long. There may be a few other choppy sections, but for the most part, once you get beyond the fork in the river, the water is fairly calm.

After passing Minisink Island, the Delaware River remains quite narrow. In fact, if you didn’t see that you had come to the end of the island, you would think you were still paddling along its shore. This narrow section is caused by the mainland bulging out into the river. This means nothing as far as paddling goes, but it explains why the river doesn’t widen as it usually does when coming to the downstream end of an island.

Three quarters of a mile past Minisink is a second island, Namanock Island. I’m not sure if it matters which way you go around it, but I stayed to the right. As with the trip around Minisink, there are some sections of choppy water, but most of the trip is on calm water. I did hit my top speed of 5.5 MPH while going around Namanock, which was a few tenths of a mile faster than my top speed around Minisink.

Delaware River at Namanock Island, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The trip around Namanock Island is roughly a mile long, and the Namanock Canoe Lunch is a quarter mile or so past the southern tip of the island on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River (left). However, it is hard to spot from the water unless you know what to look for. I never saw it, so I continued downriver to Dingmans Ferry.

Later on I drove out to the ramp to see what I missed. Calling the canoe launch at Namanock a canoe launch is like calling any spot along the Delaware River where you can get to the water a canoe launch. It is in the middle of nowhere, and the ramp itself is located at the bottom of a very steep hill. Therefore, I highly recommend landing at Dingmans Ferry just as I did.

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