Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River at the Byram Boat Ramp in Stockton, New Jersey
RIVER TRIP OVERVIEW
Byram Boat Ramp to Virginia Forrest Recreation Area
Length: 2.8 miles
Water Level at Time of Trip: 2.6 feet
Average moving speed: 4.8 MPH with two paddlers
Top Speed: 5.7 MPH
Time: 35 minutes
This review covers a trip on the Delaware River from the Byram Boat Ramp in Stockton, New Jersey, to the Virginia Forrest Recreation Area in New Hope, Pennsylvania. This entire trip is within the boundaries of the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River. I mention this because not all sections of the river from the northern boundary south of Belvidere, New Jersey, to the southern boundary at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, are part of the park. River sections can be excluded due to excessive shoreline development, poor water quality, or because a municipality along the river does not want to be part of the park. Decisions not to be included are often based on the fact that the municipality may have to impose stricter regulations on the businesses along the river.
THE FINE PRINT
Before starting a trip down the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River, always check the water levels so you have an idea of the river conditions. The most relevant United States Geological Survey (USGS) water level gauge for this trip is at Stockton. On the day I did the trip in mid-October, the Stockton gauge reported 2.6 feet of water. The observations in my report are based on this water level. If you do the trip when the level is significantly lower, you may be dragging your boat to deeper water in some places and probably won’t experience the same degree of rapids as reported. If the water level is 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.
Keep in mind that water level gauges only measure water depth at one location. The actual depth of the river varies from place to place. However, a gauge reading gives a good indication of what the water levels will be like between it and the next downriver gauge. For example, it may be recommended that for an enjoyable paddling trip that Gauge X reads at least four feet, even though you can have a good time in your kayak in as little as a foot of water, perhaps even less. However, a four-foot reading at Gauge X may mean that some areas of the river only have six inches of water. Likewise, the gauge at Washington Crossing read .15 foot at the start of the day when I did the trip at the southern end of the river and -.15 by the evening. Minus? How is that possible? Do I have to dig a well to get to the water? All I know is that there was plenty of water, and I’m not talking about just enough to get by. I’m talking about not being able to see the bottom. So .15 feet of water at Washington Crossing means there is plenty of water in that area, while .15 feet at Gauge X probably means the river in that area is dry.
So you now know the water levels are all relative to the area, and you really need to be a frequent paddler, or know someone who is, to judge when it’s going to be a good day on the river. I’m from Georgia. I went down the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River once, so I do not know what water levels may require advanced paddling skills or may even be dangerous, or at what levels you may be scraping the bottom of the riverbed. All I can say is that with 2.6 feet of water in Stockton, which is significantly lower than water levels reported upriver, there was plenty of water on all sections of the Delaware River covered on this trip. There were no serious rapids or anything else that even beginning paddlers could not handle.
RIVER TRIP DETAILS
The trip between Byram and Virginia Forrest Recreation Area is short, but it has some interesting features. First off, as soon as you depart from the Byram Boat Ramp you are traveling along Bulls Island. However, unless you notice the very narrow channel on the left, you would just think you were traveling along the mainland of New Jersey. The channel was originally a natural and even narrower channel that separated Bulls Island from the mainland, but in the 1830s it was dug out to feed water into the Delaware and Raritan Canal. As you continue down the Delaware River, you will see vegetation all along the New Jersey shoreline, and right behind it is the canal, still full of water. In fact, the canal itself is open to paddling. (Note: The dirt path next to the channel in the photo below is not a boat ramp. It is part of a walking trail around Bulls Island.)
Mouth of the channel that separates Bulls Island from the New Jersey mainland
A quarter mile from the Byram ramp is a wing dam that was built to cause the water in the Delaware River to pool, thus providing ample water for the feeder canal. It is shaped like the wings of an airplane, only there is a hole in the middle where the fuselage of the plane would be. I suppose the hole is how “THEY” get away with the claim that the Delaware River is the longest free flowing river in the eastern United States.
I don’t know what the Bulls Island Wing Dam looked like back in the canal days, but there is still a structure in the river. It was underwater when I did trip, so I didn’t see a thing. Looking at historical satellite images when the water was low, there is definitely a dam. The first image below was taken when the water was so low that there was even exposed land in the middle of the river. The second image is most likely how the river and dam looked when I did my trip.
Low water at the Bulls Island Wing Dam on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River
High water at the Bulls Island Wing Dam on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River
If the water level is low, passing through the hole in the middle of the dam is obviously the only way to go. When the water is just barely high enough to flow over the dam, you will see what looks like water falling over an infinity-edge pool on both sides of the river and a calm spot in the middle. Aim for the calm spot. You’ll hear a lot of ruckus as you approach, but that is just the water flowing over the dam. Paddling through it is a pretty tame experience. To put it into perspective, the New Jersey Department of Conservation and Natural Resources runs trips from Tinicum Park to the Bulls Island Boat Ramp downriver from the dam, and the trip is open to anyone, even kids.
Center of the Bulls Island Wing Dam on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River
The one thing to know about the Bulls Island Wing Dam is that it is not the feared Lambertville Wing Dam farther downriver that provides the only true whitewater experience on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River. I went through that dam the next day when the water levels were even lower, so no water was flowing over the dam. The entire river was being sucked through the middle causing Class III rapids that required paddling skills—or daring—beyond what is required on the rest of the river. I do not have enough experience at the two locations to know why the Lambertville Wing Dam is much more dangerous despite the two dams being nearly identical in form and function.
The Bulls Island Wing Dam does stir up some choppy water that lasts nearly to the Lumberville-Raven Rock Bridge that you can see in the distance, but the water calms significantly beyond the bridge.
Turbulent water downriver from the Bulls Island Wing Dam on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River
Just past the bridge on the New Jersey (left) side of the river is the Bulls Island Boat Ramp. As with the Byram Boat Ramp, it is part of Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, so fees are required to use it from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The office where you buy a launch permit is on Bulls Island just a 5-minute walk from the boat ramp.
Bulls Island Boat Ramp on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River
On the day of my trip, the river was lake-like from the Bulls Island ramp all the way to the take-out point at Virginia Forrest Recreation Area where I ended the second day of my trip down the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River.
Calm water on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River between Bulls Island and Virginia Forrest Recreation Area
The Virginia Forrest Recreation Area Canoe Launch is located on the Pennsylvania (right) side of the river right before the very large Hendrick Island. There is another island on the left, Eagle Island, that you will just start to pass when you come to the canoe launch. Be on the lookout for a staircase and a white building that looks like a church. The park is part of Delaware Canal State Park, so you need a launch permit to use the ramp.
Virginia Forrest Recreation Area Canoe Launch on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River
You will immediately realize that this is not a convenient place to end a trip down the river. In fact, it sucks. The water is knee to waist deep and the bottom drops off quickly, so getting out into the water isn’t really an option unless it is summer—it was perhaps 50 degrees out when I did the trip in mid-October. You must get your boat parallel to the shore and grab onto a root or something to pull yourself out of the boat and onto land. Be sure you have hold of a rope tied to the boat just in case it kicks away as you get out. There is a path on the hill that you can drag your boat up instead of using the stairs, though doing so doesn’t make things much easier.
Stairs down to the canoe launch on the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic River at Virginia Forrest Recreation Area
The park, by the way, is not about forests in Virginia. There are two Rs in Forrest, making it a proper name. Virginia R. Forrest was a conservationist associated with Bucks County. She died in 1991.
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Last updated on February 24, 2024
