The Upper Delaware for Drives, Paddles and Quiet River Days

The Delaware makes broad, graceful turns along the Pennsylvania–New York line, slipping past wooded banks, rocky shorelines and a string of small scenic stops that invite an unhurried day. This is a river corridor better explored in pieces than conquered all at once: a winding road, a pull-off above the water, a bridge crossing, a short trail, a quiet place to sit near the bank.

The Upper Delaware offers plenty for people who want to move—canoeing, kayaking, rafting, tubing, fishing and hiking—but it also suits a slower agenda. You can spend an afternoon following the river’s bends, watching for birds and stopping whenever a view earns a second look.

Clean water and rural surroundings set the tone. In some stretches, the water is clear enough to see the riverbed at surprising depth, and the wide views make the Delaware seem less like a single destination than a landscape continually opening up around the next curve.

Route 97 is one of the easiest ways into the scenery. It runs alongside the Delaware through a mix of relaxed countryside driving and higher stretches where the river appears well below the road in long, repeated S-shaped bends.

The Hawks Nest area is the memorable high-wire segment. Its seasonal overlooks look down over the river and the surrounding hills, offering the sort of view that makes a short stop feel justified even on a day with no particular itinerary.

The road here is narrow, winding and edged by steep drop-offs. It calls for attentive, confident driving rather than a casual gaze out the window, but the route beyond Hawks Nest settles back into a gentler river-road rhythm.

The appeal is not one grand overlook followed by miles of filler. The corridor has many dispersed stops—some high above the water, some almost at river level, some tied to a bridge, a trailhead or a historic landmark. A drive can be as short or as meandering as the day allows.

On the water, the Upper Delaware can be social or nearly silent. Canoes and kayaks share the river with rafts and tubes, and a larger outing might mean several rafts drifting downstream together, with time to swim, talk, sing or simply let the current carry the group along.

Outfitters provide rentals for several kinds of river trips, and some also have campgrounds with practical overnight conveniences such as toilets, showers and camp stores. That makes it possible to build a weekend around the water rather than treating the river as a quick stop between drives.

There are rapids along the corridor, so a paddle is not automatically a beginner’s float. Conditions, depth, temperature and flow can change the character of a trip, and current river information is worth checking before tubing, rafting or paddling.

The roughly 18-mile run from the Shohola/Berryville area to Port Jervis is a more serious paddling option for experienced kayakers. It combines moving water, wildlife watching and chances to pause at small rocky beaches, but it should be approached with the skill level and conditions in mind.

Smallmouth bass add another reason to linger on the water. Bald eagles also nest nearby and are regularly seen along the river corridor; a scan of the treetops and open sky is never wasted.

Not every river day needs an itinerary full of launches and mileage. Small rocky beaches along the Delaware offer informal places to sit by the water, take a break between activities or simply listen to the river for a while.

Those quiet intervals are a strong counterweight to the more active options. A person can fish, paddle or hike in the morning and still have room in the afternoon for a shoreline stop with no plan beyond looking across the water.

Land ownership along the river is mixed. Although the Delaware has National Wild and Scenic River status and a National Park Service presence, much of the shoreline is private, so a bank that looks inviting should not be assumed to be public access.

The regional trail network gives the drive a useful change of pace. Some walks are around two miles, while other nearby routes offer more time on foot, and the scenery can range from river and valley views to waterfalls and woods full of wildlife.

History turns up on these walks in unexpected forms. Across the network, hikers may encounter colonial-era farmstead ruins, cemeteries, battlegrounds and massacre sites, reminders that this quiet landscape has been a traveled and contested place for a very long time.

The Take a Hike program encourages visitors to complete six regional trails and offers an NPS patch for finishing the set. Information for the program has been available at the Zane Grey house, which can make a natural starting point for a day that mixes local heritage with time outdoors.

For a scenic detour by car before a hike, the route from Ascalona Campground toward Tusten Mountain Trail runs about five miles through the countryside. It is one of those stretches where the approach is not merely transportation; the landscape has already begun doing its work.

Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct offers a different way to experience the river: directly over it. This antebellum bridge can be crossed on foot or by car, and its position provides views in several directions rather than a single framed overlook.

The crossing is also a convenient historic stop because the site has parking, maps and an old toll museum. It is easy to combine with a river drive or a nearby walk, especially when the day calls for several small destinations instead of one long activity.

A bridge has a practical purpose, of course, but this one also slows the day down. Walking across puts the river underfoot and the surrounding hills on both sides, a welcome change from seeing the Delaware only through a windshield.

Near the Lackawaxen River, an original train trestle adds another piece of industrial history to the driving route. It is a striking detail in a landscape more often associated with woods, water and overlooks.

Roadside room around the trestle is limited, and quarry trucks use the area. It is best appreciated without stopping in a way that blocks traffic; the drive itself supplies the view.

The Upper Delaware works in multiple seasons, with overlooks available beyond the peak leaf period and water activities shaping the warmer months. Fall brings more traffic, especially along scenic driving stretches, while other times of year are generally quieter.

That relative quiet suits the place. The river corridor is spread out enough that a day can remain pleasantly loose: drive until an overlook appears, cross a historic bridge, take a short trail, then return to the water for one more look before heading on.