We visited Delaware Water Gap in 2017 with a group of friends from Pittsburgh. On the border of the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the gap is where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Trail. The river then travels another 200 miles to Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean at Wilmington Delaware.
Following the Delaware River as it winds its way between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area features some stunning waterfalls and many outdoor activities, including canoeing, hiking, camping, swimming, biking, and more. The attractions on this page can be done over a weekend.
Our first stop was at Bushkill Falls (nicknamed The Niagara of Pennsylvania), which is among Pennsylvania’s most famous scenic attractions. This unique series of eight waterfalls, nestled deep in the wooded Pocono Mountains, is accessible through an excellent network of hiking trails and bridges which afford fabulous views of the falls and the surrounding forest. The water body here is the Little Bushkill Creek which flows through all the Bushkill Falls waterfalls, except three. It then empties into the Big Bushkill Creek, in the village of Bushkill, and flows into the Delaware River.
Here are some of the waterfalls and the scenery along the 2-mile walk in Bushkill Falls.
The drop of the Main Falls in Bushkill Falls is about 100 feet
High Point Monument trail – In the afternoon, we went on a hike in one of the many trails in this area. The trail we chose was a 3.8 mile loop leading to a monument which is a memorial to New Jersey veterans. It is located at the highest elevation in the state of New Jersey at 1803 feet. You will actually go past the Appalachian trail on this scenic hike.