Tag: camping

A new campsite near the D&R Canal and the East Coast Greenway in New Jersey

A camping option smackdab between New York City and Philadelphia.

Lots of space!

There are plenty of places to stay along the East Coast Greenway — unless you want to camp. That’s one of the challenges of a route that goes through densely populated urban areas as it connects some of America’s largest cities.

So add this camping option to the list — and in New Jersey no less, the most densely populated state. Mercer County, smackdab between New York City and Philadelphia, has just opened 10 camping spots in one of its biggest parks. Cost is $20 per night for no more than seven nights.

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Camping on the D&L Trail

A belated reply to a question I was asked at a talk about cool places to bike,

This is for those who want to camp along the 165-mile Delaware and Lehigh Trail. The question of campsites came up at a recent talk I gave at REI about great places to bike in New Jersey and beyond, because two people independently said they wanted to bike the entire route and cut costs by camping.

I was stumped. I know you can camp at Tinicum Park and at a private campsite just a bit north of it (as I discovered on a bike ride), and then there’s Washington Crossing State Park on the New Jersey side. (Info about an upcoming group bike ride and camping trip from Easton to Tinicum Park here.)

But beyond Easton and Bethlehem?

So I asked Brian at the D&L for help, and he kindly shared his map of campsites on or near the trail. (Let him know if you know of others.)

You can also check out Hipcamp, which includes camping possibilities on private land.

For those who want an indoor option, there’s this trail-friendly business in Lehighton (south of Jim Thorpe) that offers cheap sleeps in a bunkhouse.

Anyone else have suggestions? Or experiences with the campsites?

If you’re looking for a campsite in New Jersey that’s close to the main D&R Canal towpath (the one between Trenton and New Brunswick), there’s now one in Mercer County Park.

Read more about my bike rides on the D&L Trail here:

– Bristol to Morrisville: A milkshake latte IPA? Another bike ride to yet more ‘weird beer’

– Morrisville to New Hope: 30 socially distanced miles on the D&L and D&R trails

– New Hope to Bethlehem: 24 soft-serve flavors on a 2-day bike adventure along the D&L Trail to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and back

D&L Trail: 24 soft-serve flavors on a 2-day bike adventure to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and back

What a shakedown ride: 133 miles over 2 days, going through New Hope and Easton on the D&L Trail. Plus the food report.

This mile marker is along the Lehigh River; unfortunately they aren’t used along the Delaware.

We’ll soon be heading out on another of our longer bike rides, and like last year, we have some new gear. So we needed another shakedown ride, like last year. Also like last year, we chose to make the Delaware & Lehigh Trail the focus. But unlike last year, we made it a two-day affair over Memorial Day weekend.

For a 165-mile trail (admittedly with a few road sections), the D&L Trail seems to still be pretty unknown, as I first said four years ago and again two years ago. Oh sure, people in our area may know there’s a trail on the “Pennsylvania side” of the Delaware between Lambertville and Frenchtown, NJ, and maybe as far south as Washington Crossing. But few realize the trail begins in Bristol, a Philadelphia suburb, and goes through Easton, Bethlehem and Allentown and ends north of I-80. I just keep trying to spread the word.

Continue reading “D&L Trail: 24 soft-serve flavors on a 2-day bike adventure to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and back”

43 miles on Mississippi’s Tanglefoot Trail

The Tanglefoot Trail runs from New Albany to Houston.

bikes and butterfliesThis is a rail-trail that stands out for doing the most basic of amenities incredibly well — shelters with running water and real toilets (and even outlets to recharge your phone).

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A bike overnight on Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River Trail

The Schuylkill River Trail could be eastern Pennsylvania’s version of the Great Allegheny Passage.

schuylkill trail

Pennsylvania is one lucky state.

It already has the amazing Great Allegheny Passage, that 150-mile rail-trail from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Md., where it links up to the C&O Canal for those wanting to bike to Washington D.C.

After two days on the Schuylkill River Trail, I think this could be eastern Pennsylvania’s response. Admittedly, the trail isn’t completed and some completed sections are on quiet roads, rather than on paths. Nor will it be as long as the GAP. But even on the stretch we did — just over 50 miles from Conshohocken northwest to Reading, and then back — we had urban and rural, one-time industrial towns, some doing better than others, wide open and tree-covered paths, paved and crushed-stone surfaces, glimpses of river and a detour to history at Valley Forge. We even saw a row of four smokestacks, all that remains from an old factory. It could have been on the GAP.

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