Washington's Crossing

Washington's Crossing State Park (8/1/2009)

This is hike #33 ("Washington Crossing to Scudder's Falls") in 50 Hikes in New Jersey (3rd edition). Though we visited parts of the Delaware & Raritan Canal when we hiked Six Mile Run a few years ago and Princeton Battlefield last month, this is the first hike which was almost entirely along the canal.

The hike begins in Washington's Crossing State Park on Continental Lane, the actual path that Washington and his troops took to Trenton after their Delaware crossing (except in the opposite direction). After reaching the Delaware River, we proceeded south for at least 2.5 miles along the tow path of the D & R, ending at Scudder's Falls before turning back. By the way, "falls" is quite an exaggeration. It's more of a small stretch of white water rapids, but it's still fun to sit on the bank for a moment and watch the water flowing vigorously over the rocks.

The hike described is 6 miles but with a side trip on the bridge spanning the Delaware, and a bit of meandering around the grounds of the state park, we hiked a bit over 7 miles.

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