Sept. 6, 2024

132. Quick road trip to go Tubing in the Delaware Water Gap near Frenchtown NJ

Show Notes
Transcript

Sometimes the spirit of adventure can take you somewhere awesome that's pretty close to home. Let's go tubing in the Delaware Water Gap and see what's in Frenchtown NJ!

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Callaroga Shark Media.

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Hey, Johnny mackin Travel is back. I spent Labor day

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tubing on the Delaware River. I wanted to get this

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one in before the season gets too late and we

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had into fall travel. You've still got a couple weekends

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if you want to do this one today. Look at

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the Delaware Water Gap, nature's playground and some rivertown charms. Nope,

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it's not Delaware. It straddles between Pennsylvania and New Jersey

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from where I live. You take I eighty straight out,

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I'll bring it right there, or I seventy eight will

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take you to where I went tubing. The Delaware Water

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Gap is where the Delaware River cuts through the large

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ridge of the Appalachians. Part of the area is the

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Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area that covers about seventy

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thousand acres of land. Five hundred million years ago, the

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Delaware River eroded its way through the Kidney Ridge. What

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it has created are some cliffs, some of them about

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twelve hundred feet above the river. It's a great place

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to go hiking. I've done that. There were over one

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hundred miles of trails to explore, the Red Dot Trail

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to Mount Tammany on the New Jersey side is a

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popular choice. I've done that one, offering breath taking views

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of the Delaware Water Gap. Over on the Pennsylvania side,

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the Mount Minci Trail provides equally stunning views. Do you

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like waterfalls? Check out Dingman's Falls, the second highest waterfall

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in Pennsylvania at one hundred and thirty feet, and don't

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miss Bushkill Falls, known as the Niagara of Pennsylvania. I'll

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siphon that one often make it that its own episode,

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as it's not too far for me to head out

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there one of these fall weekends, but I went tubing.

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It was a beautiful Labor day in the Northeast, and

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I headed out to Big Bear Gear. They're in Kingwood,

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New Jersey, open seven days a week from Memorial Day

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to Labor Day, so this time of the year weekend

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operations in early September. Check with them to make sure

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they're still open or this episode's totally valid next spring.

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For your float ride, you'll start on the New Jersey

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side of Marshall Island and Treasure Island. As you drift along,

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you'll see the Devil's Tee Table cliffs on the New

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Jersey side. You'll float past Walls Island and Prawl's Island.

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You'll experience some gentle Class one rapids Class one of

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the lowest and rapids is a very generous term here.

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So my wife and I went. We rented the closed

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bottom tubes. I decided I didn't want to have my

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behind in the water for four hours, so I kind

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of liked, you know, slightly being out of the water.

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We also got the deluxe tubes he could recline a

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little bit. They recommended a paddle. I found the paddle

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to be very useful to push off rocks and occasionally

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paddle myself back into the center of the river. That's

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worth the four bucks or whatever they charge for that.

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Definitely take the up charge on that and then just

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let the river take you. And I just floated down

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the river. It took us I think two hours forty

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minutes to go the five miles on the day that

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we went. Nice day trip for us. Then we had

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it over to Frenchtown, New Jersey, also located right on

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the Delaware River. This picturesque town offers a blend of history, culture,

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and outdoor activities. It's like stepping into a Norman rock wall. Painting,

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but you know, kind of modern. First thing you want

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to do is stroll down Bridge Spree. That's the main

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street in town. You're not going to miss that one,

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lined with shops, art galleries and cafes. Look like a

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great place to take somebody. If you're like, hey, let's

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go on a date. What should we do? Just go

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eat in Frenchtown. Nice lots of places. They are local crafts, coffee,

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people watching, and when we were on there on Labor

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Day it was pretty hopping. Midday parking may have been

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a little challenging. I did see several municipal lots and

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I didn't have a problem, but you know, there were

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people around for sure. Now, if you've still got a

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little energy, you can rent a bike and hit the

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Delaware and Rariton Canal State Park Trail. The trail runs

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along the river. It's a great way to see the

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area and part of what you just tubed it's flat

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eye eyeballed it. I think it's slightly uphill coming back,

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so always keep that in mind on these longer rides.

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If you're a book lover, check out the french Town

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Bookshop and Independent Bookstore. They have a curated selection of

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titles and often host author events. If you want to

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eat somewhere about the french Town in the building dates

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back to eighteen o five. Today, the restaurant serves upscale

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American quiz with a focus on local ingredients. On Bridge

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Street you'll find sandwich places, a couple pizza places, farm

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to table places. The Art Yard is a contemporary art

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center that hosts exhibitions, performances, and workshops. You can head

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on over to Frenchtown Borough Park, a riverside park offering

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more beautiful views of the river's nice spots to just

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hang out. It's especially beautiful at sunset, and if you

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want to get back in the water, you can rent

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a kayak. You can rent a canoe. French Down embodies

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the charm of a riverside community, the blend of outdoor recreation,

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culture offerings, and a small town atmosphere that make it

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perfect compliment to your Delaware Water Gap adventure. As we

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head into the fall here remember that the leaves will

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change colors. If you like taking photos of the leaves

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or in their full bloom, that would be a great

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place to do it. And as we head into winter,

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sure you get that little small town Christmas feel, and

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Frenchtown takes on a cozy, magical quality with holiday decorations

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of course, and warm, inviting shops. So not too far

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from New York City, not too far from Philadelphia, not

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at all too far from.

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Where I live.

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It took me about forty minutes to get there, really

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enjoyed it. French Town and the Big Bear Gear tubing company.

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Check that out. So I just wanted to check in

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with you and tell you about my tubing adventure journey.

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Joe Mitchell will host the next few episodes and give

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you some fall day trip options. Travel is back.

132. Quick road trip to go Tubing in the Delaware Water Gap near Frenchtown NJ

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