Breaking News & Updates
POP-UPs This Winter
January 8, 2019
Last winter, bad weather foiled nearly all of our attempts to get outdoors on the Delaware Canal. So, this year, we’re going to try a different tactic.
Rather than scheduling dates in advance, we’re going to do POP-UP activities. When the forecasters say that the skies will be sunny, the temperatures above frostbite, and the winds relatively calm OR we have a perfect snowfall, we’ll send out a message letting you know what we’ll be doing and where we’ll be doing it along the Canal’s length. We might be hiking. We might be cross-country skiing or snowshoeing or maybe something completely new. (Wouldn’t it be great to have a skating party?)
We’ll be waiting for the right opportunities and will notify you with the details by sending an e-mail message and posting on the Events page and our Friends of the Delaware Canal Facebook page.
Here’s hoping for lots of fun on the Canal this winter.
Concrete Armoring Being Installed South of Easton
December 12, 2018
The level of the Canal is down in the north because the State Park is installing concrete armoring to hinder an ongoing erosion problem that’s been going on for years near the Highlands south of Easton. This work is being done to prevent the towpath and canal from being blown out.
Towpath at Scudder Falls Bridge Construction Site To Be Closed Temporarily
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
TRAIL CLOSURE: The towpath will be closed in the area of I-95/I-295, Scudder Falls Bridge, from November 27, 2018 to December 18, 2018. The closure will be in effect Monday through Friday during this time period with the towpath open on weekends. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) will be performing work on the I-95/I-295 bridge over the canal during this closure. For additional information please visit the DRJTBC website at www.drjtbc.org/project/
Water Levels to be Dropped in Levittown and New Hope
October 10, 2018
***CANAL DRAWDOWN NOTICE***
The park will begin a drawdown of water levels in the canal to conduct several repair and preventative maintenance projects in two areas of the park.nCanal levels will be dropped from Mill Creek Road south to Bristol Borough so that a collapsed culvert under Haines Road can be repaired and replaced. Water levels from Centre Bridge to New Hope will also be lowered so that vegetation removal can take place along the canal prism and help facilitate the bridge replacement project at Phillips Mill.
Drawdown of the canal must take place before October 15th due to regulations established by the PA Fish & Boat Commission to protect the eastern redbelly turtle. During the drawdown, park staff will be on site removing and relocating fish, turtles, and/or other species of concern to a safe location should they become stranded in a section of the canal with low water.
If you have any questions, please contact the park office at 610-982-5560.
Two PA/NJ Canal Loops Out of Commission
Thursday, October 4, 2018
The replacement of the Phillips’ Mill Bridge in New Hope and the repair of the River Road Bridge near the Golden Pheasant Inn in Erwinna have required that the Delaware Canal towpath be closed at these locations.
The towpath closure at Phillips’ Mill Bridge has disconnected the PA/NJ Canal Loop Trail that runs from New Hope, PA to Lambertville, PA to Stockton, NJ to Centre Bridge, PA.
The towpath closure at the “Golden Pheasant” Bridge has disconnected the Loop Trail from Lumberville, PA to Bull’s Island, NJ to Frenchtown, NJ to Uhlerstown, PA.
The detours around the closures are not recommended. 
Pipes Reinstalled at Fry’s Run
Monday, August 27, 2018
The temporary pipes have been reinstalled at the Fry’s Run Aqueduct and Lehigh River is again flowing south. Thanks DCNR for the quick action!
Update on the Fry’s Run aka Kleinhans Aqueduct Situation
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
From Josh Swartley, Delaware Canal State Park Manager —-
On Saturday, August 11, 2018 Williams Township (Northampton County) experience torrential downpours and flash flooding. As a result of this flooding Fry’s Run overflowed its banks, sending a wall of water into Kleinhans Aqueduct. The flash flooding damage the aqueduct and the temporary bypass that carries water along the canal. The aqueduct wall on the west side was completely blown off and washed down the canal. The temporary bypass, that conveys water through the canal, was washed away. Currently, water is being diverted out of the canal at Theodore Roosevelt Recreation Area (TRRA) until repairs can be made to the aqueduct. The area between TRRA and Durham will have no flow until repairs can be made. The Durham pump has been turned on, so the area south of Durham will have a minimal amount of water on a short term, temporary basis. Over the next several days, we will be working on installing another temporary bypass over the aqueduct and hope to have water flowing through the area by the end of next week.
Local Flooding Damages Fry’s Run Aqueduct
August 13, 2018
On Saturday, August 11th, it RAINED in the upper stretches of the Canal causing local flooding. Fry’s Run near Raubsville rose to a level higher than the canal aqueduct, and the tremendous force of the water against the temporary pipes, which were carrying the Canal’s water over the Run, were ripped out of place – as well as stone walls and some River bank.
The result is that most of the water coming south from Easton is pouring out the west side of what remains of the aqueduct structure. Water levels have dropped from Groundhog Lock south.
Hope to know more soon about the way forward. This turn of events is especially sad since
DCNR took great pains to install the pipes so that the Canal could be watered until the structurally deficient aqueduct was replaced. Fortunately, the plans for the new aqueduct are finished, so the replacement process is underway.
Towpath Closure at Scudder Falls Bridge Project
July 20, 2018
From the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission:
Delaware Canal Towpath in Pennsylvania near Scudder Falls Bridge
To Close Six Days a Week Starting July 30
Towpath Section to be Open Sundays Only until August 31
LOWER MAKEFIELD, PA – A short section of the Delaware Canal towpath on the Pennsylvania side of the Scudder Falls Bridge is scheduled to be closed six days a week beginning Monday, July 30, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced today.
The scheduled towpath closure is needed to ensure public safety while construction activities take place on the approach bridge that carries I-295/I-95 across the canal. This work initially will involve mobilization activities and then expansion of the approach bridge’s abutment as a precursor to widening the roadway before the river bridge.
The towpath is scheduled to be barricaded and inaccessible to the public from Woodside Road to the project limits downstream of the canal’s I-295/I-95 overpass Monday through Saturday of each week from July 30 until August 31.
Under the current schedule, the towpath is expected to be open through the project area on Sundays only in the month of August. If all goes as scheduled, the affected towpath segment should be open for the Labor Day holiday weekend.
The aforementioned closure periods are subject to change due to weather and other considerations.
Pedestrians and bicyclists are urged to exercise caution when traveling along the canal near or through work areas as the bridge replacement project construction activities proceed over the next t years.
More information and videos on the bridge replacement project are available at www.scudderfallsbridge.com
Towpath Trail Closed at Conrail Embankment South of Morrisville
July 16, 2018
Construction has begun on opening up one of our remaining three major trail obstructions along the canal. Contractors have begun work at the site known as the Conrail embankment, located 1 mile south of Bridge Street in Morrisville. The towpath on both north and south sides of the embankment will be closed due to this construction for the foreseeable future, as contractors prepare to tunnel through the embankment.
Once completed, towpath users will once again be able to safely traverse through this segment of the canal towpath for the first time in decades.
