Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park

For the Pennsylvania State Park, see Delaware Canal State Park.

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park is a New Jersey state park along the Delaware and Raritan Canal.^[1]

In 1974, most of the canal system was declared a New Jersey state park. It remains one today, and is used for canoeing, kayaking, and fishing. A graded natural-surface trail along the side of the canal, which was the tow path that mules used to tow barges on the canal before steam powered barges, is now used for hiking, jogging, bicycling, and horseback riding. These trail connect with the trails in Pennsylvania's Delaware Canal State Park by way of five bridges that cross the Delaware River. Some 36 miles of the main canal, and all 22 miles (35 km) of the feeder canal, still exist. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.

The canal is accessible from many points along its route, with small parking areas providing access at most road crossings. One of the most scenic and popular sections of the D&R Canal state park is the segment along Lake Carnegie in Princeton, New Jersey, which features the canal on one side of the path and the lake on the other side. Another attractive section borders the Colonial Park Arboretum and Gardens in East Millstone.

When the canal was used for transportation, New Jersey's landscape was mostly rural, and its primary business was agriculture. "Now," in the words of Howard Green, research director of the New Jersey Historical Commission, "it is one of the most beloved parks in the state, a sinewy, snake-like greenway through one of the most heavily populated parts of the world. It has gone from being the machine in the garden, to being the garden in the machine."

The D&R Canal running through Franklin Park, New Jersey

References

↑ Venutolo, Anthony (September 3, 2009). "You can soak up the history or just take in the scenery at New Jersey's gem of a park". Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 23, 2012.

External links

Protected areas of New Jersey

Federal

National Historical Parks	Morristown Paterson Great Falls Thomas Edison

National Monuments	Statue of Liberty

National Recreation Areas & Scenic Rivers	Delaware Water Gap NRA Gateway NRA Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River Middle Delaware NSR

Other Protected Areas	New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve

National Trails	Appalachian Trail

National Wildlife Refuges	Cape May National Wildlife Refuge Edwin B. Forsythe Great Swamp Supawna Meadows Wallkill River

National Estuarine Research Reserves	Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve

State

State Parks	Allaire Allamuchy Mountain Barnegat Lighthouse Cape May Point Cheesequake Corson's Inlet Delaware and Raritan Canal Double Trouble Edison State Park Farny Fort Mott Hacklebarney High Point Hopatcong Island Beach Kittatinny Valley Liberty Long Pond Ironworks Monmouth Battlefield Parvin Pigeon Swamp Princeton Battlefield Rancocas Ringwood Stephens Swartswood Voorhees Washington Crossing Washington Rock Wawayanda

State Forests	Abram S. Hewitt Bass River Belleplain Brendan T. Byrne Green Bank Jenny Jump Norvin Green Penn Ramapo Mountain Stokes Wharton Worthington

State Marinas	Senator Frank S. Farley Forked River Fortescue Leonardo Liberty Landing

Recreation Areas	Atsion Bull's Island Round Valley Spruce Run

Wildlife Management Areas	List of New Jersey wildlife management areas

County

Nature parks	Eagle Rock Reservation Garret Mountain Reservation South Mountain Reservation Watchung Reservation New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route

Other

Nature centers	List of nature centers in New Jersey

New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry

Coordinates: 40°19′29″N 74°39′29″W / 40.3248208°N 74.6579184°W / 40.3248208; -74.6579184

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