An unheralded national park
The Delaware Water Gap, 73 miles west of Manhattan, is among “the most used (though least heralded) sites of the National Park Service,” said David Howard in The New York Times. The gap’s dramatic topology was formed by the Delaware River as it flowed through the Appalachian Mountains for millions of years. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the region was “touted as a wonder of the world”: Steamboats cruised the river by moonlight, and 40 hotels were built to accommodate tourists who came to take in the summer breezes. Today attractions include 100 miles of hiking paths, and kayak, raft, and tube trips along the river. Nearby is the privately owned Bushkill Falls. Despite the $8 entrance fee, “the falls are still worth it.” Visitors mount an intricate web of wooden walkways as they ascend through a series of eight cascades, some more than 100 feet high.
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