Last spring my wife and I had a pleasant day riding north along the Delaware River. I meant to write then but didn’t get around to it and figure I should do so now before the memories get even fuzzier. The trip was partly based on a trip in National Geographic Guide to Scenic Highways and Byways: The 300 Best Drives in the U.S., a book we have often used to find scenic drives.

The drive in the book starts in Trenton, NJ but we thought we’d start a bit north of there where I-95 crosses the Delaware River. So we left our house, followed the Pennsylvania Turnpike east and then route 1 north to I-95 north of Philadelphia. After crossing the Delaware River on I-95 North and entering New Jersey, we headed north on Route 29.

Our first stop was Washington’s Crossing State Park in New Jersey. It was well before Memorial Day so there was no admission fee and we drove around a bit and took advantage of the nice visitor center in the park. (According to National Geographic book (see above) the admission fee is only collected between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.)

Outside the park is another park, the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park. This linear park gives the visitor access to the river near the Washington’s Crossing State Park which is actually across Route 29 (a major road) from the River. There is a walkway over Route 29 connecting the 2 parks.

By the way, this picture was actually taken from the Pennsylvania side since I had a better picture of the bridge from there. More about that part of the trip later.

As we headed up 29, the road was good and the views even better. By the time we got to Lambertville, we were ready for lunch. Lambertville is a tourist destination and so there were plenty of choices for lunch. We chose the City Market based on some reviews in Yelp. We did not regret the choice at all. Sure there were several places more scenically located but I’m sure you pay for the location. City Market was a few blocks north of the center of town on Main Street. It was a no frills type of place and the sandwiches were excellent. I had a Cuban sandwich and my wife had a Gyro.

We continued north on NJ 29 until Frenchtown and crossed the river into Pennsylvania. We drove south on PA 32 (River Road). It was very close to the river and the views were wonderful. Unfortunately it was early spring and there were still quite a few potholes.

Since PA 32 road hugged the River, it was narrow and twisty. In contrast NJ 29 was a better road for driving but did go a bit inland for several stretches. The inland scenery was also pretty but we thought we would see more of the river. I wouldn’t say one was a better experience than the other (except for the pothole issue).

Coming back south, we went though New Hope (opposite Lambertville), and reached the Pennsylvania park of Washington’s Crossing. The signs for the PA Park were not clear and we almost missed the parking area. We walked around a bit and found the park interesting. It was different from the park on the NJ side and I think both are worth a visit.

In short a great day trip for us, and certainly it could be longer if you wanted. We enjoyed both sides of the river and both sides of Washington’s Crossing.