CHUCK WHITMORE
Destination:
New Jersey
Sounds and
Sights at
D&R Canal
State Park
BY SHANNON ENTIN
L
aughter. Rushing
waterfalls. The
wheels of a child’s
bike skidding, braking
as the child looks back
for Mom and Dad. A
runner’s rhythmic footsteps,
crunching the dried, fallen
leaves of autumn. The
occasional “On your left!”
or chiming bell as a cyclist
passes a walker. To my
ears, these joyful sounds
exemplify the Delaware and
Raritan (D & R) Canal State
Park in New Jersey.
I’m out for a morning run on this
finely crushed stone towpath by the feeder
canal near Stockton. I’m supposed to be
working on my endurance, but the gentle
ripples of the Delaware River to my right
distract me, and I stop to soak up the
views. I make my way to the Stockton Deli
and Food Store, where runners, walkers
and bikers refuel and enjoy the scenic pic-
nic area just a few feet off the towpath. As
I savor a delectable muffin, I envision the
trail when sturdy mules plodded up and
down the canal, pulling barges loaded with
goods for points east. With its wooden
bridges, 19th-century bridge tender
houses, stone culverts and other remnants
of the canal heyday, the path is a compel-
ling destination.
In the early 1800s, shipping goods
north from Philadelphia was a slow, costly
and often treacherous endeavor, involving
transportation by boat down the Delaware
River, around Cape May and up the coast
of New Jersey. Then, in 1830, construction
began on the D & R Canal. When fin-
ished, the canal provided an efficient, more
direct route for moving freight between
the Delaware River at Philadelphia and
the Raritan River at New Brunswick, N.J.,
where it went on to New York City.
A feeder canal runs from Bull’s Island
on the Delaware River southeast to
Trenton. Originally designed to supply
27
rails
to
trails
u
winter.15
destination