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Lambertville/ Many are the attractions and varied the appeal of the Delaware River and the narrow canals on both sides. Walk the Towpath. We thoroughly enjoy walking the canal towpaths along the river, particularly the Pennsylvania portion between Lumberville and Phillips Mill and particularly in spring when all the daffodils are abloom. Start in Lumberville at the footbridge to Bull’s Island, a New Jersey state park. The Black Bass Hotel’s friendly ducks may greet you, the gardens and back yards of English-type manor houses are sure to intrigue, and everywhere are wildflowers, singing birds, joggers, picnickers and other strollers. A footbridge leads to the Cuttalossa Inn, where the outdoor terrace beside a millstream and waterfall appeals for lunch or a drink; you can stop at the Centre Bridge Inn for a drink, or cross the highway bridge to Stockton, N.J., to pick up a picnic lunch at Errico’s Market and a bottle of wine at the incredibly well-stocked Phillips wine store. Just downriver is Phillips Mill, an ever-so-British looking cluster of stone houses hugging the River Road, and the colorful grounds of Lenteboden, the business and residence of Charles Mueller, the bulb specialist whose gardens full of daffodils, tulips and hyacinths herald the arrival of spring. Like almost everything else along the towpath, they’re free and open for the exploring. A word of caution: the towpath walk is lulling and may take the better part of a day; unless you have a car meeting you at the end, you’ll have to walk back or hitch a ride, as we did (and it took almost an hour before anyone stopped). Canoeing, Rafting and Tubing. The river is so popular for these pastimes that in 30 years, owner Tom McBrien has turned his Bucks County River Country enterprise in Point Pleasant, Pa., 297-5000, into the East’s largest water recreation facility. Tubing is the biggest operation, with up to 3,500 people a day renting bright orange, yellow, blue or green inner tubes for floats of three to six miles. Canoeists are transported up to Tinicum, Upper Black Eddy or Riegelsville for trips downriver of six to thirteen miles. Rafts and kayaks also are available. The season is April-October, daily Memorial Day to Labor Day, weekends in spring and fall. McBrien says there’s nothing like floating or paddling down the Delaware (which he calls "the Eden of the East,"), watching fish leaping and osprey feeding, and pausing for a swim in the warm, clear waters. Boat Rides. Gen. George Washington advised: "Be sure to take the ferry by Coryell’s as it is the swiftest, surest route." We can’t say today’s Coryell’s Ferry rides are the swiftest, but they are among the surest ways for the public to see the New Hope section of the river. Capt. Robert Gerenser, whose last name is attached to much activity and enterprise in New Hope, gives scenic half-hour excursions with an informative narrative on a 65-foot Mississippi-style stern paddlewheel pontoon boat from 22 South Main St., New Hope, 862-2050. Rides leave roughly every 45 minutes from 10 to 5:30, May-September. New Hope Mule Barge Co., New and South Main Streets, New Hope, 862-2842. Mule-drawn barges bring back the past for hundreds of visitors daily on the old Delaware Canal. The barges have been hauling tourists since 1931 after the canal’s commercial usage ended. Spanish-Colombian Leo Ramirez and German George Schweickhardt have owned the four-barge operation since 1976. At their outlying farm they care for nine mules that draw the barges two miles up the river past Colonial homes, artists’ workshops, gardens and countryside to the Route 202 bridge and back. A musician-historian relates canal lore and strums folk songs. The one-hour excursion runs daily at 11:30, 1, 2, 3, 4:30 and 6, May-October. Walk New Hope. A compact village, New Hope is made for walking. That’s fortunate, because in summer things get really congested; outlying lots charge for parking, and it’s best to leave your car. The small information center in the 1839 jail-town hall at South Main and Mechanic streets logged a staggering 6,577 visitors one August before it was inexplicably downscaled into an overly commercial, not very helpful resource. A short New Hope walking tour guides you to the East Ferry Street landing and mill complex, the hub of early village life (now including Martine’s restaurant, Farley’s New Delaware Bookshop and the Bucks County Playhouse), the historic Logan Inn, the 1784 Parry Mansion Museum (eleven rooms open for tours, May to mid-December, Friday-Sunday 1 to 5) and the old houses of West Ferry Street (they’re among the town’s 243 properties included in 1985 on the National Register of Historic Places). We’d also suggest strolling along the Delaware Canal park and gardens, through the alleys filled with art galleries, and along the streets lined with more shops than we can possibly enumerate. Take our word: if it’s for sale, someone in New Hope or environs carries it. Walk across the Delaware River bridge from New Hope to Lambertville, an up-and-coming riverside town of interesting shops (many featuring antiques) and restaurants. Wine Bars and Pubs. A favorite pastime of many is stopping at a wine bar, something of an early local phenomenon. The Boat House wine bar at the Porkyard in Lambertville is nearest the water; the Swan Hotel at 43 South Main St. is a large and extraordinary bar with much atmosphere and food service. Nearby is the Inn of the Hawke, 74 South Union St., an English pub and restaurant with British ales on draught. Another popular spot for English pub food and a pint of bitter is the Ship Inn in Milford, which in 1995 became the site of New Jersey’s first brew pub. Bucks County Playhouse, 70 South Main St., New Hope, (215) 862-2041. The old town mill that backs up to the river ceased operating in 1938. It was purchased by local citizens who turned it into a summer stock theater, which debuted in 1939 with Edward Everett Horton in "Springtime for Henry." The 457-seat theater runs an ambitious 30-week schedule from May to late December, Wednesday-Sunday in summer (with Wednesday and Sunday matinees). ART GALLERIES. The number of galleries doubled in two years lately in New Hope, long a noted art colony, in the more recent concentration around Lahaska and in newly blossoming Lambertville. The New Hope-Lambertville Gallery Association lists a number of galleries in the area. ANTIQUING. "The East Coast mecca for antiques" is how one advocate describes the area. The largest concentration is in Lahaska, where the Lahaska Antique Courte, for instance, claims twelve distinctive shops. Others are in New Hope, Lambertville and small towns on both sides of the river. Material excerpted from Waterside Escapes in the Northeast, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2005. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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