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Guide

Culture and camping on the Delaware Canal

Enjoy eclectic shopping, great local food and the gorgeous riverside views of New Hope and the D&L Trail, with this digital curated trip Guide.

The lush landscape of the D&L pulls you in.

Sponsored by

Local food & partners

More than 20 curated points of interest to explore

Beautiful route

Ride on the D&L Trail, a celebrated canal path in Pennsylvania

Attainable mileage

Choose your mileage as you build your trip

Easy navigation

Turn-by-turn directions with printable cue sheet

Trip flexibility

Camp, stay in local lodging, or turn this adventure into a day trip

Stories and tips

Exclusive content to support your journey

Overview

  • A scenic escape

    Connecting the lively towns of Yardley and New Hope, this nationally-recognized stretch of the D&L Trail is a superb location for an overnight trip using your bike. You'll wind through lush greenery of Delaware Canal State Park while catching exceptional views of the Delaware River. With plenty of options for an overnight stay, we recommend camping at local park or sleeping in the comfort of a historic B&B for a rewarding two day journey.

    Inspiring makers and vibrant culture

    Yardley, New Hope and the surrounding region are home to a bustling community of artists, brewers, chefs and other natural as well as historical attractions. From grabbing a bite on Main Street, to taking a break at an artist's gallery or wildflower preserve, there's no shortage of sites to explore. With so many places to discover, you'll be inspired to take more than one trip to this thriving region.

A self guided-adventure

With turn-by-turn navigation, an extensive list of sights and attractions, a sample itinerary for inspiration, and much more, this guide makes it easy for you to plan your own bike adventure on the D&L Trail. Whether you take a two-day bike camping trip with friends, or an independent day trip, you have flexibility to choose your own path.

Positive local impact

Proceeds from this Guide benefit the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, the organization responsible for preserving and protecting this historic area. Our points of interest include local organizations and small businesses that benefit from your patronage.

How to use this guide: This guide contains information to help you plan your own trip. Get started by reading through all of the information on this page to familiarize yourself with the route, points of interest and a recommended itinerary. You'll probably want to record your own itinerary using the points of interest and accompanying timing. Once you've planned what you want to see, jump down to the Route section to download the RideWithGPS route for turn-by-turn directions on your mobile device.

The icons below indicate the estimated amount of time a point of interest will take to explore, whether or not a point of interest is family-friendly, if that business supports the trail, if it provides free programming and if it is off our main route.

Great for families
No additional cost
Supports the trail
Off main route
Amount of time
Reduced Covid-19 operations

Create your own adventure

New Hope to Point Pleasant

After arriving in New Hope make sure to take your time exploring the local shops, galleries, breweries, restaurants and other attractions. When you're ready, embark on your second 10-mile leg of the D&L Trail toward Point Pleasant where you'll camp overnight. If you prefer, you may stay in New Hope overnight or head back toward Yardley to end a great day trip.

Route

This route beings at Yardley Regional Rail Station where you can arrive with your bike on SEPTA's West Trenton Regional Rail Line or drive and park your car, with free parking on weekends. The train station is not far from the major roadways of 95 and 295. The first leg is about 10 miles and will take you through Yardley and onto the scenic D&L Trail to New Hope.

After arriving in New Hope you can explore before continuing another 10 miles on the second leg to campsites in Point Pleasant. If you prefer, you can turn around in New Hope for a day trip, or stay overnight in local lodging. As an overnight camping experience, this is a 45 mile ride over two days. As a day trip to New Hope and back to Yardley, this is a 22 mile ride. If you spend the night in New Hope and return to Yardley the next day, you will ride 22 miles over two days.

Difficulty

Most of this route is on the protected system of the D&L Trail, which is a predominantly flat pathway of tightly packed gravel and stone. Depending on your preferred points of interest, there will be about 3-4 miles of riding on roadways with live traffic. If you choose to camp at Tohickon Valley Park, the last two miles of your route involves a half mile on a road with no shoulder and a steep, one mile climb before arriving.

Before embarking, riders should feel comfortable on their bikes for 1-3 hours at a time. We recommend checking out our training tips and always consulting a doctor to make sure you are in good health before starting any new training regimen.

How to use this Route: RSVP to our Ride with GPS Event "Culture and camping on the Delaware Canal" to access the fully mapped route, including all points of interest. When you a ready to ride, simply open the Ride With GPS app, go to"More" then "My Events" and finally select "Navigate" for turn-by-turn directions.

Please note that while our route does offer turn-by-turn directions, you will need to navigate to your desired points of interest. Most points of interest are directly on the route, or within two miles from the trail, as indicated with our "Off main route" icons, above.

Sample schedule

We've included many points of interest in our guide that make it easy for you to build a journey around what you would like to do. While we hope you're inspired to create your own adventure, the itinerary below might be helpful in showing how we recommend organizing a trip.

DAY 1: Saturday

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM: LEAVE FOR YARDLEY STATION

Grab your bike and take the SEPTA West Trenton Line from Philadelphia to Yardley Station, or drive and park at the station.

8:00 AM - 9:00 AM: ARRIVE AT YARDLEY STATION

One arriving, log into the Ride with GPS app and go to "More" and then "My Events." Click into our "Culture and camping on the Delaware Canal" Event, click into the route, and once inside the route you can click the "Navigate" button for turn-by-turn directions.

9:00 AM- 10:00 AM: RIDE MAIN ST. IN YARDLEY

Start biking down Main Street in Yardley and stop by Pretty Bird Roasters & Cramer's Bakery to grab a coffee, pastry and use the restroom before you embark on the trail. If it's Saturday in the summer, stop by and explore the Yardley Farmer's Market at Buttonwood Park. You can also choose to explore our other points of interest or local sights.

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM: CONTINUE ON THE D&L TRAIL TOWARD NEW HOPE

Ride next to the river on the D&L Trail toward New Hope. This is about a 10-mile, one-and-a-half-hour ride at a leisurely pace, so you might choose to take a break and explore Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve, Nakashima Woodworking Complex, Washington Crossing Historic Park, or other sights in Delaware Canal State Park.

1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: ENJOY LUNCH AND LOCAL SIGHTS IN NEW HOPE

After arriving to New Hope, bike along Main Street to grab lunch from one of the many delicious vendors at Ferry Market and consider grabbing a local brew from either Neshaminy Creek Brewing (located in Ferry Market) or at Great Barn Brewery. We recommend you spend your remaining time this afternoon exploring the eclectic shops and sights of Main Street, or many of the other points of interest that we've identified for you to explore.

3:00 PM: CONTINUE ON THE D&L TRAIL TOWARD POINT PLEASANT

Continue along the D&L Canal Path for another 10-mile ride to Point Pleasant where you can camp in Tohickon Valley Park, or Point Pleasant Campground. Riders looking to camp a little further can continue an additional six miles to camp in Tinicum Park. You will need to have an advance reservation to camp or rent a cabin.

5:00 PM: DINNER & CAMP

Relax and camp after a rewarding day, cooking dinner around the fire or enjoying food you've grabbed at Kolbe Cafe on your bike ride in.

DAY 2: Sunday

8:00 AM: CAMP BREAKFAST AND BEGIN RIDE BACK

Enjoy your packed breakfast at camp, or stop by Kolbe Cafe before your ride back to Yardley. For the return route, log into the Ride with GPS app and use the same route on your return journey.

10:00 AM: BREAK IN NEW HOPE

Take another break in New Hope to grab a coffee or see any sights you may have missed.

11:00 AM: CONTINUE ON THE D&L TRAIL TO YARDLEY

Continue back on the D&L Trail using the same route as yesterday.

1:30 PM: ARRIVE AT YARDLEY STATION

After arriving in Yardley we recommend grabbing lunch or a brew at The Vault Taproom to celebrate your accomplishment. Afterwards, take the train or drive home after an excellent weekend of exploring Bucks County by bike!

Local offers

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