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Route 29 Delaware River Road Trip

Having lived in Delaware Valley for the past 20 or so years, I can personally recommend some very nice Sunday afternoon road trips. This one I’ll call the Route 29 Delaware River Special.

For convenience sake we’ll start at the juncture of Route 29 and U.S. Interstate 95 in Ewing?. If you’re traveling on this interstate, take Exit 1 in New Jersey, then follow signs to Route 29 North.

The first stop, just a few miles north is Washington Crossing State Park, where as the name implies, the Continental Army under the command of General George Washington landed after their historic crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776.

It is located at the intersection of Route 29 and Route 546, a.k.a. Washington Crossing-Pennington Road. This is a very nice picturesque park with a visitor’s center and museum. You can park here and begin your hike or bike ride up the tow path, which follows the Delaware & Raritan Canal all the way up to Bull’s Island. You can even venture across the river (but don’t worry there’s a bridge there) into Pennsylvania to another park on that side of the river. Otherwise, dine and stock up on provisions at Faherty’s Restaurant & Liquor Store or lunch at Jimmy’s Drive-In just a little further north.

Proceeding north on Route 29, if you’re into flea markets be sure to stop at the Golden Nugget Antique Flea Market, located about four miles from the park. It is open on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.

A few more miles north and you’re in Lambertville. Lambertville is a very quaint and friendly little town, where I once lived for about 10 years. It’s a historical town with an eclectic mix of stores, restaurants and bars (checkout the Boathouse Tavern), antique shops, galleries and such, not to mention the characters to go with them. A great thing to do is to find a place to park and take a walk out of the business area, up Gordon’s Ally and explore the residential areas.

Many of the homes here have been renovated and restored to their original Victorian charm, but without being overdone.

Every year the town hosts Shadfest in late April. It’s original purpose was to celebrate the fact that the Delaware River’s been cleaned up enough to support the running of the Shad fish. Since Shad is a very fishy tasting kind of fish, much like Blue but a lot more boney, you really won’t find much actual Shad being sold but you can witness Shad netting demonstrations, conditions permitting. The festival’s turned into a big event over the years so come early. Across the river, you can explore funky and touristy New Hope, but don’t try to park over there on a weekend when there’re too many people looking for too few spaces. The price of the parking tickets will kill you.

There are numerous hotels and B&B’s in the area, so you can rest from the day. Once you’re ready to go, you can head out just a few miles north on Route. 29 and have breakfast in cute little Stockton, NJ.

I can enthusiastically recommend Meil’s Restaurant for an incredible brunch. If Meil’s is too crowded or you don’t have the time to wait for a seat on a Sunday morning, meander over the railroad tracks to Errico’s Market, sit down, and enjoy a great sandwich and a bottle of Honest Tea. If you want a more refined experience, check out Colligan’s Stockton Inn, a beautiful colonial restaurant steeped in history. Afterwards take walk across the bridge over the Delaware and enjoy an ice cream sundae at Dilly’s.

Less than a mile north of Stockton, there’s the Prallsville Mills, which hosts various cultural and environmental events.

the next stop is Bull’s Island Recreation Area, just a few more miles up Route 29. This 80-acre park sustained some flood damage recently, so I’m not sure about its present condition or state of openness. Normally, it’s a great place to park and explore the pedestrian bridge over the Delaware or walk and bike along the towpath. Remember the towpath I mentioned way back in the beginning of this essay? It's the same one.

Go about eight or nine miles up the river and you'll find another great river town, Frenchtown. Like Lambertville, there are lots of shops and galleries and restaurants to explore here.

From any of the stops mentioned here, you can venture east into Hunterdon County and literally spend days exploring what is arguably one of the most beautiful and scenic places in the region. The building boom hasn’t quite caught on to the same extent as it has elsewhere in the state, so you will find much to see that is relatively unspoiled. Lots of horse country, little hamlets, covered bridges, and more. Also, check out Sergentsville?. Great cycling, too!