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Delaware River Family Camground
Delaware, New Jersey
- Dates: July 20–22, 2001.
- Vibe: Riverbank camping in the Delaware Water Gap.
- With: The Kulakowskis
- Weather:
- Friday: good.
- Saturday: Sunny, Hot and Humid.
- Sunday: Sunny, Hot and Humid.
- Pros: Nice hike in nearby Jenny Jump State Forest; a pretty area that's not far from New York City.
- Cons: Obnoxious, drunk and LOUD campers here; Not a place for sleep.
- Verdict: Avoid! New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry has many other options in the area, including Jenny Jump and Bull's Island.
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Steve's Review:
This place has everything going for it—close to NYC, a pretty location, riverbank swimming. There's plenty of things for kids to do: a swimming pool, shuffleboard, basketball, etc. Unfortunately, it permits two things that make the experience less than ideal: Alcohol and long-term stays.
I wouldn't presume to tell a business owner how to run their business; I'll just take my business elsewhere. By allowing long-term stays, and by providing trailer hookups, you encourage people to bring their RVs and Trailers in May or June and leave them there until October. By allowing beer, wine and liquor, you encourage these folks to get rowdy!
Apparently, there's a lot of people who treat the campground as a summer home. They show up on a Friday night, and party until Sunday evening. Then they head home for a week of work. There's nothing wrong with this in and of itself—it's just that it's incompatable with the reasons why I go camping, which are:
- To get away from the crowds and noise of New York City
- To put myself in a natural setting, away from the concrete and trash of New York City
- To enjoy peace and quiet, and to immerse myself in the sounds of nature.
- To breathe fresh clean air.
It's a straight shot out of New York on I-80. With cooperative traffic, you can make it in about an hour. We met our friends Wally, Nora and their son, Alec, who is a classmate of Ben's at daycare. Wally and Nora are experienced campers. Wally's an avid fisherman; Nora grew up in Costa Rica and in California.
Friday was the quieter of the two nights. There was some partying out on the river itself, but it was far enough away to not bother us. Saturday, we drove to nearby Jenny Jump State Forest for an easy loop trail we'd heard of. JJ seems like a nice place to camp. It's small (22 campsites), but situated along one of the Kittatinny ridges. It was a nice hike, easy for the four-year-olds, with rewarding vistas of the surrounding ridges. We saw a small tree growing right out of a huge boulder!
Saturday night was a joke. Apparently it is some sort of ritual for a group of 30 drunk adults to yell at the top of their lungs to another group across the campground "It's thirty minutes to quiet time!!!" And the other group of 30 idiots is obligated to yell back, of course. Five minutes later they yell "It's twenty-five minutes to quiet time!!!" This goes on and on. While the yelling did eventually stop at the appointed hour (which I seem to recall was 11 PM or even midnight at this circus), the partying and loud voices and laughter did not. Eventually, Morpheus (aka Mr. Sandman) caught up with these clowns and we all got some rest.
Definitely avoid this place and go for a no-alcohol state park... in fact, avoid any campground that has the word "Family" in its name. For that matter, be be wary of any campground that allows campers and RVs.
—SBW
