Hike #1541; Washington Crossing/Trenton Loop

Hike #1541; 4/13/23 Washington Crossing/Trenton Loop with Shane Blische and Everen

This next hike would be another thing down along the Delaware River once again, where I took the opportunity to get out because I had a follow up doctors appointment in Flemington.

I'd had a cancer mark removed from my face, and I think this was the day I had some more of the bad cells removed to complete the procedures. 

I reached out to Shane, and he was available to do a hike, just as the leaves were starting to bud. We decided that the section down by Trenton was a good one to do on this occasion before it got too oppressively hot out. 

I picked up Shane at his house in New Hope, and we headed south to Washington Crossing on the Pennsylvania side, and parked at the historic park along the old Delaware Canal, completed as the Pennsylvania Canal Delaware Division in 1832. 

It's a fantastic canal to walk because much of it is watered and preserved in its historic state with many structures intact.

Shane and I walked this loop a few times, but I never tire of this or the others between the canal and the Bel Del Railroad on the New Jersey side.

We took the opportunity on this one to do more history videos about the areas we were passing through as well, because they're really popular lately.

We started walking out to the towpath and headed to the towpath and began making our way south. There were a good amount of people out using the canal. Ev waved at everyone as they went by. Several were standing and fishing from the towpath in the canal.

Soon, we reached the Hough's Creek Aqueduct, where the canal goes over top of the creek. The original aqueduct would certainly have been a wooden trunk, but the modern one is made of concrete. 

The parallel concrete road bridge over the creek replaced an earlier covered bridge that graced the same exact location until 1941. Just on the other side of the covered bridge was the former trolley line that went up along the Delaware, and some remnants of the former trolley bridge adjacent to Rt 32 also exist, although rather obscure.

Even the modern bridge shows some signs of having been damaged from accidents.

We passed beneath the Goat Farm Bridge, one of only a few authentic early cambelback bridges spanning the Delaware Canal. 

We continued south and passed by Lock 7, reached Scudder Falls and the 1799 house they recently had made a restroom for Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, and passed beneath the new Scudder Falls Bridge over the Delaware.

Lock 8 was along the way before we reached the town of Yardley. It was really nice out but it was getting warm. A hat was necessary on this one because the sun was so bright. It was one of those days that we were probably worse off than we'd have been in the middle of the Summer, because at least then we get some shade. 

We soon reached the town of Yardley, and opted to take a side trip here. Shane, Ev, and I had gone up to Vault Brewing on a previous trip, and we both discovered some beers we really loved and wanted to try to get them again.

When we got to the place and went in, we found that they no longer had either of the beers we were hoping for, not did they even have anything strong at all. 

The nearby wine place was also closed, and a guy on the street told us that they're kind of hit or miss how often they're open.

Next, we figured we would stop at the pizza place we visited the last time we were in town, just a couple of doors down. We were shocked to find that even that was totally closed! 

I was quite disheartened by this point. We had to get something to eat, and I wanted to make sure I had more snacks for Ev. We decided we would backtrack to where we came off of the canal and then head to the CVS. I also wanted to get a new thing of sunscreen for Ev, because it was so bright. 

I got some snacks, some milk, and a good thing of children's spray sunscreen, which was amazingly fifteen bucks for just a tiny can. I can't believe how high the price of things has been.

We headed from here back up to the canal towpath and continued to the south. We passed beneath the nice pony truss College Ave bridge, and then beyond to Lock 6, just before the bridge that carries the former Reading Railroad over the canal, built by the National Railroad.

I was hoping that a train would go by so Ev could see it while we were passing through, but no such luck this time. Ev fell asleep around this time and remained so for a while as we headed south.

The canal goes through a lovely wide area where boats could be parked ahead. We saw turtles on the logs, and it was just quite lovely.

There are some side trails in this area I would eventually like to use as parts of other hikes, but haven't gotten around to yet. I'm hoping eventually to do a group trip with that. One of these days.

The new preserve is aptly named Widewaters Preserve, I assume for the wide waters adjacent to the canal.

It wasn't too long before we reached the Calhoun Street Bridge which we climbed up to and used to cross the Delaware River.

One of the coolest bridges over the Delaware, it is also one of the oldest. It was built in 1884 by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Pennsylvania. It was once the route that carried the trans Atlantic Lincoln Highway, and is today the route of the East Coast Greenway, with its new decking on the upstream side facing the Trenton Falls.

The Trenton Falls are not really a waterfall, but rather a big drop in the Delaware River's elevation. Below Trenton, the river is navigable and boats could come up from the bay.

Once on the other side of the bridge, we made our way to the Delaware and Raritan Canal a couple of blocks inland.

Right where we got on it, there was a bunch of trash dumped. I reported it to the park superintendent who said she'd have someone get to it on Monday. 

We made our way parallel with State Street, then crossed at Prospect Street to the inland side. There were a lot of blown out buildings in this area sadly. Some of them look really nice and have good potential.

We headed to where the former Belvidere Delaware Railroad joined the canal and crossed. From there, the towpath continued on the inland side (which is what we were walking), and the railroad on the west side.

Shane and I were happy to see the repair work had bee done on the bridge since the last time we'd been out. I reported the problem to the superintendent, and she saw to it that it was finished.

The Belvidere Delaware Raiload was built through this area in 1851, and it became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system I think 21 years later.

This area, parallel with Edgewood Avenue, was once an industrial site, and there were two coaling trestles here at one time.

Shane pointed out through the trees where remnants of one of them used to be, but we stepped off of the rail bed briefly to the south when the vegetation opened up, and we could see clearly where a second coaling trestle used to break off parallel with the main.

We had a very nice walk ahead, crossed Hermitage Ave, and pretty soon after that the bridge and aqueduct over Parkside Ave.

I had an old photograph taken soon after the bridge we were crossing had been finished, one of those early 1900s postcard images that were photographs sent to Germany to be painted for "colorization".

I couldn't find the image on my phone I was looking for, and so Shane pulled up a copy and sent it to me to get the job done. It turned out Shane had a different version than me, and so I was able to get two then and now compilations from similar angles featuring the bridge.

By the time the concrete bridge was built, it served as both a bridge for the Pennsylvania Railroad's Belvidere Delaware line, as well as an aqueduct for the Delaware and Raritan Feeder Canal on the east side of Cadwalader Park.

The canal that ran parallel with us was the D&R Feeder Canal, built in 1834 to supply more water to the main canal, which connected in Trenton just south of the Battle Monument.

My understanding is that the feeder wasn't even really used for navigation until the lock system was installed about 1850. That means that the towpath was literally always on the inland side, and the railroad, when built, did not take over the original towpath.

Uphill from the canal on the inland side is the lovely property of Cadwalader Park.

This land was the farm of Thomas M. Cadwalader, who sold a strip of his land for development of the canal in the 1830s.

In 1841, the 148 acre property was purchased by Henry McCall, who constructed his mansion above the canal.

The McCall property was sold to the City of Trenton for the development of Cadwalader Park in 1888. Hundreds of trees were planted here to block the view of the busy transportation corridor of both the canal and adjacent Belvidere Delaware Railroad.

Despite the efforts to keep these things separate, the draw of the canal was unavoidable, and the park was used by patrons. A dock was even installed.

Further, the Bel Del Railroad began operating a station stop for Cadwalader Park in 1903.

Today, the park remains well used, the canal is utilized by NJ Water Authority, and the Bel Del is now a trail from Frenchtown to Trenton. I believe the rail trail segment opened in 1982.

I set up one more then and now history compilation using an early 1900s Edward Bates collection photo from William McKelvey's "Champlain to Chesapeake" canal book I recently obtained.

We continued on along the park, through neighborhoods, and through the Trenton Country Club. There was another abandoned house on the left I hadn't noticed before with blown out windows.

I realized in a section near the country club, just after passing a large group of people fishing, that Ev was missing both of his shoes!

He's been doing this thing where he pulls his shoes off and throws them, and it's very easy to lose them. Even for a toddler like him, these damned shoes are expensive.

I needed to find his shoes. If he wanted to get out and walk again, he would absolutely need them, and I certainly didn't want to go out and buy some more.

I went back and found them both just about at the bridge and aqueduct that carries Sullivan Way beneath us. I ended up walking past the same big group fishing a total of three times because of this shoe debacle, and I felt the need to explain it to them again as I was going by. It's a good thing the shoes didn't go off the bridge.

We continued moving along, and Shane started going way ahead of me. There were tons of people fishing in the canal along the way on the NJ side as well.

After Lower Ferry Road crossing, we passed beneath the old Reading Railroad yet again, part of the National Railroad, built by the Delaware and Bound Brook. No trains went by on it while we were there on this side either.

Shane was a ways ahead of me still, and I did a little history video about the quarry area on the left side of the rail bed when we got to it. There's a large bucket machine abandoned out in the woods adjacent to the right of way.

Wilburtha Road crossing has an abandoned house at it, which is definitely old. It was an office for the quarry company at one time, but I feel pretty confident that it dates back earlier. I think it may even have been a bridge keeper's home associated with the canal. It is pretty far gone, so I don't think we'll see it being saved. I was inside years ago, and it's just a disaster.

There used to be a station at Wilburtha as well, now long gone, and eliminated earlier than several other ones along the line.

Shane was up ahead from where we crossed the road, waiting on a bench for Ev and I.

Together, we continued to the north, across Upper Ferry Road, and then beyond to pass beneath the new 95 bridge over the Delaware.

The rest of the trip went quickly on the way back to Washington Crossing. We continued along, crossed the aqueduct over Jacob's Creek, and could see the old mill on the other side. Just before that, we passed the site of Somerset Junction, where the Mercer and Somerset used to break off toward New Brunswick from 1874 until 1880, one of the most obscure railroads in NJ  history.

We moved along quickly on the way back, and we looked on at the collapsing old towpath walls on the inland side of the canal as we moved on.

We crossed over the Washington Crossing Bridge and headed pretty quickly back to Taylorsville to conclude the hike.

It was another great day to be out, and I was quite thankful to have gotten the exercise and given Ev the extra time outside. He always loves doing all of this, and I want to make sure he keeps growing up in nature, in such a way that he can appreciate it and associate it with fun.