Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park

By America's State Parks Editorial TeamFebruary 6, 2026 · Updated May 13, 2026

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park is a public state park in New Jersey in Hunterdon County. It is a linear park along more than 70 miles of canal towpath, from Frenchtown on the Delaware to New Brunswick on the Raritan.

Quick Facts

Location & Getting There

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park is located New Jersey. The park’s coordinates are 40.500565, -75.0531541.

Things to Do

This is a park you measure in miles, not acres: more than 70 miles of flat, crushed-stone towpath running unbroken from Frenchtown on the Delaware to New Brunswick on the Raritan, completed as a continuous trail in 2010 and designated a National Recreation Trail — it doubles as a leg of the East Coast Greenway. Roughly 36 miles of the original 44-mile Main Canal survive (Bordentown to New Brunswick), joined by the 22-mile Feeder Canal that still carries Delaware River water south from Bulls Island to Trenton. Bikes, walkers, runners and winter skiers share the path; motorized anything is banned, and the one stretch officially open to horses is the Six Mile Run Reservoir Site in Somerset County.

The canal itself is paddling water: canoes, kayaks, paddleboards and electric motors only, along its whole length, with rental concessions at Griggstown and Princeton from spring to early fall. Anglers fish both canal and river — trout are stocked at several canal points each spring, and the Delaware runs American shad and striped bass. The stops worth planning around are the 1830s working parts: the wooden bridges and bridgetender houses at Griggstown and Blackwells Mills, Lock 9 with its lock house a mile south of Griggstown, and Kingston, where the park office sits in the old Princeton Nurseries headquarters at Mapleton Preserve.

Best Time to Visit

Spring is the canal’s season on two counts — trout stocking, and the Delaware’s shad run — and the towpath’s flatness makes it a year-round bike route long after hillier parks turn to mud. Fall paints the tree-tunneled stretches around Griggstown and Kingston; a snowy winter turns the same miles into cross-country ski track. The park is open sunrise to sunset every day. One practical note: there are no trash cans anywhere in the park — you carry out what you carry in.

Visitor Tips

Entry is free, and so is parking at the trailheads: Bulls Island, Lambertville, Titusville, Kingston, Griggstown, Blackwells Mills, New Brunswick’s Landing Lane and more (a construction closure at the 5-Mile Lock lot in Franklin Township was still in effect as of late 2025 — use Demott Lane or the South Bound Brook lot). The only permit in play is for launching on the Delaware River itself between Memorial Day and Labor Day, issued at the Bulls Island office (Lambertville’s launch is free). Camping is not among the park’s offerings; the nearest state-park camping is the group camping at Washington Crossing State Park. Dogs are welcome on a 6-foot leash; swimming is prohibited — as of September 2026.

The canal was dug largely by hand by Irish immigrants beginning February 4, 1830, and opened in June 1834 for $2.83 million; an 1832 cholera outbreak killed workers who lie in unmarked graves at Bulls Island, Ten Mile Run and Griggstown, remembered by a granite memorial dedicated at Bulls Island in 2003. Commercial traffic ended with the 1932 season, the state took over, and in 1974 New Jersey created both the park and its canal commission. Today the New Jersey Water Supply Authority still draws about 75 million gallons a day from it. Park office: 145 Mapleton Road, Princeton, 609-924-5705.

Hours, rules and access details verified against dep.nj.gov and nj.gov/dep/drcc on September 2, 2026. Conditions change — confirm before you travel.

Explore More New Jersey State Parks

Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park is one of many outstanding state parks in New Jersey. Discover more parks in our Best State Parks in New Jersey guide, or use our Park Finder to search by activity, location, or features.

Wildlife & Nature

D&R Canal SP — 70 miles of historic canal towpath from New Brunswick to Trenton. The canal was built 1830-34 and became the busiest navigation canal in the US. Bald eagles, great blue herons, and wood ducks inhabit the waterway. Largemouth bass fill the canal.

Nearby Attractions

Princeton — along the route. Lambertville — near the southern end. Washington Crossing SP — nearby.

Keep exploring: The closest neighbors are Bulls Island (a short drive away) and Prallsville Mills (a short drive away).

About the Author

America's State Parks Editorial Team

America's State Parks is an independent online guide to the state parks of the United States. Our editorial team compiles and reviews each park profile from official state park agency sources and other primary references, and follows a published editorial and review methodology (see /editorial-review-methodology/). We update profiles and correct errors on an ongoing basis.

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