Lehigh River in Pennsylvania

Trip Overview

The Lehigh River is a great place to go paddling for a few hours. On this day I put in the river in Easton, PA under the Rt 33 Bridge. A few years ago Rt 33 was extended and joined Rt 22 to Rt 78. At the same time they added a public boat launch.

On this day I headed down river to the Chain Dam then returned back up river. This section of the river is very nice, its tucked away and once you get away from the Rt 33 Bridge, you dont hear any traffic, except for the occasional train which runs along side the river. This section is also nice because it has several islands in the river to explore.

My favorite island contains an inlet. The inlet was difficult to get into because of the water was so shallow at the mouth, but once in was definitely worth the work to get in. The area had lily pads all over many of which were in bloom, along with a bunch of birds, and a lot of bugs (bring your bug spray, youll need it). Since the island is wooded, once I got into the inlet it appeared I was deep in the forest.

Beyond the island is one of the chain dams. There are several warning buoys so you cant miss it. Also the current is so slow you can easily get within feet of the dam without a problem. This is also the start of Hugh Moore Park. If I wanted to I could have ported my kayak about 20 to the canal or a little farther around the dam and continued on down river to downtown Easton. On this day I decided to return back to my car.

The current was gentle so it wasnt a problem returning up river. Here the river was 4-6 feet deep the entire way (except for the inlet on the island). Because its so deep motor boats use the area as well. On this day I saw several; they even have buoys setup for water skiing so you may have some boat wake to deal with.

Accommodations:

a nice boat launch, and parking lot.

Fees:

no

Directions:

From 78 east or west take the Rt 33 north; exit to Freemansburg Avenue; turn right on Freemansburg avenue to Hope road on the right side of the road follow this road to boat ramp you will see PA fish commission sign for here