DWG Recreation Area sites reopen for spring, fee collection starts Monday
Sites in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area that were closed for the winter are all open as of Friday, April 14.
That includes all river access points; the access roads to Dingmans Falls (open daily during daylight hours); and Old Mine Road from the Worthington State Forest boundary to Millbrook Village and the dirt section of Old Mine Road near Van Campen Inn.
Mountain Road in Walpack, New Jersey, will be open to vehicles between the Walpack Cemetery and the Haneys Mill Bridge. The road is closed to vehicles beyond the bridge and from the south end at Haneys Mill due to the closure of the state-owned section of the road for repairs.
Crater Lake, including Skyline Drive and the upper section of Blue Mountain Lakes Road, will re-open to vehicles daily until late-May when it will be closed to vehicles Friday evenings through Monday afternoons until mid-October. The road will remain closed to vehicles on federal holidays that fall on Mondays.
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Fee collection starts Monday
The recreation area will collect expanded amenity fees from Monday, April 17, through mid-October.
Fees are charged at Smithfield Beach, Bushkill Boat Launch, Dingmans Boat Launch, Milford Beach, and Turtle Beach.
Daily fees are $10 per vehicle (up to 7 occupants) and $2 for additional passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Annual passes are $45 per vehicle, and discounts apply for multiple purchases from the same household. Go to nps.gov/dewa/planyourvisit/fees.htm for more.
“What you pay here, will stay here,” says Elizabeth Winslow, fee program manager.
Most revenue generated from fees collected in the park stays in the park and is used to fund projects and services that have a direct visitor benefit including facility and trail maintenance, restrooms, boat and canoe launches, and picnic areas.
Where fee attendants are not on duty, visitors should deposit the daily fee in a self-registration envelope provided at the entrance to the fee areas, put it in the designated secured drop box, and place the receipt on the vehicle’s dashboard.
Reservations are required for use of the primitive river campsites and group campsites along the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River and a $16 fee is charged.
Visit Recreation.gov to make a reservation and pay the fee. Payment of fees and making reservations cannot be done in person.
The following area closures go into effect on May 1 and remain in effect until Sept. 30, annually: Adams Creek Trail and parking areas, including the drainage, from the Sproul Road and Long Meadow Road Parking Areas downstream to US Route 209; White Pines McDade Trail parking area; and Raymondskill Creek drainage, from the base of the lower falls, including the pool area, downstream to the confluence of the Delaware River, including the Schanno House (former) parking area and grounds on the west side of US Route 209 at Raymondskill Creek. This closure does not include the McDade Recreational Trail or the Raymondskill Falls Trail.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to require amenity fees
