Dingmans Campground

Dingmans Campground in Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, provides a naturalist's and paddler's gateway to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pike County's forested Pocono highlands, where the Delaware River's protected corridor delivers hiking to dramatic waterfalls, swimming in the river's clean pools, and canoeing and kayaking in one of the most scenic river valleys in the northeastern United States. Positioned directly within the National Recreation Area's sphere of influence on the Pennsylvania shore of the Delaware, the campground serves the outdoor recreation enthusiasts who travel to the Water Gap for its concentrated wilderness experience within driving distance of New York City and Philadelphia. The campground's facilities serve the active outdoor recreation visitor who needs practical amenities rather than resort entertainment: walking trails through the forested property, a general store, firewood, Wi-Fi, bike rentals, a boat ramp, river and stream access, a lake for fishing and swimming, volleyball and corn hole for social recreation, and the dump station and sanitation facilities that RV guests require. The mountain and forest setting of the surrounding Pocono highlands provides the atmospheric backdrop for planned activities, bird and wildlife watching, and the paddleboarding and canoeing that the Delaware River makes immediately accessible from the campground's waterway connection. Pet-friendly policies welcome the hiking companions that Pocono trail visitors typically bring. Dingmans Ferry is one of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area's most waterfall-concentrated access points, where Dingmans Falls—a 130-foot single-drop waterfall accessible via a short boardwalk trail—and Silverthread Falls, a 90-foot ribbon of water coursing through a mossy slot canyon, are two of the most photographed natural features in Pennsylvania in a gorge accessible to casual visitors without significant hiking difficulty. The proximity of these waterfalls to Dingmans Ferry has made this section of the Delaware Water Gap one of the most visited areas within the National Recreation Area's 70,000-acre protected corridor. The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area stretches 40 miles along the Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, protecting a river corridor of exceptional scenic and ecological quality that includes 200 miles of hiking trails, three rivers designated as National Wild and Scenic, and the Appalachian Trail's crossing of the Delaware at the iconic Water Gap formation. The recreation area's swimming beaches at Milford Beach and Smithfield Beach provide supervised summer swimming access in the Delaware River, and the river's Class I-II rapids in this section make it suitable for beginner and intermediate canoeists and kayakers who want river paddling experience in a protected environment. Dingmans Campground operates seasonally from spring through fall in the Delaware Water Gap's temperate highland climate, with the summer hiking and paddling season from June through August driving peak demand for the campground's river access and trail network. Fall's Pocono foliage—reaching peak color through the second and third weeks of October—creates the campground's most visually spectacular season, and guests who target mid-October for their Water Gap visit experience the Delaware River valley's hardwood forest at full color without the summer crowd pressure on the National Recreation Area's most popular attractions. Advance reservations for summer weekends are strongly recommended.