In the Fall of 2018 I was looking for some fall foliage and headed north to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The highlight of the trip were the small towns I stopped in on the ride home.
Depending upon your starting location there’s a couple of different routes that lead to the Delaware Water Gap. From my parents house, the best option is to hop on Route 611 and head north. It’s a beautiful drive no matter the season. I set Google Maps for Hickory Valley, a restaurant that serves its breakfasts in large skillets. Each town on 611 had its own breakfast restaurant and I fought the urge to stop, making a mental note of places to return to like Reigelsville. When I entered Hickory Valley I knew I should have stopped for breakfast in Reigelsville. The restaurant was a bit sad, not folksy, and proved that bigger is not always better. The corned beef hash, the house special, was a little cold, so I used the eggs, potatoes and bread to make a sandwich.
I backed track a little on I-80 then hopped on Route 209, which runs through the PA side of the Delaware Water Gap national park. Based upon some advanced research and a review of hiking trails I decided to park at the Raymondskills Falls parking lot. I did a loop to Hackers Fall to a pond then up to Cliff Trail. The trails were wide and well groomed. It didn’t take long to hear some rapids and Hacker Falls. The falls were slightly small but they run along a cliff face that the morning sun shines upon creating a perfect backdrop. From here it was an up and down hike to a pond, which was ok. Just ok. It was a steep but short climb up to Cliff Trail which runs along a ridge overlooking the Delaware River. It’s a shear edge so one foot over the side and the next one will be on Route 209, a couple hundred feet below. The path along the ridge, the shear drops, it all equals spectacular views. The walk back to the Raymondskills parking lot was all downhill.
I backed track a little on I-80 then hopped on Route 209, which runs through the PA side of the Delaware Water Gap national park. Based upon some advanced research and a review of hiking trails I decided to park at the Raymondskills Falls parking lot. I did a loop to Hackers Fall to a pond then up to Cliff Trail. The trails were wide and well groomed. It didn’t take long to hear some rapids and Hacker Falls. The falls were slightly small but they run along a cliff face that the morning sun shines upon creating a perfect backdrop. From here it was an up and down hike to a pond, which was ok. Just ok. It was a steep but short climb up to Cliff Trail which runs along a ridge overlooking the Delaware River. It’s a shear edge so one foot over the side and the next one will be on Route 209, a couple hundred feet below. The path along the ridge, the shear drops, it all equals spectacular views. The walk back to the Raymondskills parking lot was all downhill.
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Raymondskills Falls are five minutes from the parking lot and I almost foolishly passed on the short walk. The double falls with a smaller fall a little ways below were impressive. Even in fall, long after the winter thaw, the water was raging.
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Time for a coffee at Cafe Duet in Stroudsburg. The place was hopping. I ordered a cappuccino to go then walk a block to Main Street, a three block stretch of quintessential America. A few restaurants and bars were slowly breathing life back into the commercial strip. Poconos Sew and Vac, an anchor of the district since 1979, is spectular vestige of a bygone era. On the opposite spectrum of the era, sits a charcuterie store across the street. A World War monument. An old school firehouse. Back in the car.
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I was looking for something obscure. A bit of an oddity. What I found at Columcille Monolith Park was spiritual and serene. An individual turned 17 acres in their backyard into a Celtic religious site, a mini Stonehenge. There was only one vertical monolith gate but the rest of the park filled with giant stones was equally impressive. I don’t know why a bunch of giant stones organized in a circle and several more scattered across the site in various formations could have such a calming effect - it’s easier to enjoy the serenity than answer the why. It was like watching waves crash in the ocean only it was rocks sitting in grass. No idea why it felt the same.
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Time for a microbrewery stop. Bangor Trust Brewing. Bangor is two blocks of old school America. There’s a few empty stores but there’s a local sporting goods store so that rocks. I’m not sure where people drank before Bangor Trust but now that the microbrewery is here there’s no reason to drink anywhere else. Good beer. They make their own bread which tasted even better than the beer. I love that places like Bangor Trust have opened. It gives me a destination to a place I otherwise never would have visited. This is definitely a worthwhile town to swing out of your way to on the way to or from Delaware Water Gap. I’ll need to head back because, Baby Harry, the local coffee roaster closed early for the day.
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I book ended my drinking with two microbrewery. In between I had three places picked: The Lakeside, on a lake in Saylorsburg, Kunkletown Pub in Kunkletown, and Point Phillips Hotel in Bath. There were two cars at The Lakeside when I arrived at three. There was a deck overlooking the lake but I wasn’t enticed.
On to Kunkletown Pub. One car outside. Not much of a town scene but I liked the quiet set up. A few more cars and I would have stopped. To Point Phillips Hotel.
And what a drive! If you’ve ever driven north on I476 there’s a ridge that separates Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton from Scranton and Wilkes Barre. This same ridge separates Kunkeltown from Bath. I476 passed through the Lehigh tunnel. The Kunkletown to Bath road goes OVER the ridge. Crazy climb up the North side. Crazier descent down the South side. I would have been filming but it was a two handed drive. The road was more hardened mud than pavement, one and a half lanes. When there was a lane. Full stop whenever a car was approaching up the hill. I’ll have a new perspective the next time I got through the Lehigh Tunnel.
After skipping The Lakeside and Kunkletown Pub a lot was rude on Point Phillips. It delivered. A dark mahogany bar. Locals. This is the place to go. Several PA microbrewery beers in tap. Pierogis stuffed with potatoes covered in onions and bacon. Brilliant move to include this as a bar snack. I could have spent all night here. But there was still the microbrewery bookend.
To Nazareth. I took a quick look through the town center. Another beautiful town. Larger central area but less commercial activity. At 430 pm a Saturday only one place was open - Birthright Brewing. A cool, hip spot. They have a pickled jar as an appetizer! Pickles, celery, peppers, cauliflower, onions...all in a small mason jar. Pickled on site. Bangor Trust’s bread was great. Point Phillips pierogis were phenomenal. Birthright’s pickles were the perfect complement to beer. My stomach was jostling and the picked jar calmed everything down. I wrapped up the road trip with checking out the Bethlehem Steel Stacks at sunset and had dinner at Bolete, the area's best restaurant and a James Beard nominee.
On to Kunkletown Pub. One car outside. Not much of a town scene but I liked the quiet set up. A few more cars and I would have stopped. To Point Phillips Hotel.
And what a drive! If you’ve ever driven north on I476 there’s a ridge that separates Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton from Scranton and Wilkes Barre. This same ridge separates Kunkeltown from Bath. I476 passed through the Lehigh tunnel. The Kunkletown to Bath road goes OVER the ridge. Crazy climb up the North side. Crazier descent down the South side. I would have been filming but it was a two handed drive. The road was more hardened mud than pavement, one and a half lanes. When there was a lane. Full stop whenever a car was approaching up the hill. I’ll have a new perspective the next time I got through the Lehigh Tunnel.
After skipping The Lakeside and Kunkletown Pub a lot was rude on Point Phillips. It delivered. A dark mahogany bar. Locals. This is the place to go. Several PA microbrewery beers in tap. Pierogis stuffed with potatoes covered in onions and bacon. Brilliant move to include this as a bar snack. I could have spent all night here. But there was still the microbrewery bookend.
To Nazareth. I took a quick look through the town center. Another beautiful town. Larger central area but less commercial activity. At 430 pm a Saturday only one place was open - Birthright Brewing. A cool, hip spot. They have a pickled jar as an appetizer! Pickles, celery, peppers, cauliflower, onions...all in a small mason jar. Pickled on site. Bangor Trust’s bread was great. Point Phillips pierogis were phenomenal. Birthright’s pickles were the perfect complement to beer. My stomach was jostling and the picked jar calmed everything down. I wrapped up the road trip with checking out the Bethlehem Steel Stacks at sunset and had dinner at Bolete, the area's best restaurant and a James Beard nominee.
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