The Long Green Line
The Delaware Canal Towpath
Nearly 60 miles of historic canal towpath run straight through Yardley — the borough's daily trail and its defining amenity.
The Delaware Canal towpath is the spine of Delaware Canal State Park: a flat, continuous trail running nearly 60 miles beside the 1830s canal from Bristol to Easton, hugging the Delaware River the whole way. It passes directly through Yardley Borough, where the canal, its locks, and the towpath are woven into the street grid itself.
For Yardley residents the towpath is not a destination — it is the default. Morning runs, dog walks, school-day bike rides, and evening strolls all funnel onto the same car-free line, with river towns strung along it like beads: Morrisville below, Washington Crossing and New Hope above.
Official website ↗Parks & Nature
The trail from Yardley
Head north from the borough and the towpath carries you to Washington Crossing in about five flat miles, then on to New Hope — a classic out-and-back ride with coffee at either end. Head south and you pass locks and quiet backyards toward Morrisville and, ultimately, Bristol. No cars, no significant grade, river glimpses the whole way.
The canal itself adds the wildlife: herons stalking the shallows, turtles stacked on logs, and mallard flotillas trailing every walker with bread-adjacent intentions. Fall, when the canopy turns over the water, is the corridor at its best.
Parks & Nature
A working relic
The canal hauled anthracite coal from the Lehigh Valley to Philadelphia for nearly a century, and it survives with its locks, aqueducts, and camelback bridges more intact than any comparable American canal — hence its National Historic Landmark status. Yardley grew up as a canal town, and the historic homes along the water tell that story directly.
The state park continuously maintains and repairs the canal — flood damage is a recurring chapter in its history — and local friends groups keep the towpath in shape. It is living infrastructure, two centuries old.
Questions People Ask
The Delaware Canal Towpath — frequently asked questions
What is the Delaware Canal towpath?
The Delaware Canal towpath is a nearly 60-mile trail along the historic 1830s Delaware Canal, running from Bristol to Easton, PA as the spine of Delaware Canal State Park. It passes directly through Yardley Borough and is a National Historic Landmark.
How far is it from Yardley to New Hope on the towpath?
Yardley to Washington Crossing is roughly five flat miles on the towpath, and continuing to New Hope makes it roughly ten to eleven miles one way — a popular car-free bike ride with food and coffee at both ends.
Can you bike the Delaware Canal towpath?
Yes. The towpath is flat, car-free, and mostly crushed stone and packed earth, well suited to hybrid and gravel bikes. Riders can continue for miles in either direction, with river towns providing natural rest stops.
Why is the Delaware Canal historically significant?
The Delaware Canal carried anthracite coal from the Lehigh Valley toward Philadelphia for nearly a century and survives as the most intact canal of its era in the United States, with original locks, aqueducts, and camelback bridges — earning it National Historic Landmark designation.
Want The Delaware Canal Towpath in your daily life?
I help buyers land in Yardley and the neighborhoods around it — and I know which streets put places like this in your weekly routine.
