Dingmans Falls at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a popular oasis in summer/NPS

Straddling the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a 70,000-acre swath of forests cut by a river, with tributaries flowing in throughout the parkscape. It offers a quick and easy escape from urban areas of the metropolitan New York-New Jersey, as well as from the Philadelphia area. 

While the summer months bring many to cool off in sections of the Delaware River that flows 40 miles through the NRA, great hiking can be found here. Indeed, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail runs along good portion of the southern half of the NRA. With more than 100 miles of hiking trails, which direction should you head? If you don't have a lot of time, have young ones just getting their hiking stride under them, and are looking for a reprieve from the hot summer sun, consider the short walk along the Dingmans Falls Trail.