Boating on the Delaware River

[Mike Dumigan]

I live just south of Philadelphia and was wondering if anybody boats frequently on the Delaware? I have put in once at Ridley Marina and just ran north a little bit, but I was wondering if there are any good places to hang out, maybe ski, tube, and wakeboard. Any restaurants / bars with docks ?
Places where group congregate?

I normally trailer down to Northeast, MD. but was looking for someplace a little closer but comparable.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Topper232]

Hi @Mike Dumigan. I boat on the Delaware a few times a year, but just a bit north of you. I put in at the Burlington City ramp and usually make my way down to Penn's Landing. I haven't gone any further south than that. To my knowledge, there aren't a whole lot of places to hang out or restaurants to dock at.

You can dock at Penn's Landing, although they don charge, and I'm not sure what the cost is. Many fancier restaurants there.

There's a cove at Dredge Harbor in Delran NJ, that many people will anchor in and hang out/float. It's a muddy bottom, so you won't be standing in the water. They also have a small restaurant that's open for lunch with sandwiches. You can dock there for free if using the restaurant.

In Burlington, NJ, there's a marina/restaurant called Curtins Wharf that you can also dock for free when using the restaurant, but there aren't many spots. Good food, nice atmosphere, but all open, so no AC. http://www.curtinsmarina.com/

Further north, there's a sandbar in Bordentown just in front of the marina and the I295 bridge that a lot of people hang at, but I've never stopped there.

I prefer to head to the beach and boat on the Bay.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[arew~SX230]

If your looking for somewhere closer to put in on the bay, there is the elk river. It is probably 10 or 15 minutes closer than the northeast river

 

[Mike Dumigan]

Thanks guys. I am 5 minutes from the Ridley Marina on the Delaware and was just wondering if there were any good 'hang-out' spots nearby in the event I had a short day and didn't want to trailer down to Northeast. I like putting in at Anchor Marina compared to the Elk River because we normally run over to Sand Island. If I put in on the Elk I need to go down around Turkey Point.

Appreciate the info.....

 

[arew~SX230]

Hey Mike where is sand island it's it south of havre de grace?

 

[4x15mph]

Sand island is great! We went there last weekend and it is a busy, sandy island and you can even camp over night. It is south of havre du grace

I don't boat on the delaware although I did drop in a number of times in Chesapeake City. They have a public boat ramp and there are a number of restaurants on the C&D canal there and you have direct access to the bay or canal

 

[Jluzader]

@arew~SX230 were you on the Bohimia today thought I might have saw ya. The wife and I have been talking about checking out sand island also, my buddy also goes there and loves it.

As for Delaware River I always head you have to head way north to get away from the mud. There's nothing I know of close and I am right down from you on Delaware Line.

 

[Mike Dumigan]

Yep, Sand Island it just south of Havre De Grace. We love it also, stays shallow a ways off the island so great for kids and adults to hang out. From Anchor Marina it is about 1/2 run.
Arew-SX230 - -where are you located?

 

[arew~SX230]

Jluzade, no it wasnt me, dont get out on fridays nearly enough, there is so little boat traffic you rarely have to brake for a wake.

Mike, live in West Grove, keep the boat on the Elk.

 

[zelone]

Hey Mike, I boat the Delaware every weekend, all season long! Theres 2 main sandbars, one near noname island, which is close to you. Its an awesome sandbar and easy to anchor and hang at. Theres a handful of popular beaches up above the city. You will see one where the Rancocas Creek meets the Delaware. The Rancocas is a popular place to tube, ski and surf, and there is a German restaurant with docks, just above the 2nd bridge. Due to the tides, the sandbar times vary, but its generally every other weekend. We always go to the Bordentown Sandbar when its up. It is a great place. The water is clean and flowing. There are areas you can keep your boat in 2-3' of water without actually beaching, so you can leave when you want. Theres always bbq, horseshoes, lots of dogs running around and just generally a nice place. The furthest we boat south is to the Chesepeake Inn on the C&D Canal. Tullytown Cove is a popular spot to swim and hang out, theres even a hot dog/ice cream boat that puts around in there, but I don't really like swimming there. Its not the cleanest place, and is next to a trash dump, literally. Theres a couple more coves up and down, and people are starting to explore them a little more. Plenty of room for tubing and skiing up this way.

 

[Mike Dumigan]

Thanks, exactly where is noname island?

 

[Bmore84]

I checked out the Rogues Harbor on the Elk River about a week ago. Nice clear water compared to the Bush river. Worried about the grasses though.

There is a nice dock bar/restaurant not far up the susquehanna around the corner for Havre de Grace called Lee's Landing. Went once it was very crowded. Good food though.

 

[JDSCHMOO]

Lee's Landing is great, Nauti Goose in Northeast always a good time, or head down the bay to Jellyfish Joels.

 

[Jluzader]

All those places are great, even Triton Marina has some great bands on the weekends and my son loves kayaking around the area. Learned that the C&D Canal is owned by the army Corp of engineers, this is primarily a shipping and receiving lane... No stand up wave runners, pulling skies, tubes or anything paddled like kayaks. This is all the way through the channel down the Cheesapeke.

Have not had a problem with the grass and I see it all over the river. Going to try sand island tomorrow I hope. Where is this summer going?

 

[arew~SX230]

Tomorrow it's looking awesome from a weather perspective, but this weekend is a catch up weekend, lawn, road vehicle, and home maintenance can only be put off so long

 

[Mike Dumigan]

I will be over at Sand island as well - supposed to be a gorgeous day......

 

[Bmore84]

Today I went to launch from Tydings Park in Havre de Grace with the intent of checking out Sand Island but the water was full of seaweed and grass. It was nasty. So I launched from Rogues Harbor for the first time. Great place, very busy area. Water was kinda choppy till about 5pm. My little Exciter had a bouncy ride. Plenty of other Yamahas out.

Oh and dodging crab pots with buoys you can hardly see is a royal pain the ass. One guy was tossing them out with mountain dew bottles as buoys! Not even the big 2 liter ones.

 

[Jluzader]

There was a crap load of those damn pots, it was like an obstacle course. This was our first time getting to sand island and we really enjoyed the sandy bottom compared to the Bohemia river (muddy) we usually hit. The extra 20min or so is worth it. I spotted a bunch of Yamaha's

 

[Mike Dumigan]

Saw you guys over there and there were quite a few Yamahas. Beautiful day....

 

[zelone]

Thanks, exactly where is noname island?

Its near National Park, NJ. If you are traveling up/down the Delaware, you can see a small island with trees near where, the Schuylkill meets the Delaware. At low tide, the sandbar is on the Southeast side of the island. Careful with the island, its all rocks, but the sandbar is nice. We always hit the Bordentown sandbar when low tide is in the early afternoon, up there, and on opposite weekends, sometimes we hit Coconut Grove for lunch and stop at noname island sandbar to cool off, before heading home. We are probably going Sunday. A few weeks ago, we brought 14 boats, and 2 skis lol. Took over the whole outdoor deck!