Matamoras, PA

Every Summer

At least once a year in the summer time we like to get a cooler full of sandwiches and drinks, throw on our swimming suits and go rafting. There are so many great places along the Delaware Water Gap to rent a raft from.

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There is a place in French Town, on the NJ side that actually serves lunch, which we might try next. There are many up north, around Sparta. They all have different deals, depending on what you are looking for. Some are great for large groups, some have restrictions on kid ages (usually 4 years old is as young as you can take a child on a raft safely). We go with just the kids and us, so the place where a kid is free with a paid adult is the kind of place for us.  Though now that the kids are getting older then 12, we might look around for other spots, or even check out Groupon.  In fact, there is THIS DEAL FOR RIVER TUBING (sponsored link) or THIS ONE (also a sponsored link) that comes up often on Groupon.

We usually use this one :
http://www.indianheadcanoes.com/

Up to four kids under 11 go free with two paying adults, which really works for us.  We never had an issue with them.  Usually I call the day ahead, ask about river conditions, make sure it’s OK to take a tube out.  Make reservations.  The folks that work there are pleasant, accommodating, and all around wonderful.

Summer 2018

Our most recent trip was this summer (2018), and we went on the Pond Eddy to Matamoras stretch of the river. It was 9 miles, with a bunch of 11 year old kids and one cute little one. We rented 3 tubes (which really was not enough, next time we are renting as many tubes as there are kids). The trip itself was lovely, the kids had a great time. The parents were all exhausted from rowing. This time we just took backpacks (waterproof backpacks were very useful on the raft as you can expect EVERYTHING to get soaking WET) with Ziploc bags full of snacks and water, and had lunch from our coolers (which were left in the car) when we landed. One thing is to please not forget sunscreen and a wide brim hat!! I kid you not, on a sunny and hot day, the sun on the river is brutal. There is no shade! Be prepared.

This time I did not lose my camera to the river gods, so here are a few photos from our most recent trip:

After the trip we needed some ice cream. NEEDED! The young lady working at Indian Head recommended this place:

The deep fried vanilla ice cream was delicious!!

Previous Rafting Trips

A few summers ago we had three kids with us. We took the 4 mile trip and it was very manageable with younger kiddies. Also we rented a tube to tie to our raft, which made it so much more fun!!! You do need to make sure that the water is safe for a tube. We called in a week before, and were told that the waters are too cold and choppy to use a tube due to some rains, so we had to wait a bit to go. The following week we called and were good to go. The tube definitely made it more fun for the older kids, and the braver younger kids. I also managed to accidentally drown my old camera in the river, so no pictures from this trip. It was a ton of fun.

The year before that we took the 7 mile trip, the river on that stretch was way too calm. The 9 mile trip takes just as much time, which means more rapids, more fun.  We stopped on the bank to enjoy our lunch, splash and swim. My older son enjoyed swimming alongside the raft during the calmer water. We met a few cool fishermen that educated us about Shad. Overall, the kids and us were really tired at the end, but it was a fun experience!

Here are some photos from our trips in the past.

I highly recommend this adventurous trip for families, it’s a lot of fun.