DELAWARE WATER GAP NATIONAL RECREATION AREA — The waterfalls were flowing at Dingman’s Falls near Bushkill and some happy hikers were thrilled to take in the beautiful scenery.
“I only have a couple hours so this one is a perfect length. It’s a boardwalk so you don’t have as much nature damage, the boardwalk itself is open and it’s really easy to navigate,” said Brad David, Honesdale.
Dingman’s Fall re-opened to the public back in October.
It was one of many trials within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area that were heavily damaged by back-to-back winter storms in March of 2018.
As the hiking season ramps up for the spring and summer seasons, park rangers say it’s important for people to take note of trails that are open and ones that are still closed.
“These areas are really sensitive, so we do have closures for things like the Peregrine Falcons which are nesting and we don’t want to disturb them. There are different types of closures, it’s not always a tree down, sometimes it’s wildlife that we are protecting,” said ranger Ellen Halloran.
When the storm ripped through the park, it left a lot of damage. Hikers are happy to see that some of those damaged trails are starting to reopen slowly, but surely. Especially with summer just around the corner.
One park that won’t be open for a few years is Childs Park.
The closure is upsetting to Samantha Paulson from Milford. It was her favorite trail.
“We are big outdoor people so to not be able to come to our fall is rough on us. But we are happy to see that everything is getting restored and fixed,” said Paulson.
Park rangers say in some of those heavily damaged areas, like Childs Park, seeds for new trees were recently planted.
Here is a list of trails that are opened and still closed.
Source: wnep.com
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