The Hawk's Nest and the River That Two States Share

Route 97 opens with one of the most photographed stretches of road in America: the Hawk's Nest, a 1930s masterpiece of switchbacks and stone parapets carved into the cliffs above the Delaware, so telegenic that car commercials have been shot on its curves for decades. What follows is quieter and just as good: 71 miles shadowing the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, a National Park Service protected corridor where the clean, undammed river slides between New York and Pennsylvania past canoe liveries, rail-era hamlets, and river towns reinventing themselves with galleries and farm markets. The valley's history runs deep and specific: at Minisink Ford, John A. Roebling's 1848 aqueduct, the oldest wire suspension bridge still standing in America, carries cars one at a time on the cables that rehearsed the Brooklyn Bridge; a Revolutionary battlefield broods in the woods above; and a short detour east reaches the sloping field at Bethel where the 1969 Woodstock festival actually happened, now kept by a first-class museum. In winter the valley converts wholesale to eagle country, hosting one of the largest bald eagle gatherings in the eastern United States. Two hours from Manhattan, the byway remains a river road in the old sense: slow, shaded, and governed by water.

Key Stops

Port Jervis. The southern gateway where New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania meet: a railroad town with a walkable center, tri-state marker, and the last full services before the valley proper. Fill up and go.

The Hawk's Nest. Four miles upriver, the byway's icon: the road doubles back on itself along the cliff face, stone guard walls framing the Delaware far below. The pullouts are small and the curves demand attention, so park first and photograph after; early morning brings the light and none of the motorcycles.

Barryville and the river liveries. The first of the paddling hubs, facing Shohola, Pennsylvania across a bridge: canoe, raft, and tube outfitters line this reach, and summer weekends fill the water with flotillas. Eddies and swimming holes hide between the riffles.

Minisink Ford and the Roebling Bridge. The historical heart: drive (one lane, alternating, dead slow) or walk across Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct of 1848, built to float canal boats over the river and now the country's oldest surviving wire suspension bridge. Across in Lackawaxen, the NPS keeps the seasonal Zane Grey Museum in the western novelist's riverside home, and above the New York bank the Minisink Battleground preserves the site of the valley's grim 1779 Revolutionary defeat.

Narrowsburg. The valley's arts town, perched above the Big Eddy, the river's deepest pool, where the Delaware pauses and swirls. Galleries, a good bookstore, river-view dining, and the Fort Delaware museum's stockade recreation of 1750s frontier life make it the natural overnight.

Skinners Falls and Cochecton. The river's most famous riffle: a ledgy, splashy rapid beloved by generations of canoeists, with rock slabs for picnicking and watching paddlers sort themselves out. Heed posted access and parking rules; this reach is managed hard for good reason.

Callicoon. A Victorian rail town turned weekend darling: a vintage single-screen cinema, a strong Sunday farmers market, creamery, and brick storefronts sloping to the river. The most complete main street on the byway.

Bethel Woods (detour). Twenty minutes east of Cochecton rises the gentle bowl of Max Yasgur's farm, where Woodstock's half million gathered in August 1969. The Bethel Woods Center for the Arts pairs the preserved festival field and monument with an excellent museum of the era, plus a summer amphitheater season.

The upper hamlets. North of Callicoon the valley empties beautifully: Hankins, Long Eddy, and Lordville pass in a rhythm of eddies, railroad relics, and long river views, with fishing access points marking the famous trout water as you climb toward the branches.

Hancock. The finish, where the East and West branches of the Delaware meet and the main stem is born, holy water in fly-fishing terms. A trim village green, outfitters, and diners close the byway; the Catskill peaks rise behind.

Driving Tips

Check the river before you commit to it. Rain upstream raises the Delaware fast, turning riffles pushy and eddies cold; the USGS gauges and NPS conditions page take one minute and prevent the classic mistake.

Book summer paddling ahead. July and August weekends sell out the liveries by midweek; midweek floats get the same river with herons instead of crowds.

Treat winter as eagle season. From January into February, wintering bald eagles concentrate along the byway and the nearby Mongaup reservoirs, where observation blinds stand ready; stay in or beside your car (it works as a blind), keep long distances, and never flush a perched bird burning winter calories.

Cross the Roebling like the antique it is. One lane, alternating courtesy, walking-pace speed, and a stop on the far side to walk back over the towpath deck; the cables overhead are Roebling's originals.

Watch the road edges at dusk. Deer are constant, bears occasional, and the byway's shaded curves hold ice well into spring mornings.

Time Bethel Woods deliberately. Museum days are easy; summer concert evenings reroute local traffic for miles, which is either a bonus or a trap depending on your ticket situation.

Expect city weekends. Two hours from New York City means summer Saturdays fill the accesses and brunch tables; Sundays soften upstream, and weekdays return the valley to the herons.

For more information visit: Upper Delaware Scenic Byway (Official)