Does anyone know at which bridges it is possible to cross the Delaware River between Delaware and New Jersey or Pennsylvania and New Jersey? I know there is a bridge at Trenton that one can ride a bike across; and I know there are bridges farther north that one can walk a bike across-- particularly at Lambertville/New Hope, Stockton, and Lumberville. I believe bikes are allowed on at least one of the Philadelphia bridges, I think the Ben Franklin. Does anyone know if there are options farther south?

There is of course a ferry at Cape May, but that's a little too far south for my plan.

The Ben Franklin does indeed allow bikes, 6am - 8pm at the moment.

...and this page lists many such crossings. Looks like there's also a crossing in Palmyra, NJ and two in Trenton, although if you poke around on the net, the Calhoun Street bridge may be closed.

There are several others, including a footbridge in Bulls Island that might be worth investigating.

Where are you heading?

Thanks, Neil, that is a geat link-- though depressing. It confirms my fear that there are no options south of the Ben Franklin. The mind boggles.

I'm going to ride from my NJ home down to VA, a three day ride, in the last week of March; and back again, preferably by a different route, in the first week of April. If I don't want to ride through Philadelphia (and I don't!), this means I have to swing wide to the west. Not a bad option but, sadly, my only option.

Options for crossing the Susquehanna are also pretty limited, but there are at least two or three good options, including the Bikemobile. I wonder if there's something like that for getting over the Delaware....

There is a "Free Foot Bridge" that allows bicycles from Easton into Phillipsburg. You can also cross in 2 places near trenton/philly. The Del Memorial and the Del/NJ crossings are limited to motorized vehicles.

From Lawrenceville, your best bet would be to take 206 N/West and cross into PA that way. You would end up like 20 minutes north of Newtown or so.

In a similar vein - but worse -

There is no way to cross the Chesapeake Bay. At least with the Delaware River you can hop on a NJ Transit bus or rail line. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge does not allow bicycles or pedestrians, but offers no alternatives for non-automotive travelers. 20 years ago there was a shuttle. For most of the past 10 years there was an Annapolis bus which had a bike rack on front. That was cut last year. So the only way to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is with a private shuttle service at $35 per person each way. A car pays only $2.50 heading eastbound. So two people cycling would end up paying $140 for a round trip with two people in a car would pay $2.50.

That makes me wish that all Maryland DOT people could choke on exhaust fumes. But similar crap happens in Alaska and California and god-knows-where else. And now with all these private/public partnerships in transportation, states can deny they have any control or authority to do anything. It truly sucks.

PS - There are passenger ferries that run from Crisfield to Smith Island and then to Cape Lookout and Virginia - BUT - only the run from Crisfield is daily. The cruises to the Western Shore and Virginia are seasonal and not daily, even then. Prices are based on round-trip fares - they may give you a break on one-way. $60 bucks if they don't - $30 if they do. Overnight lodging on Smith Island is $150 and up in the summer with very limited availability.

+1.

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There is an old adage to the effect "it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

On election day I rode my touring bike down to Bristol, PA, crossing the Delaware on the Calhoun St bridge at Trenton; volunteered with the Obama campaign going door to door etc for several hours, and then rode home. For a change of scenery I thought I'd ride home through NJ, which meant crossing by the Burlington Bristol Bridge. I honestly didn't see the sign that said "no bicycles", I don't know why, it was almost as big as a pizza and clearly visible from the road if you knew where to look. Anyway, about half way over a police car stopped me and told me to get on the sidewalk ASAP and wait; and about two minutes later a Highway Dept pickup truck, with lots of flashing lights, stopped and told me to put the bike in the back. Of course I wasn't heavily loaded, so this was no problem. The driver took me the rest of the way across the bridge and left me at the nearest gas station. No ticket, no warning, no sternly worded advice or shaking of fingers, no grumbling, nothing; they were all very cheerful about it.

I have a suspicion the same technique would get you across quite a few bridges. Mind you, it was one thing to do this by myself. On my March-April ride I'll be riding a heavily loaded tandem with a preteen child on it, so I won't be taking chances.

The Delaware Memorial Bridge at Pennsville (Pennsgrove? I forget). Ride up as far as you can and start thumbing pick-up trucks. Bridge Police talked to me and said no hitch hiking and sent a maintenance truck for me. No charge. Bet you could make a simple phone call and get the same thing—just be there already. As you said above—all cheerful and glad to do it. Pre-teen makes it that much better. I wouldn't go north just to cross if you paid me. SJ is a much nicer ride.

Bay Bridge—go to any of the many gas stations approaching the bridge and solicit a lift from someone in a pick-up. Offer to pay the toll. No biggie.

The ferry from Crisfield to Tangier to Reedsville, VA. One way is fine. You just change ferries on Tangier Island.

Newhope was the town i was going for that is the PA side of 206. That is probably the best ride you will get close to you.

For what it's worth, my printed East Coast Greenway NJ booklet routes you across the Calhoun Street bridge. I'll be there in a couple of weeks and I can take a look.

I don't know where you are in NJ, but there's the Cape May ferry to Lewes, DE, to consider.

https://www.cmlf.com/SchedulesFares

Correction, 202 is the route that crosses at Lambertville/New Hope (just north of there, actually). 206 doesn't cross the Delaware at all.

Yes, Calhoun Street bridge is fine; but then I'd have to ride straight through Philadelphia.
Yes, but then you have to get across the Chesapeake Bay. In my case Cape May is not a good option; it is actually farther south than my destination in VA.

Hmmm. I wonder, who do you call?


Again, hmmm. [[looks thoughtful, then shakes head]] But no, not on this trip; Tangiers is way out of the way, it would more than double the total distance I'm planning. But I wouldn't mind going back there. For anyone who hasn't been there, it's worth the trip! Amazing place, originally settled by the Royal Navy in the 1770's, its (small) population descended from people left behind after the Revolution. They still talk funny!

+ 1
And it is a Great bridge! Worth the trip just to ride over it.

I'm planning my own tour for later this year. I scouted out the Delmarva roads from Lewes to Crisfield. Nice! Well most of them. back country roads flatter than, well really flat!

I was going to suggest that you try the CM Ferry and then cut across to the bay bridge. The roads through the Jersey pine barrens are very ridable. But the problem is the bay bridge- no way to cross.

If you do consider the Delaware Memorial Bridge be aware that many of the South Jersey roads that you might need to use are not bike friendly.

Some bad news about the Calhoun Street crossing - maybe.

Martha and I tried to approach the bridge from a path along the river. (I don't think it's the D&RC, but it may lead to it.) About a quarter mile south of the bridge, according to my GPS, we hit this:



We had to backtrack, and were already running late. his is what we saw at the Calhoun Street intersection:



It's rideable, but barely. The camera is facing towards Pennsylvania. This was actually a quiet moment in traffic, late on a Saturday morning. I'd be hesitant to ride that even if the bridge were up. The overpass to get over rt 29 looks pretty dicey. (See the attached thumbnail - it's an image of the overpass in Google Earth.) We didn't get a chance to see the bridge itself, sorry!

Having written all that, there's gotta be some way to do this. (If nothing else, there's a sidewalk, but one would have to cross highway traffic in multiple places.) My NJ East Coast Greenway "Multi-Use Trail Guide" instructs one to "Walk on sidepath over bridge", then continue towards Calhoun Street. I've emailed the Greenway info address, and I'll post if they reply.

I heard back from the Greenway folks. That was fast! This was forwarded to me by Michael Oliva, the Mid Atlantic Trail Coordinator for the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and shared here with his enthusiastic permission: