Re: Delaware River Philadelphia info?
I've been riding the DE River for a very long time (probably a good 10 to 15 years now). I'm very familiar with the water from the the Philly naval yard all the way up to almost Frenchtown (a good 10+ miles north of New Hope and Lambertville).
With that said, unless you know the water VERY well, do NOT go north past the Trenton ramp. You can venture up to the Trenton Thunder baseball stadium and the Kat Man Du nightclub (just south of the 3 bridges- railroad bridge, rt 1 bridge, and the "Trenton Makes" bridge), but you need to stay closer to the NJ side once you pass the Trenton boat ramp due to a few rocks and shallower water on the PA side. It's a shame since the most scenic areas are North of Trenton on the DE. I've gone up a vast majority of the river on jet skis over the years with very flat bottom hulls. Even then I've hit my fair share of rocks. I'd never consider taking anything with a deeper draft past the 3 bridges in Trenton. It's possible to do, but no matter how well you know the water you're still taking a chance. There are a few deep sections that are rock free, but they're really too small to enjoy a boat on unless you like doing a 2 mile circle.
The water around Philly tends to be very dirty (shock). I wouldn't want to swim in it. I've also gone up the Schuylkill River (the entrance is just south of the Naval Yard) to see the sunset over the city. It was really cool to see! You can go as far up as almost to the Art Museum (just north of 676). That's where the falls are. Don't get too close as there are also rocks closer to the falls which you should be able to see ahead of time. Although this is really cool to see, unfortunately the trip up the Schuylkill from the entrance off the DE river is loaded with debris, you'll pass by a couple refineries, and it looks like WWIII hit. Not to mention it doesn't smell too good! It's also relatively narrow so go slow in case of other boat traffic.
Of course in the Philly area you have Penns Landing to check out and the Battleship NJ on the Camden side. If you travel north, after the Ben Franklin you'll pass a railroad bridge, the Betsy Ross, and then the Tacony Palmyra bridges. On the right side a couple of miles up you'll have the entrance to the Rancocas Creek. A good majority of it is a no wake zone. It's pretty scenic, though, and you'll pass under a couple of low bridges that are pretty unique and cool. If your boat is high just make sure you can clear them before trying! On mine I need to keep the bimini down to get under them. After you go under the two bridges you'll come up to a marina on the right that also has a pretty cool restaurant. I haven't gone any further up the river on a boat so I'm not sure how deep the waters are, but after this area it gets pretty narrow. It goes for a very long time and I've taken jet skis pretty far up. It's mostly quiet back there with a few houses along the way. It'll almost make you feel like you're down south in the back country. Pretty cool to see!
Back on the DE River, immediately north of the Rancocas entrance on the NJ side is a favorite spot for a lot of boats to anchor at. It's wooded, but has a nice beach area. Many people camp there or bring grills to hang out at for the day.
A couple more miles north of the Rancocas you'll enter my favorite part North of Philly. The river is very wide and filled with parks or woods on both sides. There are also a lot of beautiful river front homes/ mansions littered along the rivers edges.
Going further north you'll pass under the Burlington Bristol Bridge (413). The river will look like it forks due to an island closer towards the NJ side, but the main channel is towards the left. If you stay straight (or go towards the right of the split) there will be a small marina and also the Curtins restaurant with free docking. Just north of the restaurant is where the NJ State Police is located on the river.
If you stay to the left in the main channel, you'll see Bristol Park on the left. On the right side, which is the island, many people often anchor here as well. You'll sometimes find me here during weekdays anchored. I like to throw the anchor out and swim ashore to lay out on the beach area. Weekends too many people have the same idea so I'll avoid it then.
Heading north again you'll pass the PA turnpike bridge. A couple miles on the right is another split that you can go around. Unless it's high tide, stay in the main channel (to the left). It gets shallow back there and there really isn't much to see anyway.
Between that point and up towards the Trenton area there isn't a whole lot to see. There are a couple of small coves, but nothing too spectacular to talk about.
All watersport activities are allowed on the river. Just make sure you have a watersports flag up while doing so. The NJ state police monitor the river and you're subject to follow NJ state laws, even if you're on the PA side of the river. NJ requires an orange pendant flag (triangular) to be displayed 4 feet above the highest point of your boat. How picky they'll be if you're using a square flag like most other states require or if your flag is 4 feet above your hull instead of you bimini I don't know.
Also keep in mind the Philadelphia area is brackish water in my opinion. You'll want to flush your boat after running in it. I'd say roughly from the Croydon area (north of the Rancocas Creek) is where it's mostly fresh water. This is of course just my opinion, though.
As mentioned before, stay away from larger commercial craft. I believe the law is 200'? They can also throw some very large wake as well, so stay awake! And keep your eyes on the water around Phillly debris! The entire river can get pretty bad with fallen tree limbs and such after a rainstorm, too.
Any other questions feel free to ask! Sorry for such a lengthy response.
