SOMERSET, NJ - This year the D&R Canal State Park is celebrating its 50th anniversary with events from March through November, according to an announcement from the D&R Canal Watch and D&R Canal Commission.
Read below for a list of events scheduled to take place here locally.
Saturday, March 23rd: 10:00 a.m. History Bike Ride, Griggstown Causeway to Kingston,
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10 miles roundtrip on the D&R Canal towpath. Explore the structures along the D&R Canal with Canal Watch trustee Bob Barth. Meet in the causeway parking lot in Griggstown. Bring water; helmet required. Allow three hours. Leader: Bob Barth, 201-401-3121, [email protected].
Saturday, March 23rd: time to be announced. The Van Harlingen Historical Society will celebrate the park’s anniversary with an exhibit entitled, Griggstown & Blackwells Mills Ephemera from the 1970s. Librarian Candy Willis explains that the exhibit will feature the founding of the Blackwells Mills Canal Association in 1971 and the village of Griggstown, including newspaper clippings, postcards, note-cards, site plans, and more from the ‘70s. The exhibit will open on March 23 when the Gulick House, 506 Belle Mead-Blawenburg Road, opens for the season.
Sunday, April 7th: 10:00 a.m. Towpath Walk, Weston Canal lot to East Millstone, 4.2 miles round-trip. See the spillway at Somerset County’s Colonial Park and the newly restored bridgetender’s station in East Millstone. Leader: Bob Barth, 201-401-3121, [email protected].
Saturday, April 13th: 2:00 p.m. Nature Walk: Meet at the historic Van Wickle House off Easton Avenue at the foot of DeMott Lane (GPS 1289 Easton Avenue, Somerset NJ 08873). See and hear Baltimore and Orchard Orioles and other nesting songbirds as we walk along the D&R Canal and identify the nature around us. Leaders: Herve and Anne Barrier, [email protected], 908-670-5743.
Tuesday, April 30th: Canal talk. Linda Barth will present an illustrated talk about the D&R Canal at the annual meeting of the Historical Society of Princeton. The event will be held at Updike Farm, 354 Quaker Road, Princeton, at 6:30 p.m. Check the society’s website, https://princetonhistory.org/programs-events, for further details.
Sunday, June 16th: 2:00 p.m. Canal Watch Annual Meeting. Capt. Bill McKelvey will present a slide program on the D&R Canal. Fellowship Hall behind the Griggstown Reformed Church. Use the GPS address of 1065 Canal Road, Princeton (even though it is nowhere near Princeton). For information, call Linda Barth, 908-240-0488; [email protected].
Sunday, July 28th: Canal Road Walk and Roll. 10:00-4:00. Canal Road closed from East Millstone to Butler Road. Enjoy a day with friends and family along the scenic D&R Canal with no cars! For more information, please call 732-873-1991, option 4.
Sunday, August 25th: Canal Road Walk and Roll. 10:00-4:00. Canal Road closed from Griggstown Causeway to Route 518 in Rocky Hill. Meet Gen. Washington as he prepares to march with the army to Yorktown, VA. Enjoy a day with friends and family along the scenic D&R Canal with no cars! For more information, please call 732-873-1991, option 4.
Saturday, October 12th - Sunday, October 13th: 10;00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday; noon to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Somerset County’s Journey Through the Past. Canal Watch members will open the East Millstone bridgetender’s home and station (and the historic outhouse, for observation only). Linda Barth, 908-240-0488, [email protected].
Sunday, November 10th: 10:00 a.m. Towpath Walk, Demott Lane to Landing Lane, 4.2 miles. Meet at the historic Van Wickle House off Easton Avenue at the foot of DeMott Lane (GPS 1289 Easton Avenue, Somerset NJ 08873). Leader: Bob Barth, 201-401-3121, [email protected].
In addition to the above activities sponsored by the D&R Canal Watch, you can see the D&R Canal State Park programs at this link: https://www.dandrcanal.com/programs.
Trail interpreter Pamela V’Combe will begin her series of walks in April.
For any questions, please visit: www.canalwatch.org
Click here for more information
Program Leaders: Bob Barth, 201-401-3121, [email protected]; Pierre Lacombe, [email protected]; Herve and Anne Barrier, 908-670-5743, [email protected],.