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Upper Delaware➤

The National Park Service oversees approximately 73 miles of the Delaware River, spanning from Hancock to Sparrowbush, New York, as part of the Wild and Scenic River System. This section, known as the Upper Delaware, offers recreational opportunities and is characterized by its managed water flow, distinguishing it as Scenic rather than Wild.

I joined the National Park Travelers Club for a ranger-led tour of the area. Following an interesting tour of Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct led by the ranger, our group proceeded to the Zane Grey Museum. The historic building is located just a quarter-mile from the bridge on the Pennsylvania side of the river.

Zane Grey➤

Zane Grey was originally named Pearl Zane Grey due to his mother’s fascination with the British Royals. Pearl Grey was the designated mourning color in England that year. Grey dropped the “Pearl” as an adult and earned recognition as the Father of the Western Novel.

As a youth, Grey played baseball, earning a scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania’s dentistry school. Despite establishing a dental practice in NYC in 1899, his passion for fly-fishing and the support of his wife Dolly propelled him to relocate to his farmhouse in Lackawaxen, PA, where he embraced writing as his vocation.

A prolific writer, he wrote over 100 novels in his lifetime. His most noted work was Riders of the Purple Sage, published in 1912. His travels to the Western states heavily influenced his writing, the first trip having been his honeymoon to the Grand Canyon.

Grey moved his family to California in 1918, where he worked with the developing motion picture industry. Many early films were based on his novels and birthed the Western movie genre.

After Zane Grey’s death, his wife sold the Lackawaxen home to a family friend.

For 25 years, she ran it as the Zane Grey Inn and then later converted it to a museum showcasing Zane Grey memorabilia.

In 1989, the museum was purchased by the NPS and included in the Upper Delaware unit.

Location: Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania
Designation: National Scenic & Recreational River
Date designated/established: 1978
Date of my visit: July 18, 2018