One of the best ways to learn about a river is to get on it. Interested, but not sure how? Participate in a river sojourn!

Paddlers on the Delaware River Sojourn. Photo by the DRBC.

What is a Sojourn?

Sojourns are guided paddling and camping trips, combining on-water experiences and educational learning opportunities. They are suited for folks of all skill levels; equipment is provided, and river guides teach basic instruction and help keep paddlers safe while on the water. Folks can join for a day, several or the whole thing, making sojourns the perfect first experience with paddling.

Since 1995, the Delaware River Sojourn has been bringing paddlers of all ages & experience levels on the Delaware River, promoting safe, responsible river recreation and creating new stewards of this precious resource. Getting out on the river provides a direct connection to & appreciation for the water, and to do so in a safe, welcoming and fun environment helps foster that feeling for a lifetime.

Delaware River Sojourn 2025

Typically held the third full week in June, the 2025 Delaware River Sojourn took place June 14-20. This year, ~70 miles of the Delaware River were paddled, including three days on the upper Delaware River, two days on the middle Delaware and two days on the lower Delaware River.

This year's theme was "30 Years on Sojourn Time," a nod to our 30th Anniversary and the time we've spent together on the Sojourn, developing partnerships, creating experiences and highlighting the importance of the Delaware River to all who depend on its shared resources.

The secondary theme to this year's Sojourn was high water. Rainy conditions leading up to the Sojourn meant higher flows on the Delaware River. While water levels were fine for us to hold the Sojourn, our paddles were fast, and certain itineraries were changed to allow for safer and more accessible trips.

  • Learn more about the Delaware Sojourn

  • View DRBC News Release Announcing the 2025 Delaware River Sojourn (April 2025)

Delaware River: 2025 Pennsylvania River of the Year

The Delaware River was named the 2025 Pennsylvania River of the Year by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Organization for Waterways and Rivers after a public vote. This honor highlights the significance of rivers, their conservation needs, unique history, recreational value and economic importance to communities. It also celebrates partnership: all levels of government, NGOs, businesses, stakeholders and the public working together to celebrate safe, accessible and responsible recreation, support river communities and promote clean and sustainable water resources.  

The Upper Delaware Preservation Coalition, the Sojourn's fiduciary & registrar, nominated the Delaware River for this honor on behalf of the Delaware River Sojourn Steering Committee. In addition to the Sojourn's 30th Paddle from June 14-20, a June 18 Delaware River of the Year Festival took place at Minisink Park in East Stroudsburg, Pa. While part of the Delaware River Sojourn, the festival was free and open to the public! Additional events are being planned this summer and fall to celebrate the River of the Year honor.

• Learn more about the 2025 Pennsylvania River of the Year honor
  
  
• View photos and videos from the 2025 Delaware River of the Year Festival

Safety & Equipment, Catering & Shuttling

The Delaware River Sojourn is ever grateful for our partners at the National Canoe Safety Patrol (NCSP) for providing safety and land support and at Northeast Wilderness Experience (NEWE) for providing boat shuttle and full rental services.

Each year, the NCSP provides volunteers to lead and participate on the on-water safety team, as well as volunteers for our land support crew. This year's high water & variable weather each held unique challenges, and the teams kept us safe and healthy on water and on land, ensuring folks an enjoyable river trip and plenty to keep them hydrated and fueled. The NCSP is an all-volunteer organization, and in addition to its work on the Sojourn, its members are out on the upper Delaware River each summer weekend helping people stay safe when recreating on the river. Learn more about the organization at the above link – they are always looking for new members!

Similarly, each year we work with the fine folks at NEWE, who provide rental equipment - kayaks, paddles and life jackets - for sojourners, as well as handle, shuttle and care for all private boats on the Sojourn. This year, NEWE's Equinunk base served as our camp for the first four nights of the trip, and folks enjoyed their stay at this beautiful campsite with river views. NEWE is fully committed to the Sojourn and its mission, and it is a pleasure working with their team each year. NEWE provides recreational opportunities for people year-round in the upper Delaware; check them out at the above link.

We are also extremely appreciative and thank our caterers, Konrad's Kitchen (Yulan, N.Y.) and Humpty Junior's (Columbia, N.J.), for their great food and dedicated service. We also thank our bus shuttle, We Transport, for their continued partnership, friendly drivers and flexibility to "go with the flow" with several on-the-fly scheduling changes.

Driftstone campground served as our second base, with folks camping there for the final three nights of the Sojourn. We are extremely appreciative of Driftstone for hosting our group over the years; check out the link to learn more about this family-friendly campground in Mount Bethel, Pa.

2025 Sojourn Programming

In addition to celebrating our 30th Anniversary, programming also highlighted important partner organizations, stewardship efforts throughout the watershed and the ongoing work being done to improve the Delaware River and preserve its environment and rich history.

Program highlights included:

• A program on fly fishing and an emerging contaminant in the Delaware River Basin that could impact certain trout species by the Friends of the Upper Delaware River and the DRBC.
  
  
• A film showing of Burying the Hatchet: The Tom Quick Story
  
  
• Presentations from government agencies and environmental organizations, including Pike County Planning and Mapping, Northampton County Parks & Recreation, NPS Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers Program and Delaware River Greenway Partnership
  
  
• The Delaware River of the Year Festival
  
  
• Watershed Trivia with the Penn State Master Watershed Stewards of Lehigh & Northampton Counties
  
  
• Remarks from Northampton County Executive Lamont G. McClure, Jr., Phillipsburg, N.J. Mayor Randy Piazza, Jr., Phillipsburg Councilman Lee Clark and Warren County's Art Charlton about the County's 250 Anniversary
  
  
• An in-camp musical performance by Sojourner Bob Higgins on day 2 and live music at our day 7 lunch stop by Art Charlton and Brian Kathenes. 
  
  

2025 High Admiral Honorees

Each year, the Sojourn honors people and organizations who are doing important work for the river and its watershed as High Admirals. The name is taken from the story of Daniel Skinner, a timber rafter from the late 1800s who was known as the Lord High Admiral of the Delaware River for successfully navigating timber rafts down the river each spring.

2025 honorees included:

• Jeff Skelding, Friends of the Upper Delaware River, for his conservation and stewardship work
  
  
• Jacqui Wagner, Vice Commodore, National Canoe Safety Patrol, for her leadership, expertise and dedication to ensuring safe, responsible river recreation
  
  
• Mike Wilk, Hydraulic Engineer, Monroe County Conservation District, for his decades-long service to the county
  
  
• Lower Mt. Bethel Township Public Works staff for their efforts to make the river access at the Lower Mt. Bethel Township Welcome Center usable after storms 
  
  
• John Mauser, Supervisor, Lower Mt. Bethel Township, for his steadfast support of environmental conservation, his work promoting the Delaware River Sojourn and his lifelong dedication to protecting our watersheds and rivers.
  
  
• Rachel Hogan Carr, President, Nurture Nature Center, for her work with the Center connecting science, art and community, particularly around flood risk communication and environmental education.
  
  

Sojourn Funding

The Sojourn is a not-for-profit event and is ever appreciative of the generous support it receives. The regional supermarket cooperative ShopRite has sponsored the Delaware River Sojourn annually since 2013; individual donors & corporate matches also provide valuable support. The Sojourn receives grant funding from the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, the Lower Delaware National Wild and Scenic Rivers Program and PPL. These funds help keep costs as low as possible for participants and support the Sojourn's reduced fees for youth and its educational programs.

This year, the Sojourn also received a grant from the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources to support River of the Year programming.

2025 Sojourn In the News

• New York Times: Paddling the Wild River in New York's Backyard; by Elisabeth Vincentelli, April 14, 2025

• Wally Life: April 2025; feature on the Delaware River Sojourn at ~18:00 - 28:00

• Good Stuff Connections Magazine: The 30th Annual Delaware River Sojourn; June 6, 2025
  
  
• BRC TV-13 videos: Delaware River Sojourn Gets Underway, Delaware River Sojourn and Delaware River Festival at Minisink
  
  
• Delaware Currents: The Delaware River Sojourn: 'A kind of meditation' that takes you away; by Preston Ehrler, June 19, 2025
  
  
• Lehigh Valley News: State, local officials celebrate the Delaware as Pa.'s River of the Year; by Molly Bilinski, June 19, 2025
  
  
• Channel 69 News, WFMZ: Pa. names the Delaware state's "River of the Year'; June 18, 2025
  
  
• WNEP: Delaware River Crowned Pennsylvania's River of the Year; by Emily Kress; June 18, 2025
  
  
• Pocono Mountains TV: July 2025; feature on the Delaware River Sojourn at ~22:00
  
  
• Times News: Delaware River top waterway again; by Kristine Porter; July 6, 2025
  
  

The DRBC & the Delaware Sojourn

The DRBC has been involved with the Delaware River Sojourn since the late 1990s. Currently, the DRBC's Kate Schmidt serves on the Delaware River Sojourn Steering Committee, which plans the annual event. The committee is comprised of government agency representatives, non-profit organizations, local businesses and individual volunteers, all of whom share the same goals of introducing people to paddling and helping teach about our waterways in a safe, guided and fun environment.

Over the years, DRBC staff has also participated in this paddling adventure and provided programming. Getting out on the river, meeting other paddlers and talking about what we do to manage, protect and improve the Basin's water resources helps connect us with our publics and stakeholders.

This year, DRBC staff supported two Sojourn programs. On Saturday evening at NEWE's Equinunk camp, DRBC's Sr. Chemist/Toxicologist Dr. Jeremy Conkle partnered with Friends of the Upper Delaware River's Jeff Skelding to lead a program on fly fishing and the emerging contaminant 6-PPDq and its connection to trout. Jeff discussed how the upper Delaware River is an important wild trout fishery and demonstrated a few fly fishing techniques, while Jeremy introduced folks to 6-PPDq and shared details from a first-of-its-kind study in the DRB by the DRBC to quantify the presence of this chemical in Basin waters. DRBC also had a table at the June 18 Delaware River of the Year Festival and enjoyed connecting with folks to celebrate the river and talk about who we are and what we do.

Other Sojourns in the DRB

Several other sojourns take place annually in the DRB: on the Schuylkill, Lehigh and Lackawaxen rivers and on the Perkiomen Creek!

  • Schuylkill River Sojourn

  • Lehigh River Sojourn

  • Perkiomen Creek Sojourn

  • Lackawaxen River Sojourn (inaugural event in 2025!)

The Sojourn Mission

Sojourns enable people to get real-life exposure to our region's waterways and are a great way to engage in river recreation, learn about our rivers and connect with river communities and other paddlers. The goal is that these experiences will create new stewards of our waters, making people more aware of the impacts their actions and daily habits have on the environment and of what they can do to help protect our shared water resources. 

The DRBC thanks everyone who helps make a river sojourn possible! Planning these events is a lot of hard work, but seeing the smiles on paddlers' faces at the end of the day makes it all worth it.

We hope to see you on a DRB river sojourn next year!

Paddlers launch on Day 1 from Balls Eddy, Pa. on the West Branch Delaware River. Photo by the DRBC.	Paddlers enjoy their first day of paddling on the Delaware River. Photo by the DRBC.	DRBC Sr. Chemist/Toxicologist Dr. Jeremy Conkle talks to Sojourners about 6-PPDq, an emerging contaminant that impacts certain trout species. Photo by the DRBC.	Friends of the Upper Delaware River's Jeff Skelding (L, hat) receives the High Admiral Award. Photo by the DRBC.
Sojourners on the water are ready to start Day 2. Photo by the DRBC.	NCSP Vice Commodore and Sojourn Safety Team Leader Jacqui Wagner (L) accepts the High Admiral Award from Sojourn Committee Chair Mark Zakutansky. Photo by the DRBC.	Sojourners head into the lunch stop on Day 3. Photo by the DRBC.	Sojourners head downriver on Day 5. Photo by the DRBC.
Sojourners enjoy paddling the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on Day 5. Photo by the DRBC.	Sojourners paddle Day 6 through the Delaware Water Gap. Photo by the DRBC.	Sojourners paddle the Lower Delaware River. Photo by the DRBC.	Sherry Acevedo, Northampton County Parks, introduces Lamont McClure, Northampton County Executive, at Driftstone Campground. Photo by the DRBC.
The Sojourn honored folks from Lower Mount Bethel Township. Photo by the DRBC.	Lower Mount Bethel Township Supervisor and longtime Sojourn Steering Committee member John Mauser (center, with paddle), received the High Admiral Award. Photo by the DRBC.	Sojourners were greeted in Phillipsburg, N.J. by Mayor Randy Piazza, Jr. and members of the city council. Photo by the DRBC.	Sojourners enjoy a paddle on the Lower Delaware River. Photo by the DRBC.
Friday's weather was perfect for our final day paddling the Delaware River. Photo by the DRBC.	Sojourners were greeted by music by Art Charlton (L) and Brian Kathenes upon arriving at our lunch stop on Day 7. Photo by the DRBC.	Nurture Nature Center's Rachel Hogan Carr (R) was the recipient of Day 7's High Admiral Award. Photo by the DRBC.	DRGP's Alison Sommers-Sayre (L) and NPS' Sarah Bursky talk Wild and Scenic Rivers for Day 7's lunch program. Photo by the DRBC.
Sojourners paddle the final leg of the 2025 Delaware River Sojourn. Photo by the DRBC.	The 2025 Delaware River Sojourn Safety Team. Photo by the DRBC.	The 2025 Delaware River Sojourn Land Support Team. Photo by the DRBC.	Through-Trippers on the 2025 Delaware River Sojourn. Photo by the DRBC.