Scouting opportunities at the Park

Rich Buser

The Delaware Canal State Park borders parts of the Park property.

Patches/Projects

Scouts of all ages may book a standard guided tour as a great scout outing or as part of their Washington Crossing Historic Park patch. For more information on the historic trails patch, scouts should contact Barbara Lynch with the Bucks County Council Boy Scout Council at 215-348-7205. The patch includes an entire Park tour, the use of the Delaware Canal Park Towpath and Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve. Use of the Towpath and the Wildflower Preserve are not managed by the Park and therefore must be arranged separately. If hiking the trail, scouts should allow the entire day to tour/visit each location and allow time for the several mile hike. Patch tours should begin in the morning at the Visitor Center/Lower Park and end at Bowman's Hill Tower and the Wildflower Preserve in the late afternoon, with the Thompson Neely House and Gristmill and the hike filling the middle of the day. NOTE: Bowman's Hill Tower is only open seasonally.

Tours must be booked in advance through the site educator at 215-493-4076 or e-mail Tammy M. Campbell, Business Manager, Friends of Washington Crossing Park, at info@washingtoncrossingpark.org.

At this time, the Park does not have enough personnel to oversee Eagle Scout projects on state property.

Touring

Scout troops of all ages are welcome to book a group tour at Washington Crossing Historic Park. Guided tours of the Lower Park include: a River-side talk where Washington crossed the Delaware on December 25, 1776; the Durham boat barn which houses replicas of the boats used that fateful night; and the McKonkey Ferry Inn, which was used by Washington prior to the Crossing and as a place for Hessian prisoners after the Battle of Trenton. Beyond the history of the Crossing, the Lower Park tour includes a visit to buildings associated with the historic Village of Taylorsville, which tells the story of the region and the prosperity it exemplified after the Revolutionary War.

At the Upper Park, scouts can tour the Thompson Neely House, a miller's home used as a hospital for soldiers during the winter of 1776-77 encampment of the army. The Thompson-Neely gristmill can also be toured. (The mill is not operational at this time but still offers an informative and interesting touring experience.) Seasonally, scouts can visit Bowman's Hill Tower, allowing them a scenic view of the Bucks County area.

A complete tour of the Lower Park, not including the Visitor Center, is approximately one hour. Additional time will be needed to tour the Thompson Neely House and Gristmill as well as to visit Bowman's Tower. A group can choose either one tour of the Lower Park, Thompson-Neely House or a Tower visit for their experience at the Park, or may choose to visit all three for the same cost and to complete their patch.

Fees and Sizes for touring: Scouts ages 6-17 are $4.00 each. Adults are $7.00 each unless the group is larger than 15 people which qualify the adults for the group rate of $6.00 each. Children under the age of 3 are free. Special event day fees may vary. Pre-payment is preferable, but we can accept payment that day. Payment can be made by cash, check or money order. Checks and/or money orders should be made payable to "Washington Crossing Historic Park" and should be filled out for the exact amount/total payment as change for checks or money orders cannot be issued at the site. Most troop sizes can be accommodated, though a limited number of people can fit into some of the historic buildings at the same time. Large groups may need to be divided into smaller groups and tour different areas of the Park simultaneously in order to accommodate everyone on the same day.

Accommodations and Transportation

There are plenty of spacious areas of land for scouts to run and play or picnic on the lawn. To rent one of the Park's picnic pavilions, a separate fee is charged. (See rental section of the website.) The Lower Park with the Visitor Center and the Upper Park with the Thompson Neely House and Bowman's Hill Tower are not within walking distance of each other, except by the Delaware Canal Park Towpath for several miles. Bowman's Hill Tower and the Thompson Neely House, both located in the Upper Park, are also not within walking distance of each other, except via trails through the Wildflower Preserve.

Troops who are completing the patch but not camping on site often arrange within their group for transportation at the end of the hike to bring the troop back to the Visitor Center/ the starting point rather than reversing the hike and walking the Towpath twice.

Camping/Pavilion Rentals

RESERVATIONS ARE BEING TAKEN. Contact Tammy M. Campbell, Business Manager, Friends of Washington Crossing Park, at info@washingtoncrossingpark.org.

Nearby camping/recreational facilities

Washington Crossing State Park
355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville, NJ 08560-1517
609-737-0623
website

Camp Ockanickon
5787 State Park Road, Pipersville, PA 18947
215-297-5290
website
This site is run by the Bucks County Boy Scout Council and is near Quakertown — closed to weekend campers mid-June through mid-August

Tinicum Park
River Road (Rt. 32), Erwinna, PA
215-757-0571
website

Tohickon Valley Park
"Deerwood"
Cafferty Road, Point Pleasant, PA
215-297-0754
website