Trip Planning - Tidal Delaware River Mouth of the Darby Creek Tour
The Darby Creek is a tributary to the Delaware River. It flows through Montgomery, Delaware and Philadelphia counties before entering the Delaware at Tinicum.
This area of the Delaware River is heavily trafficked with large ships making their way to Philadelphia’s ports, and is wider (and often windier) than upstream sections of the river. But within this bustling water-highway lies more serene areas for kayakers and boaters to enjoy the natural and historic beauty of the Delaware River. The area between Little Tinicum Island and the Pennsylvania main land is a no-wake zone, offering a calmer place to kayak.
- This area was originally habited by the Lenni Lenape and was later settled by the Swedes.
- The Philadelphia Lazaretto quarantine station was built in reaction to devastation from a yellow fever epidemic in the 1790s and processed ships, cargo and passengers sailing for the port of Philadelphia for nearly a century.
- Governor Printz Park is named after Swedish leader Johan Printz, who made Tinicum the Capital of the New Sweden Colony. Governor Printz ruled for ten years and then returned to Sweden.
- Little Tinicum island is one of the few islands in this part of the Delaware River that are public land – owned by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry. It encompasses about 200 acres.