"Once the boat rides ended, the local residents decided to fund the pump's operation to keep water in New Hope." That line comes from the Friends of the Delaware Canal's Summer 2026 newsletter, published August 17. It explains something most people on the towpath have never had to think about. The water you see between Centre Bridge and Lock 11 on a quiet October morning isn't just runoff from the north. River water is drawn in by a pump at Centre Bridge. That pump was first installed so the mule-drawn canal boats could run. After the rides ended, residents kept paying for it.
This fall, knowing that changes how the towpath looks. The canal in town is paid for by the community, and this spring showed how quickly it dries out when the pump stops.
A pump at Centre Bridge, and the monthly bill behind it
The Friends put the running cost at about $2,000 a month. The fund they manage for it is called New Hope for the Canal. Neighbors raise the money and the Friends collect it and pay the bills. Last year, when the pump needed repairs, the Friends paid for a temporary pump and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources paid for the repair. State Representative Tim Brennan also helped secure a grant to cover the annual electric bill.
That arrangement was tested again this year. According to the Friends, repairing the original pump will now cost upwards of $25,000. That is about what a full year of running the pump costs, all due at once. The newsletter says this failure is an unexpected cost that will need to be covered by donations and possibly government help.
What April showed
On April 23, 2026, the Friends found that debris had knocked over the Centre Bridge pump. The Delaware River was too high to reach it safely. With no water flowing in, the newsletter says, the canal bed in New Hope quickly turned "cracked and dry."
Once the river dropped, crews found that the pump needed repair. The Friends worked with the state and the pump's maintenance team to install a temporary pump at Centre Bridge, and water was flowing into New Hope again in early June. The Friends paid for the rental, placement and operation of that temporary pump themselves.
The water many residents walked beside this summer came back after about six weeks of dry canal bed, and it came back because of a rental pump the Friends paid for.
The two official accounts haven't caught up with each other
The official record is inconsistent, so it helps to know which source is which. The Delaware Canal State Park alerts page still shows an advisory for the Center Bridge to New Hope section. It says a maintenance issue is keeping the pump from running and gives no estimated timeline for restoring it. The Friends' June update and August newsletter both report a temporary pump in service and water in New Hope.
The Friends' posts are dated and specific. The state alert carries no date. For the latest word on water in town, check with the Friends first.
The one gap between Bristol and Easton is in town
Elsewhere along the canal, the news this summer was good. The Friends report that the Lumberville Aqueduct and the High Falls Creek sub-canal crossing, both damaged by Tropical Storm Ida in 2021, have been rebuilt and the towpath over them has reopened. In their words, the path is now clear "from Bristol to Easton, with one break in the towpath in New Hope."
That break is at milepost 23.7, at the Union Mills Bridge, which crosses the canal from River Road to the Water Works condominiums. The state says both the bridge and the towpath beneath it are fully closed because the bridge is in disrepair and loose debris could fall. Walkers are told to turn around at the closure and not try to get past it.
The Delaware & Lehigh Trail posts a street detour for heading south out of downtown:
- Continue past the historic Locktender's House, get off your bike, and take the stairs down toward Main Street, which is Route 32.
- Cross Main Street at the Waterloo Street crosswalk.
- Walk south on the sidewalk, away from downtown, for about 300 feet.
- Turn left into the alley and keep heading south.
- At the River House at Odette's, the trail splits into the Historic Towpath Trail and the Towpath Trail Bypass. Both rejoin south of the River House, and the Bypass leads to the Delaware River lookout.
Heading north, reverse the route. From the River House, follow either branch to Main Street, walk the sidewalk to the Waterloo Street crosswalk, and turn left back to the wooden staircase that brings you up to the Locktender's House. South of the detour, this section of trail runs about 2.1 miles to Washington Crossing Historic Park's upper park. Bowman's Hill Tower and the Thompson-Neely Homestead are there.
Crossing to Lambertville on foot
The Friends' shortest river loop, Center Bridge to Stockton, is 7.1 miles through New Hope and Lambertville. The crossing for walkers and cyclists is the free New Hope-Lambertville Bridge. Its eight-foot walkway on the downstream side connects the two downtowns directly.
The Route 202 toll bridge is a highway crossing between Solebury Township and Delaware Township that skips both downtowns. It sits roughly a mile north of the downtown commercial centers. Anyone driving to a trailhead should know that since September 11, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has set width limits there. Vehicles are limited to 10 feet wide heading into Pennsylvania and 11 feet heading into New Jersey. The limits are expected to stay through 2026 and into the first quarter of 2027 while the Pennsylvania abutment is rebuilt.
Loops for October
With the northern repairs finished, the Friends say more loop trails are now open, and New Hope sits in the middle of several of them. They list these three:
- Center Bridge and Stockton, 7.1 miles. This loop runs through New Hope and Lambertville and is the one that uses the free bridge's walkway.
- Lumberville and Bulls Island, 7.3 miles. Through Center Bridge and Stockton, starting just upriver of town.
- Uhlerstown and Frenchtown, 18.9 miles round trip. Down to Center Bridge and across to Stockton for the return, a full autumn day.
For the Centre Bridge end, the Friends name the Virginia Forrest Recreation Area on Route 32 in Solebury Township, which has parking and restrooms. On the New Jersey side, the Friends list Lambertville Station, the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead, Bull's Island Recreation Area and Prallsville Mills in Stockton as canal-side stops.
Timing matters on a few of these. In Stockton, a rehabilitation of the Prallsville culvert and spillway began after Labor Day and is expected to take several months. The D&R Canal State Park says the trail next to the work may close at times, with a detour through the staging area. On Saturday, October 24, at 10 a.m., D&R Canal Watch holds a geology hike from Prallsville Mills at 33 Risler Street, covering the Newark Basin rock along the canal. Back in New Hope, the Locktender's House at 145 South Main Street, which is the Friends' headquarters and interpretive center next to restored Lock 11, keeps weekend hours through October 31. On weekdays it is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. all year.
For color, DCNR's general guidance for southeastern Pennsylvania puts the strongest foliage around October 20 to 31. The agency notes that weather, drought, frost and wind can shift that window.
What comes after this fall
The canal between Centre Bridge and Lock 11 is also where the next project starts. The Friends, the nonprofit DC21 and DCNR have hired AKRF/Stroud Water Resource Center to survey the fish, amphibians, insects and plants in the canal. Fieldwork runs through fall 2026, with a full report expected by winter 2027. If you see people in hip waders taking samples this fall, that's the study. Friends board president Brett Webber calls it the pilot for a larger vegetation-removal project that will begin on the Centre Bridge to Lock 11 section.
That stretch, the one most residents walk, needs its pump running for any of that work to matter. For anyone who walks or rides it, the most direct way to keep water in it is the New Hope for the Canal fund. The Friends list it in their Summer 2026 newsletter, and the pump costs about $2,000 a month to run.
We live and work in this part of the river valley, and we pay attention to the things that shape daily life here, such as the water in the canal. If you'd like to talk about your home in New Hope or the townships around it, Lisa Povlow and our team are glad to help. Schedule a private consultation.
