Five Cool Things to Do With Water in the Lehigh Valley

By Carrie Havranek; Photo by Laini Abraham

Summer arrives officially next week, and with it, all sorts of excuses to cool off.  Here are Five Cool Things you can do in, on, around and with water.

Canoeing, kayaking, rafting and more in the Delaware. There is quite a handful of operators who will let you rent canoes, kayaks, rafts and the like on the Delaware. Typically, you drive your car to the company’s location, and they’ll take you (and the canoes) by bus or van upriver about 10 miles or so, and you unload and paddle down from there. There’s one right in Phillipsburg, Lazy River, but you can literally do this up and down the Delaware, as far south as Frenchtown and as far north as the Delaware Water Gap.

Community Pools. These are fabulous resources. Bethlehem’s six pools are open, and opened June 11, Easton’s two pools are open, too, and Allentown has six opportunities to cool off, including two spray parks (Buck Boyle, 5th and Allen) are open. Jordan Pool and Mack Pool open June 18.

Derriere in the Delaware, Easton. This event, which has been going on for at least a dozen years, is a fundraiser for the Easton Police Athletic League. Buy an all-day pass for $5, and get ready to float downstream. If you don’t have an inner tube, you can buy one for $10 onsite. A school bus shuttle runs from Eddyside Pool down to Scott Park and drops you off and takes you back as many times as you want. Sunday, July 17, 9:30am-3pm; Eddyside to Scott Park.

Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, Allentown. This one is pretty obvious, but it bears repeating because we do have readers who have recently moved to the area. Admission gains you access to more than three dozen slides, rivers, pools and water play areas–plenty to keep you and the kids entertained on a hot day. Standard daily park admission is $34.99, but there are all kinds of other types of admissions, coupons, and ways to get through the gates for more (with meals, for more than one day, etc.) or less (after certain hours).

Fly Fishing in the Little Lehigh, Allentown. Fly fishing enthusiasts know that this little creek is well stocked and lovely. Drive out to Fish Hatchery Road, off Cedar Crest Boulevard,  and drop your line into the creek. The upstream side of the Fish Hatchery Road bridge is the start of the Heritage Trout Fishing Area and the creek itself connects into the Allentown Parks system.

These are our five suggestions. Please let us know what you like to do!

Carrie Havranek is a writer in Easton who enjoys living near water.