White Haven

Decommissioned Caboose

From Rockport, I got back on Lehigh Gorge Drive and on my way back to Hickory Run. Lehigh Gorge Drive ends at the junction of 940 on which you can make a right and follow through White Haven. Since I knew of another stop along the way I decided to once again, put off the venture to the run until later in the day.
     When driving through White Haven many people pass an access point to the Lehigh Gorge without even realizing it. The yellow caboose above is the marker I use to find this access point off of route 940. This Caboose borders a parking area for a small shopping center that you must drive through in order to get to the park. Being tucked away you might think that it is not frequented by many people, but you would be surprised if you were to go there on a release weekend (weekends where water is scheduled for release from Francis Walter Dam). The release weekend attracts thrill seekers and those who want to run the river in high water. In years of drought or low water the releases offer the only time for rafters to run the upper portions of the gorge.
     Before entering into the park you will see the little green shed below owned by Pocono Whitewater. There you can rent bikes or sign up for a rafting adventure. When I stopped by the woman behind the counter was busy with customers so I decided to just grab some brochures and the information is listed below for web-site and contact information. In addition to bike riding and rafting, Pocono Whitewater also offer skirmish (paintball), which is not seasonal and open year round. For that you would have to go further down the Lehigh to another one of their locations.
     In the parking lot of the Park there were a lot of cars, but not much was going on. Some of the kayakers that were down in Rockport taking out were now in White Haven rearranging boats to the proper vehicles to go home. In my opinion White Haven is the best place to put in a kayak on the upper Lehigh as long as you have the proper experience to do so. The trip down to Rockport is a nice mixture of whitewater rapids and slow deep pools. Signs here explain that there are some rules before entering the water in your kayak. All kayakers must have additional float bags in both ends of their boats. These prevent your kayak from completely filling with water if submerged, making it easier to retrieve if you end up out of your boat.
     Since nothing was really happening in this part of the park I once again decided to get back on track and once again got on the road to Hickory Run.

 

Pocono Whitewater.

Pocono Whitewater

Web-site: www.PoconoWhitewater.com

Phone: 1-800-944-8392