The Delaware cuts between Mount Tammany and Mount Minsi, and the walk up Tammany from the New Jersey bank follows Dunnfield Creek as it falls through hemlock and rhododendron before the ridge opens. From the top you look down on the river in the gap. After the ridge, Old Mine Road keeps you in the gorge without climbing again, water on one side and the forest wall on the other.
The Appalachian Trail runs through the same forest, and Sunfish Pond is the glacial lake on a loop through those woods.
Dingmans Falls is the walk on the Pennsylvania side of the Gap, and the rest of Pennsylvania starts at Philadelphia.
The van stays at Worthington State Forest, tent and trailer sites along two miles of river with no hookups. Reserve the pad on camping.nj.gov before you book the van, as of September 2026. The campground runs April through October, and summer brings the shad run and swim-beach crowds. Pets are not permitted in the loop, and the Park Service river sites in the Gap are paddle-in only.
If you need more sleeping space than a van, look at RVs for rent in New Jersey.
Liberty Harbor RV Park
Liberty Harbor RV Park in Jersey City is a private campground with full hookups and a walk to the ferry slip and the PATH. The Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty are across the harbor, and the pad is open all year as of September 2026.
Liberty State Park next door is day use, and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferries leave from there. The Ironbound is the Newark evening if you want dinner in the city before you plug in at the harbor.
Cheesequake State Park is the close public night, a state park campground on the Bayshore side. The campground entrance has an 11-foot height cap as of September 2026, and the loop runs April through October.
The Hudson Palisades are the cliff line on the river, with Harriman and the Bear Mountain overlook behind them, and that overnight belongs to campervan trips in New York. Sandy Hook and the Shore belong to Lakewood.
Swartswood State Park and Wawayanda Mountain
Swartswood Lake holds clear water under the Kittatinny ridge, and gas motors stay off it. You swim and paddle with the ridge in view, then sleep in the state park campground, wooded or grassy sites with no hookups. Family sites run April through October as of September 2026.
From Swartswood you spend the day on Wawayanda Mountain, where the Appalachian Trail hits the overlook. Camping at Wawayanda State Park is group sites only as of September 2026, so the van stays at Swartswood. High Point, Stokes, and Cape May belong with campervan trips in New Jersey.