Warford Creek, NJ

Gauge Information

River Description

This recently "discovered" creek dumps into the Delaware about 5 miles south of Frenchtown, NJ. In character, it represents something of a cross between the pronounced ledgy drops of its more well-known cousin, the Lockatong, and the wild slides of Geddes Run and Smithtown Creek across the Delaware River in PA. It starts out mild, features a runnable 12-15 foot vertical waterfall, and then slide after slide right down to the Delaware. It probably is a tad more difficult than the Lockatong, but is less difficult than either Smithtown or Geddes. Because of its narrow, constricted nature, wood will always be a concern, particularly in the narrow, winding stretch above the waterfall.

The take-out is a dirt pull-off located on the northbound side of Rt. 29 about 0.8 miles north of Warsaw Road and 0.5 miles south of Kingwood Station-Barbertown Road. Get everything ready here and try to take only one vehicle up to the put-in. To get to the put-in, go north on Rt. 29, then right on Kingwood Station-Barbertown Road. There are two put-in alternatives. The first is to go to the bridge where Kingwood Station road crosses over Warford Creek (~ 1.7 miles from Rt. 29) and put-in at the bridge. This will involve a lot of bushwacking through brambles to get to some open water. The second option is to park on the side of Kingwood Station road about 1/4 mile before you get to the bridge over Warford Creek, hike down a dirt lane a hundred yards, then before you get to the creek, cut to the right down a trail through the woods for another couple of hundred yards, then look for a clear path to the creek. This will bypass a lot of the brambles and wood in the creek. However, be discrete since it is currently unknown if the landowner will have issues.

The run starts out narrow and twisty with Class II/easy Class III ledges and gravel bars. Wood is a big issues in this upper stretch with lots of limboing, log boofing, and branch dodging. As of April 2007, there were two mandatory strainer portages in the upper section. After about 1/2 mile, the gradient starts to noticeable pick up and you should keep your eye out for a big eddy on the left followed by a clear horizon line. Scout this as yet un-named 12-15 footer to decide if there is enough flow to run it. The line is to the right since there is nasty ledge blocking the left side. After the waterfall is the steepest section of the creek, which features mostly long slides with a few ledges thrown in. The biggest slide is a couple of hundred yards from the take-out and drops about 30 feet over 150 feet. Lots of fun. You still have to keep your eye out for wood in the lower stretch, but it wasn't as bad as the section above the waterfall.