This leg of the trip I'm coming up from DC. I missed the connection to the Chicago-NYC route from AC until you mentioned it, so that now looks like a great option from Conshohocken.
Thanks!!!
Check on the status of PA 611 north of Portland, PA. It is still closed between Portland and Delaware Water Gap after a rockslide last December. Work to repair things has not started.
https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/business-calls-it-quits-after-road-closure-delaware-water-gap-route-611-national-park-service/523-a5912638-9663-4ac4-807d-15d9b2cbda92You might be able to get through on a bike, legally or not. If you cannot, you will have to detour up into the hills.
Also, I have toured south from PJ may times and have taken to using U.S. 46 between Portland and Belividere. It is not as scenic, but the roads on the PA side have some bad site lines and little or no shoulder. Plus, there is a short but very nasty little hill shortly after you cross into PA.
Heading north, you would stay on Market St. in Belvidere and bear right onto Manuka Chunk Rd. At the traffic light, make a left onto U.S. 46, which has a good shoulder. When you approach the overhead highway bridge, bear left onto Washington. You will be going the wrong way on a one-way street, but the street is very wide, and I have never seen a car on that street. After a couple of blocks, at the intersection of Washington & Green, make a left onto the ped/bike bridge across the river to Portland. Make sure to stop and look upriver. You will see the bridge that is the west end of the Paulinskill Viaduct. When it was completed by the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad in 1910, the Paulinskill Viaduct was the largest reinforced concrete structure in the world.
Another fun fact: Portland is home to the guy who wrote "All I want for Christmas in My Two Front Teeth."
Try to get a campsite site at Worthington State Forest after you cross back into NJ
via the walkway along the I-80 bridge. Sites 11 and 12 are the best. No RVs allowed at that end of the campground, and those sites have direct river access. I would suggest trying to make a reservation if you are going to end up there during the week as the place is very popular. (Unfortunately, NJ state parks require a two-night minimum to reserve for Friday and Saturday.) Even if the place is full, ask about unadvertised space for people arriving by bike, boat or foot. Try to talk to a real ranger and not just some "intern" who might be working the booth. Secure your attractants in either a food storage locker or restroom. There are most definitely bears in the area. Saw a young cub in camp back in 2018. Back in July, I was driving the route north of there on my way to NY when I encountered twin cubs playing in the road.
Further south, Dogwood Haven in Upper Black Eddy, PA, across from Milford, NJ (decent grocery store and several places to eat out), gives cyclists a discount. IIRC, it's still only $10/night. (Have some cash.) The owner is a very nice guy. Don't expect a fancy KOA, but it's a quiet, shaded place with mostly mature, seasonal campers who are very pleasant. Cross the bridge from Milford into PA, make a left on PA 23. Second right onto Canal Lane then make the easy walk down to the canal path before you cross the bridge. The first road crossing you come to is Lodi Hill Rd. Make a right there, cross the canal and the campground entrance will be right on your right.
