BUSHKILL, PA —  George W. Childs Park, a destination in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, re-opened to the public at noon on October 2, announced the National Park Service. 

The site has been closed since 2018, when back-to-back winter storms destroyed much of the site. 

“Though there have been a few changes to the site, like the improved and expanded accessible portion of the trail and the removal and restoration of a short section of trail that was too damaged to repair, returning visitors and first-time visitors alike will be greeted by a rustic trail system with perfectly situated bridges and viewing platforms that highlight three scenic waterfalls and the natural environment in which they are located, similar to what was originally envisioned by George W. Childs over a century ago,” said Doyle Sapp, Park Superintendent. 

On-site work was completed in several phases by contractors and the park’s professional trail crew with some early assistance with site clearing from the park’s volunteer trail stewards. 

Present at the ribbon cutting was Michael Gadomski, who served 25 years with the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks as a park ranger and naturalist until his retirement in 2002. He worked out of Promised Land State Park where his duties included the George W. Childs State Park, before it being turned over to the National Park Service in 1983.

“It was wonderful to attend the re-opening of Childs Park in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pennsylvania today,” he said. “What also added to the day was seeing an old National Park Service friend and talking with some of the newer rangers and trail crew.  It should come as no surprise to those who know, that some of America’s best people administer, manage, and interpret ‘America’s best idea’.”