This is Part 2 of a two-part travelogue series on Lambertville, N.J. and New Hope, Penn., where I visited last week on a trip to the east coast. The first installation ran Sunday.
Continuing completely across the Delaware River brings you over the state line and into New Hope. One of the best ways that I can describe New Hope is “Lambertville with a kick.” Where Lambertville is sleepy, New Hope is vibrant. Where Lambertville is muted (but by no means conservative), New Hope has an edge. New Hope is just plain cool.
The Bucks County Playhouse, housed in a grist mill built in 1790 along a creek that empties into the Delaware
Taking your first few steps in Pennsylvania, you’ll pass by an ice cream shop, candy store, and a gallery or two before coming to the main intersection at Bridge St., where there is a Starbucks located in an historic building (the only major chain establishment in either town, with the exception of the Dunkin Donuts that just went up in the building across the street – hey, competition is competition, and this is America 
).
New Hope is very similar to Lambertville in geography, though it’s a little bit larger owing to the flatter (but by no means flat) land on the Pennsylvania side of the river. The PA side also has its own canal, the simply named Delaware Canal, which originates along the river in Easton but has been at very low levels since the aforementioned floods of ’03, ’04, and ’05 washed away its banks in several places.
Ferry Street in New Hope
New Hope’s architecture is every bit as charming as Lambertville’s, and the attractions that line its main street make it a popular stop for motorcyclists riding up and down the Delaware Valley. Turning left off of Bridge Street into Main Street will take you past quaint shops selling everything from posters to used books and records to medieval-themed attire, to give you just a sampling of what you can find. The smell of incense wafts out from more than a couple shops as you walk down the street.
About 300 yards down the road you’ll cross an old stone bridge over a stream emptying into the Delaware, alongside of which you can find the Bucks County Playhouse. Housed in a large former grist mill built in 1790, the BCP is home to many local productions that you can take in during its spring, summer and fall seasons. On the other side of the street is Logan Inn, one of the oldest continuously operating inns in the country (running since 1722) with excellent food and an enormous veranda where you can have a fine dinner while doing some fantastic people-watching from your elevated perch.
The Delaware Canal in New Hope
Further down the street are more shops, tattoo parlors, and bars. Havana is one of my favorites, with great music on the weekends and its own enormous patio from which to people-watch and enjoy the amazing weather in the summer.
Heading back to Bridge Street and up the hill away from the river will take you past more shops, a not bad pizza parlor and little Italian restaurant called Villa Vito, and up to a railroad crossing. In case you don’t already know, I am a nut when it comes to trains. Since a young age, I’ve been fascinated by them, whether they were toy trains or the real thing. Insert a railroad into any geographic place and it instantly becomes more appealing to me. That New Hope has its very own only makes me love the place that much more.
New Hope train station
Once a real working railroad, the New Hope & Ivyland Railroad now operates as a tourist line. Trains depart on a regular schedule from the station in town, south through the hillsides, across trestles, and over streambeds for several miles before turning around and heading back. The trip is often full of kids with an utter inability to keep their voices low, but I love it anyways. When I’m not riding the train, I’m wandering into their rail yard after (or perhaps during) a run, where old rolling stock (engines, passenger cars, cabooses) from the past 100 years hang out. It is such a cool place.
Bordering the rail yard is the New Hope branch of Triumph Brewery, where I in fact hung out on Thursday evening, playing darts and hanging out with some great friends while listening to a surprisingly good blues band that ironically didn’t play enough blues. Triumph has a location in Princeton as well and I’ve grown to love it over the years. Being a microbrewery, its biggest draw is of course beer. But the food is also pretty good, and it’s a great hangout.
New Hope & Ivyland Railroad
In many other ways the character and feel of New Hope is very similar to Lambertville. I love driving up the Jersey side of the river, and the Pennsylvania side is no slouch, either. There is a similar sense of wildness, with an occasional horse farm intervening into the scenery. About 10 minutes north of New Hope on Route 32 is one of my favorite driving spots along the river, where the road gets extremely narrow and literally stops at a stop sign in someone’s yard, between their stone house and stone barn. You can only imagine that this was perhaps a tavern centuries ago where river travelers overnighted on the journey between Easton and Trenton.
Bridge over the canal
One of the reasons I love the Northeast is that it is filled with places like this, where a sense of history rules and nary a strip mall, fast food or chain restaurant will ever see the light of day. In the seven years since I first discovered this place, I’ve been mesmerized by its charm, its history, and what I can describe as nothing less than a magical feeling when you spend time here. Walking down the old streets, the realization envelops you that you’re in a special place. So if you’re ever in the Princeton area and have a half day to spare (or more), do not leave without heading up Route 29 to Lambertville and New Hope. You won’t regret it.
Photos by Florian Dreyer, Tony the Misfit, Joe Shlabotnik, slgckgc, and sneakerdog.
