bald eagle

Scavenger Your Way Down The Delaware River

What if…you turned your river adventure into a scavenger hunt?

Spice up your next trip down the river with Lander’s. 

If you’re going to take a trip this summer with your family, friends, co-workers, or even your dog, and want a little extra zest to your trip we can help. Now, I’m not saying it’s not great to be outside (let’s face it, fresh air is the best cure for just about anything). I’m just saying that we can help you find ways to spice up your next visit to Lander’s.

There’s nothing better than a little healthy competition between family and friends.

Competition breeds creativity, among other things, and helps to boost performance. It allows us to assess the area around us and helps us learn more about ourselves and the people we love. So, why not add a little healthy competition to your next camping or river trip adventure?

Much like our last post, on packing essentials for your camping pleasure and the importance of lists, scavenger hunts are easy to create and can make your trip easy and a lot of fun. Below is a list of things you should be adding to your Delaware River/Lander’s camping trip scavenger hunt this summer, to make the most out of the time that you have with us.

What to add on a scavenger hunt:

We recommend separating the hunt list into several sections to make it easier to find things, and to create even groups (or single person) adventures. The following list is separated into plants and animals – the two easiest categories to make! 

If traveling with kids, one idea is to pick up a couple of cheap notebooks for them to tape leaves and wildflowers to the pages of or make notes in. 

Plants:

  • White Oak Trees – these trees have bark that tends to look kind of scaling, like snake.
  • Red Maple Trees – these trees grow along the water and have been claimed the most abundant tree in North America; their red leaves are extremely distinctive and beautiful.
  • Blue Vervain – these beautiful wildflowers grow with vibrant green leaves and tiny indigo flowers. They are super easy to spot and are safe for your kids to pluck a few to add to their nature logs.
  • Ferns – ferns are bushy, green, and extremely common to the area. 
  • Ragged Robin – these  purple flowers are natives to Europe and were transplanted during the expansion and development of the Upper Delaware River Basin. 

Animals:

  • Bald Eagles – our national bird, the Bald Eagle is extremely distinctive with its white head and huge wingspan. 
  • Eastern Eyed Click Beetles – the back of these beetles have huge black spots that act as camouflage: this is a protection device to make predators leave the beetle alone in its natural habitat.
  • Salamanders –  you can find salamanders in any wet spot in the area. 
  • White Tailed Deer – these deer are native to our corner of the world and as far toward the Middle East as Peru! 
  • Canadian Geese – these special birds, from our neighbors in the East, have black heads and white cheeks…I wonder what they look like when they blush!
  • Beavers – while looking for these furry fun loving mammals, keep an eye out for their dams as well. 

You can always customize your scavenger hunt list or find more ideas online – but this will get you started.

Take your time, enjoy the hunt, and may the best person win.

We’ll see you on the river – good luck with your hunting!

River tip: If you have kids, and are planning on doing a scavenger hunt, you can bring stickers or some kind of treat to reward them for finding items on the list!

This month’s river deal: It’s Christmas in July! Bring an un-wrapped gift in for a child (to be donated in December) and receive a $5 discount off of canoeing, kayaking, or rating per gift donation. Applies to full priced trips only. No other discounts apply.