Other activities include hiking, rock climbing, swimming, fishing, hunting, camping, cycling, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding.

Worthington State Forest and a section of the long-distance Appalachian Trail are located within the area, alongside numerous waterfalls and historic sites.

The national recreation area was established in 1965 ahead of a dam project which would have flooded a large region north of the Water Gap.

Outdoor recreational activities include canoeing, hiking, camping, swimming, cycling, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and picnicking.

The area's first European settlers arrived in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and were Dutch and French Huguenot families from colonial New York's Hudson River Valley.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed the construction of the dam, which would have created a 37-mile (60-km) long lake between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with depths of up to 140 feet.

In addition to flood control and recreation, the dam would be used to generate hydroelectric power and provide a clean water supply to New York City and Philadelphia.

In support of the Tocks Island Dam project, Congress authorized the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in 1965.

The area was intended to encompass a narrow strip of shoreline surrounding the reservoir,[6] in part to make the project more cost-effective.

[7] The dam project was embroiled in controversy, engendering strong opposition from environmental groups and embittered, displaced residents.

Local Sierra Club chapters have supported this proposal, claiming it would help to improve the Recreation Area's infrastructure and capacity for tourists.