Kittatinny History

Kittatinny is family owned and operated by Ruth Jones and her son, Dave. It all started back in 1941 when Ruth's parents, Ernie and Edna Olschewsky, purchased riverfront beach property which included six canoes and a few rowboats. They rented the boats to fishermen plying the big pool that formed at the foot of Mount Tammany. Edna decided to call this beautiful piece of land, Kittatinny Beach, which was an old Indian name meaning endless mountains. As you paddle down this scenic river, there are always endless breathtaking mountains ahead of you.

One day a customer asked Ernie if he would drive him upstream with a canoe in the back of his pickup truck so he could paddle back downstream with the current. On that day the river trip business was born.

Kittatinny started years ago, at a place now known as Kittatinny Point Visitor's Center, with only a few boats. Kittatinny has grown into one of the largest fleets of canoes, rafts, kayaks, and tubes in the world. The river trips today extend over 120 miles of Delaware River, running through New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Two riverfront campgrounds and a paintball facility are also part of the family business.

The Jones’ passion, however, remains the river, so much that Kittatinny Canoes spends over $30,000 a year to sponsor a river cleanup every July. Ruth states that the river has been her playmate since her earliest memory and still is today. She strongly believes you can't keep taking away from a resource without giving something back. The river has provided a wonderful life for her parents, herself and her family. The Jones family continues to preserve its beauty by keeping it clean and pure for future paddlers. Don't be surprised if on a hot summer day, you see Ruth paddling down the river, keeping a watchful eye on the Delaware, the wildlife that inhabit it, and the beautiful flowers that grow on its banks.