TheLehigh River (/ˈliːhaɪ/) is a 109-mile-long (175 km)^[1]tributary of theDelaware River in easternPennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pattern from thePocono Mountains inNortheastern Pennsylvania throughAllentown and much of theLehigh Valley before joining the Delaware River inEaston.

Lehigh River
The Lehigh River nearJim Thorpe, Pennsylvania in June 2002
The Lehigh River watershed highlighted in yellow
Location
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
Counties	On the river:Wayne,Lackawanna,Monroe,Luzerne,Carbon,Lehigh,Northampton, Watershed:Wayne,Lackawanna,Monroe,Luzerne,Carbon,Lehigh,Northampton,Schuylkill,Berks,Bucks
Cities	Lehighton,Allentown,Bethlehem,Easton
Physical characteristics
Source	Pocono Peak Lake
• location	Lehigh Township,Wayne County,Pennsylvania, U.S.
• coordinates	41°16′42″N75°24′22″W / 41.27833°N 75.40611°W /41.27833; -75.40611
• elevation	2,056 ft (627 m)
Mouth	Delaware River
• location	Easton,Northampton County,Pennsylvania, U.S.
• coordinates	40°41′20″N75°12′17″W / 40.68889°N 75.20472°W /40.68889; -75.20472
• elevation	160 ft (49 m)
Length	109 mi (175 km)
Basin size	1,345 sq mi (3,480 km2)
Discharge
• location	Glendon
• average	3,740 cu ft/s (106 m3/s)
• minimum	1,160 cu ft/s (33 m3/s)
• maximum	11,700 cu ft/s (330 m3/s)
Discharge
• location	Stoddartsville
• average	280 cu ft/s (7.9 m3/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• left	Tobyhanna Creek,Drakes Creek,Bear Creek (Lehigh River),Pohopoco Creek,Aquashicola Creek,Hokendauqua Creek,Monocacy Creek, andCatasauqua Creek
• right	Black Creek,Nesquehoning Creek,Mauch Chunk Creek,Mahoning Creek,Lizard Creek,Little Lehigh Creek, andSaucon Creek

Part of the Lehigh River and a number of its tributaries are designatedPennsylvania Scenic Rivers by the state'sDepartment of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The river's name is ananglicisation of theLenape name for the river,Lechewuekink, which means "where there are forks". BothLehigh County and Lehigh Valley are named for the river.

Between 1821 and 1966, the Lehigh River was owned by theLehigh Coal and Navigation Company, making it the only privately owned river in the United States. This private ownership continued until a local representative, Samuel Frank, promoted a bill to return control of the river to the state in 1967.

According to an environmental report from a Pennsylvania nonprofit research center, the Lehigh River watershed is ranked second nationally in the volume of toxic substances released into it in 2020. The study mirrored a previous report by the state'sDepartment of Environmental Protection that found most of the county's waterways unsafe for swimming or aquatic life.^[2]

The Lehigh River flows in a highly winding course through valleys between ridges of Pennsylvania'sAppalachian Mountains. Its upper course is characterized by numerouswhitewater rapids and supports recreational pursuits, includingrafting,kayaking, andcanoeing. Its lower course forms the heart of theLehigh Valley, a historically importantanthracite coal andsteel-producing region of Pennsylvania.

The river rises inthe Poconos region of northeastern Pennsylvania in several ponds inLehigh Township inWayne County, approximately 15 miles (24 km) southeast ofScranton. ThePA Gazetteer of Streams shows that the Lehigh River begins as the outflow ofPocono Peak Lake. Flowing south from the south end of the lake (a natural but dammed body of water), the river turns west after a mile and receives water from many lakes and ponds as it flows pastGouldsboro.

It flows initially southwest through southernLackawanna County and then throughFrancis E. Walter Dam. NearWhite Haven, it turns south, following a zigzag whitewater course throughLehigh Gorge State Park toJim Thorpe, then southeast, pastLehighton. Southeast of Lehighton, it passes throughBlue Mountain in the narrow opening atLehigh Gap. A six-mile stretch of the river betweenFreemansburg andEaston is known as the "dry-lands" because all of the water from rain drainage flows underground.

From the Lehigh Gap, the river flows southeast toAllentown, where it is joined byLittle Lehigh Creek, then northeast pastBethlehem, where it joins theDelaware River inEaston at Pennsylvania's border with northwesternNew Jersey.

The Lehigh River holds many species of fish, includingtrout,smallmouth bass,largemouth bass,pickerel,panfish,carp,catfish,eel, andmuskie.Rainbow trout,brown trout, andbrook trout in the 11"-14" range are average, while some have been caught in the 20" range. Smallmouth bass are large in numbers but are of smaller size with most between 8"-14" with an occasional fish from the 18"-21" range. There is an increasing number ofmuskie being reported within the 30"-52" range. There are both pure and tiger muskie, the usually sterile, hybrid offspring of the true muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and thenorthern pike (Esox lucius) being caught in the river.

Over the years since 2005 various groups such as the Lehigh Coldwater Fishery Alliance and thePennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have worked with theArmy Corps of Engineers to design annual flow plans^[3] from theFrances Walter Dam (F.E.W.) to maximize the cold water discharge through the spring and summer. This has helped enhance the population of coldwater species like brown trout to gain a growing naturally reproducing population within the river below F.E.W. dam all the way toNorthampton.^[4]

The Lehigh River is awhitewater river with Class I, II, and III rapids. The most popular section of the Lehigh River forwhitewater rafting,kayaking, andcanoeing is through theLehigh Gorge State Park.^[5] TheLehigh Gorge State Park begins at theFrancis E. Walter Dam and ends inJim Thorpe. Several white water outfitters operate guided white water rafting trips in various sections of the river. The first rafting outfitter on the Lehigh River was Whitewater Challengers, which was founded in 1975^{[failed verification]}. Water releases from the Francis E. Walter Dam provide enough water to make the river deep enough for boating. Three popular boating trips on the Lehigh River are:^[5]

• White Haven to Rockport – 8.7 miles
• Rockport to Glen Onoko – 12.2 miles
• White Haven to Glen Onoko – 20.9 miles

• Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor
• Lehigh Canal
• List of Pennsylvania rivers

• "Facts about the Lehigh River" atLehigh University