Registration is Now Open!
Registration is open for both the full trip and individual days. Register for 1 day, multiple days or all 5 days! Spaces fill up fast so make your registration today.
Register Now!Sojourn Registration Includes:
The 23rd Annual Schuylkill River Sojourn will be a 5-day paddle. The paddling event will begin in Jim Dietrich Park on July 31, 2021 and end in Philadelphia on Aug. 4, 2021. People can register for one day, multiple days, or all five days. People participating on Day 1, July 31st, will have the option to check-in the night before at Jim Dietrich Park between 4 and 7 p.m., then camp overnight.
View Scholarship Opportunities!Schuylkill Soaring Film
The SRG produced “Schuylkill Soaring,” is an original short film celebrating recreation on the river through stunning imagery from land, water and air. The film premiered during the 2020 Virtual Sojourn. Starting in the lush landscapes of the headwaters in Schuylkill County, the film included a virtual journey through both rural and urban communities in Berks, Montgomery, and Chester Counties, with a paddler’s arrival at the picturesque Philadelphia skyline.
Special Thanks to Our 2020 Sojourn Sponsors
Gold Paddler Sponsor: Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad Company
Silver Paddler Sponsor: Borough of West Conshohocken * Lewis Environmental * Tompkins VIST Bank
Bronze Paddler Sponsor: Trace Pheasantry, Inc. * All Type Fence * The Bad Adventure Company * Take It Outdoors Adventures
Kayaker Sponsors: Schuylkill County Visitors Bureau * Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation * O’Donnell, Weiss & Mattei, P.C. * Simone Collins, INC * Wells Hoffman Holloway & Medvesky, LLP
Tooth of the Lion * Wrigley’s Business Products & Services LLC * Aqua PA * Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission * Philadelphia Water Department
Patrons: Evans Delivery Company, Inc. * Boyer Engineering, LLC * DBA The Brian Swisher Studio * Robert Kuhlman
Donors: Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania, PC * Spotts Insurance Group Inc. * Schuylkill County’s VISION * A.D. Moyer Lumber, INC. * DESCCO Design & Construction
Friends: Pottstown Parks & Recreation * Bause Catered Events
The Sojourn is also made possible through funding from the PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) and the National Park Service.
The Schuylkill River Sojourn is financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, the Environmental Stewardship Fund, under the administration of the PA Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.
About the Annual Schuylkill River Sojourn
Please Note: The 2020 and 2021 Sojourn event was altered because of COVID-19 guidelines. These details describe a normally scheduled Sojourn and do not necessarily apply to the 2020 or 2021 event.
Traditionally, The Schuylkill River Sojourn is an annual 112-mile guided canoe/kayak trip on the Schuylkill River that begins in rural Schuylkill Haven and ends seven days later in Philadelphia’s Boathouse Row. Participants paddle 14-18 miles per day and can register for the entire trip or as little as one day.
Sometimes it is wet and wild. At other times it is peaceful and inspiring. There are a few rapids, calm water, plenty of laughs, songs at the campsites, and celebrations in the river towns. There is a little bit of everything for paddlers throughout the week-long sojourn that begins the first weekend of June.
And though the same route is paddled every year, a different river greets us every June.
Registration InformationFREE Sojourn Opportunities
There are opportunities for people to participate in the Schuylkill River Sojourn at no cost to them. Click on the tabs below to learn about scholarship opportunities available for people to paddle in the 2021 Sojourn for free.
Overview
The Schuylkill Action Network (SAN) is providing racial diversity scholarships to Sojourn participants including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Latinx, and/or Asian & Pacific Islanders. Participants will be chosen based off of application questions displaying interest in the Schuylkill River and connection to the environment. Scholarships will include covering registration and kayak rental costs for however many days the participant is interested in. This scholarship aligns with the SAN's values and mission that the Schuylkill River, clean water, and outdoor recreation is for all, and to prioritize connecting all communities to the Schuylkill River.
Application Deadline is July 1, 2021
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE & APPLY NOW
For questions, please contact Erica Rossetti, Schuylkill Action Network Coordinator, at ERossetti@DelawareEstuary.org.
Overview
The Schuylkill Action Network (SAN) will provide a full-week scholarship ($1,000 value) for an enthusiastic individual with paddling, photography, and social media experience to photo-document the journey. All materials are provided by the SAN, including sojourn registration, kayak rental, and photography supplies.
Sojourn Steward Expectations
- Participate in the entire Schuylkill River Sojourn (Starting in Reading on July 31 and ending in Philadelphia on August 4).
- Document the "State of the Schuylkill" via photographs and videos under the water (fish, aquatic plants, macroinvertebrates, geology, etc.), along the river (banks, trees, flora and fauna), and of other paddlers and interesting surrounding sights. You can use either your own camera or the waterproof cameras provided.
- Post social media updates to the SAN's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram during lunch and evening breaks. Use the hashtags #SojournSteward and #SchuylkillSojourn, and tag Schuylkill River Greenways and the Schuylkill Action Network.
- Interact with sojourn participants.
- Create a video showcasing your experience along the river (optional, not required)
All materials and supplies will be provided to the Sojourn Steward by the Schuylkill Action Network (SAN).
Application Deadline is July 1, 2021
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE & APPLY NOW
For questions, please contact Erica Rossetti, Schuylkill Action Network Coordinator, at ERossetti@DelawareEstuary.org.
In memory of Bill Trace, a longtime sojourner and devoted member of Schuylkill River Greenways, a fund has been established through the generosity of his family and friends enabling us to offer a free one-day trip on the annual Schuylkill River Sojourn to a pair of two people who have never before been on the Sojourn.
If you are awarded the scholarship, you are invited to bring someone along with you to paddle a day of the Sojourn. This scholarship is only open to those 18 years and older. To apply, you will need to fill out the one page application.
Application Deadline is July 1, 2021
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE & APPLY NOW
For questions, please or additional information call 484-945-0200
In the News
Videos
Thank you to the Spring-Ford Area School District Ram Country TV Station for creating this video about the 2019 Sojourn stop in Royersford.
Public Outreach Project Award
In 2016 the Sojourn was honored with a national Public Outreach Project Award from the American Society for Environmental History. Since its inception in 1999, the sojourn has introduced about 4,000 people from 25 states and four countries to paddling the river.
