Kayakers and paddlers in Pennsauken have a new place to put in on the Cooper River. The Camden County Board of Commissioners, Upstream Alliance and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation marked the grand opening of the newly renovated Gateway Park Kayak Launch this week, unveiling an ADA-accessible dock and floating platform designed to welcome paddlers of all abilities to the water.
Pennsauken Mayor Patrick Olivo attended the grand opening, joining county and conservation officials to celebrate the project, according to Pennsauken's own announcement of the milestone. The renovated launch is described by Camden County as a nearly $930,000 project, with $800,000 of that funding contributed by the New Jersey Conservation Foundation. A separate report from 70and73.com similarly put the project's cost at $930,000, though an earlier Yahoo News report had described a planned boat launch for the park at $1.1 million — the available reporting does not explain the discrepancy between those figures.
What's New at the Water's Edge
The centerpiece of the renovation is the ADA-accessible dock and floating platform, which the county says can accommodate self-propelled vessels up to 25 feet long. The dock system also includes a transitioning step meant to make it easier for wheelchair users to move from their chairs into a kayak, according to AccessNatureNJ, a detail aimed squarely at widening who can get out on the water.
Beyond the launch itself, the project brought a broader refresh to the park grounds. The county's announcement lists parking enhancements, new walking paths, picnic areas, a pollinator garden, an elevated boardwalk and interpretative signage among the improvements included in the scope of work.
A Piece of a Longer River Trail
County officials frame the Gateway Park launch as an entry point to the Cooper River Water Trail, which Camden County describes as stretching 15.5 miles. That figure marks a change from a 2022 report that described plans for a 13-mile water trail along the Delaware and Cooper rivers in and around Camden, and the available reporting does not explain why the stated length grew. A 2025 report from the Inquirer likewise described a 15.5-mile Cooper River Water Trail and noted that, as of last June, the trail had seven launch sites planned, five of which were open at the time.
Gateway Park itself isn't new — it opened to the public in 2019, according to the Courier Post, years before this kayak-launch upgrade took shape. The Camden County Board of Commissioners says the project reflects its broader commitment to establishing and enhancing recreational opportunities along the Cooper River, positioning the renovated launch as one more step in a longer-running push to make the waterway more accessible to paddlers throughout the county.
