Lehigh Gorge State Park covers 4,548 acres and stretches 32 miles along the Lehigh River from the Francis E. Walter Dam in the north to Jim Thorpe in the south. Carved by the power of the Lehigh River, its deep gorge, steep walls, and rock outcrops create a setting for wildlife, waterfalls, and broad landscapes, with access at White Haven, Rockport, and Glen Onoko. Whitewater boating is a major activity, with rafters, kayakers, and canoeists using Class II and III rapids aided by scheduled water releases from Francis E. Walter Dam, while the non-motorized Lehigh Gorge Trail provides more than 20 miles for hikers, bikers, wildlife watchers, hunters, and anglers, with winter access for snowmobilers and cross-country skiers. The gorge also preserves a strong industrial past: in the early 1800s John James Audubon visited to paint birds while lumbermen cut huge trees and floated logs as far south as Philadelphia, and by 1841 sawmills stood between White Haven and Mauch Chunk, present-day Jim Thorpe, supplying lumber for mine supports and canal boats. After nearby anthracite coal was discovered in 1791, Josiah White of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company hired Edwin A. Douglas to build the Upper Grand Section of the Lehigh Canal, a slackwater navigation system that overcame a 600-foot elevation drop from White Haven to Mauch Chunk through 29 locks and 20 dams pulled by mules. Severe flood damage in 1862 led to the canal's abandonment in favor of more efficient railroads, and today the gorge remains within the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, where remnants of those earlier industries still dot the landscape.