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Rows of orange, yellow and red kayaks glided in unison along the Delaware River and turned sharply toward a boat ramp at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania this week.

About 70 paddlers including a few canoers and paddle boarders fumbled out of their boats, and waded through the shallow water and rocks.

“If you’re walking through the stones, hang onto your paddle, it’ll help you brace,” one of the group’s leaders shouted, as paddlers of all ages helped each other get to land safely.

The adventurers had just traveled about 6 miles from Fireman’s Eddy in New Jersey on Thursday afternoon, after starting out on the trip several days earlier in Narrowsburg, New York.

The annual Delaware River Sojourn has been drawing kayakers and canoers to the Delaware River for 31 years. Each year, paddlers tour different parts of the 330-mile river, which spans from New York to the Atlantic Ocean.

“The mission of the Sojourn is to introduce people to safe, responsible river recreation, and introduce people to all of the great work that partners are doing around the watershed,” said Kate Schmidt, who chairs the event’s steering committee and is a spokesperson for the Delaware River Basin Commission.

As the longest undammed river east of the Mississippi, the Delaware is easily accessible to paddlers.

“[The event] introduces people of all ages and experience levels to river recreation, and also to encourage stewardship and protection of this vital resource that we all know and love,” Schmidt said.

This year’s event marked the nation’s 250th anniversary, as kayakers paddled the same section of the Delaware River that Gen. George Washington and his army crossed during a brutal snow storm on Christmas night in 1776. The following morning, Washington’s troops marched to Trenton, where they defeated the hired Hessian soldiers — marking a crucial turning point in the war.

“On that night, not only was it winter, there was also a lot of severe weather coming through the area. They had a lot of snow and ice to deal with. The river was in very difficult conditions that day,” said Ross Heutmaker, director of education for the Friends of Washington Crossing Park. “In fact, there were plans to have multiple crossing points, but the river further south of here was completely choked with ice, so they weren’t able to do that.”

The paddlers had a more pleasant experience on a warm June day as they traveled with the flow of the smooth glassy water, even taking a break under the summer sun.

“I just was feeling like having a lazy float day, and so I ended up at the back of the pack and it was wild — you could see this big line of orange canoes as far as the eye could see in front of me going down the river,” said Kelly Herrenkohl, who participated in the event for the first time.

The trip to Washington Crossing Historic Park was just one part of a weeklong voyage that spanned parts of the river in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Helena Garan, of Binghamton, New York, is 84 years old and has been paddling the event for about 10 years.

“The sun is shining, little breeze, sometimes in your face, which makes paddling a little harder, but it’s rejuvenating being on the river. I just love it,” she said.

Fourteen-year-old Mila Schultz, who traveled from California to paddle the event with her grandparents, was one of the youngest participants.

“I feel like it’s an experience that has shaped me a little bit, and has made me feel comfortable in my own skin,” she said. “It also makes me appreciate nature and the people around me.”