Spending the 4th of July in Riverton
Riverton is a town in New Jersey that is located along the Delaware River in Burlington County. It is a picturesque place filled with historic homes and large trees. Each year it goes all out for Independence Day and it is truly an immersive experience to attend.
We just went to Riverton for their Fourth of July events and it was amazing. We had been there for its parade before but this year we were able to spend most of the day in town. This totally changed our experience and made it even more fun than before.
The town had red, white and blue everywhere as well as large flags decorating the parade route. Many houses were decorated well and some had even been entered into the town house decorating contest. I especially loved the Victorian homes that were having large outdoor parties and were covered with flags.
The 127th Riverton 4th of July Children’s Parade
We started out our morning with a leisurely pancake breakfast at home. We still made it in time for most of the 127th Riverton 4th of July Children’s Parade. We were able to snag a great spot in the shade towards the end of the parade route. Along with our family, most of the parade goers were all decked out in patriotic gear. I saw many Captain America shirts, shirts with flags on them and patriotic Old Navy shirts amongst the crowd.
The kids were most interested in going to this parade again since they remembered how much candy they had gotten in the past. They made sure to bring bags with them to hold all of it before leaving the house. Any time different groups threw candy out during the parade it was amusing to watch all the kids in the area descend on them like bees on a hive. Aside from candy some groups were even tossing out other things such as red stress balls that even adults were having fun juggling. I was excited for the Sour Patch Kids. The highlight for the kids was when they got free ice pops.
One of my personal favorite reasons to attend parades is to see unique vehicles you often don’t see everyday. The Riverton parade did not disappoint with having a ‘56 Chevy Blue 3100, 1962 Studebaker Lark, 1928 Ford Model A, orange and white Chevy ‘57 Bel Air and more! I thought it was interesting there were even a couple Mack trucks from the 70’s as I had never seen these before.
There were also tons of Jeeps and Trucks all decked out to the max. Fire trucks came from multiple towns including Delran, Riverside, Delanco, Moorestown and Merchantville. We loved the numerous bands playing intermittently throughout the parade in the backs of truck beds or on trailers.
Another highlight of the parade was seeing Captain America and Spiderman coming through. We also loved getting sprayed with water blasters. It was a great reprieve from the heat. At the end we headed over to the park.
Riverton Memorial Park Festivities
Riverton Memorial Park has been the ending site for the parade since 1897. When we arrived there were numerous free things happening at the same time. Friends Classic Rock was playing some catchy tunes while everyone was enjoying the fun. We first went to get a carriage ride with Jade, a twenty year old horse doing carriage rides for her semi retirement. After that we headed to the inflatable Pirate obstacle course where the kids loved racing each other to the finish. Then they went into a bounce house that looked like a castle. All the lines moved quickly and there was also plenty of shade in the park to stand in as well.
Next we headed to purchase some tasty hot dogs for our lunch from Palmyra Troop 9 and we also bought some drinks and snacks from the West Jersey Volunteers for Animals. We had a picnic lunch in the shade. We also caught the end of the pie eating contest that was very entertaining. The activities that we did not get a chance to do included face painting, the greased pole contest and heading onto the playground. The Riverton 4th of July Committee did an incredible job coordinating all of this.
The Great Joe Zaneski Downhill Race
This was an activity that we were especially excited about since none of us had ever seen one of these races before. Contestants drove homemade box cars down Elm Terrace, the steepest street in Riverton! We were curious to see how the races would go with the homemade cars.
When we arrived we were easily able to find parking nearby. We walked past lots of unique looking cars that looked like a minion, red sports car and a patriotic themed car. Most of them had steering and they all had brakes.
We nabbed a spot halfway down the street in the shade. There were lots of hay bales lining the sides of the street at the steepest part of the hill a little below us. At the bottom of the hill there was a radar speed trailer to show the different speeds that the contestants were going as they went down.
Prior to each contestant going down there was a short countdown. People would all cheer them on as they sped down the hill and then watch to see how fast they were going. It seemed like a lot of the faster cars were getting up to 20 mph. The fastest car we saw went 25 mph!
The kids' favorite car looked like a pig and even had a curly tail in the back. My husband and I loved how the Wawa car also said Shorti on the back of it on a sign that looked like a license plate. Some other interesting cars included a USAF car, a Taylor swift car and a car that had Grogu as a passenger in the back.
Raft Race at the Riverton Yacht Club
After a break at home in the air conditioning we headed back for the raft race. This was a truly unique experience. It was actually three different races. The first race started with a group of kayakers going out. They had to go out and around a buoy and then come back to cross a finish line. My daughter loved the hype guy who was going around with a speaker playing music.
The second race was a raft race. There were multiple different designs such as a Pirate ship, blue raft with a crew of Strong men and a pool raft. It was very entertaining to watch as a couple of the rafts were running into some trouble at the get go and there were some water hijinks. The blue raft with the Strong men crew ended up winning the race, defeating the reigning pirate ship champs.
After that there was a Cardboat Boat Regatta. The patriotic boat ended up winning since the Lightning McQueen took on some water in the front towards the end. I was surprised at how well the Cardboard Boats did in the water since I had thought they may sink right away. At the end different contestants were presented with awards. We dipped our feet into the water before heading home.
Overall it was a truly amazing day. Being in Riverton for the whole day was great since it gave us more of an opportunity to talk to other attendees at events. It felt like a day-long townwide party. Riverton could truly be the setting for a Hallmark channel movie about the 4th of July.
When should you visit Riverton?
For our family the Fourth of July is our favorite time of year to visit. Do not fret if you already have plans, Riverton is a great place to visit anytime of the year! We like to head to the Riverton Free Library to read in its cozy Children’s Section. It has actually been there since the 1890’s. Some of our favorite events there so far have been their magician show in the summer, Butterfly Release Party and their Star Wars Party. I recently went to Brewery 33 for a book club meeting and that is a great casual place to hang out with friends that had a laid back atmosphere.
Riverton is a very walkable town so be sure to check out other places while you are in town as well. It is also always pretty to walk through the houses up to the waterfront at sunset. Even if you do not have a car it is easy to get to Riverton via the NJ Transit Riverline Light Rail.
Where can I learn about other 4th of July Events?
These are some of my other favorite Fourth of July Events that I have attended in the past as well as some other details about Riverton’s Fourth of July as well: Top Free Fourth of July Events in and around Jersey.