The Cooper River in Camden County has a packed regatta season, including the annual Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta, which is being held there in May for the second time – after years on the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia.

Last year, Cooper River was selected as the location for the Dad Vail Regatta when the organizing committee voted unanimously to move the event from its traditional site to the Cooper River. The 2023 regatta welcomed 30,000 fans to the Cooper River for the biggest collegiate regatta in the nation. This year, the Dad Vail returns to Cooper River on Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12.

“It was such an outstanding event last year that in July, it was announced it would return to Cooper River Park for the 85th anniversary of the event,” says Commissioner Jeff Nash, liaison to the Camden County Parks Department. “It is such an honor to host such a prestigious event and we hope to see an even better turnout for this year.”

The Cooper River’s Olympic-distance, 2,000-meter narrow and sheltered straightaway makes it widely known as one of the best rowing venues in the nation and the regatta season altogether garners around $20 million for the local Camden County economy.

Don’t miss these upcoming regattas on the Cooper River:

April 27
Garden State Championships

April 28
Cooper Cup

May 10-11
Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta

May 17-19
Conference Championships

May 23-25
SRAA Nationals

July 27
Cooper River Dragon Boat Regatta

September 28
Camden County Dragon Boat Challenge Regatta

October 26
Gold Cup Regatta