For wild Trout, you’ll need to get into PA. Though note that the SE corner of PA isn’t exactly a wild Trout paradise either, but it’s better than DE. Still, the wild Trout streams in SEPA are generally tiny, and there’s also a lot of private and posted land. The ones that are large enough to be appetizing to most FFers, and are on public land, are popular and fished hard.
If you’re looking for wild Trout within an hour of Newark, the “River Hills” of Lancaster and York County are probably your best bet. You could probably get to the Lancaster ones in an hour or a little more, add 15-30 mins for the York side. Beyond that, you’re talking well over 2 hours to get into the Poconos or north/west of Blue Mountain.
There’s some wild Trout in the “Furnace Hills” on the Lebanon/Lancaster County border too, but they’re not worth driving 2 hours to fish. Generally very small streams with fair to poor populations of wild fish.
Keep in mind that streams are very, very low in PA right now, and fishing will likely be tough no matter where you go unless we get some rain.
If proximity to wild Trout is an important feature of your college search, I’d recommend looking at schools further north in PA.
Edit: FWIW, my guess is your fishing ambitions may take a bit of a hiatus when you’re in college. Mine certainly did. You’ll likely have other things on your mind, both academically and recreationally speaking. Pick the college that feels right and meets your academic and financial needs first and foremost.
I went to Susquehanna. I was 2 minutes from arguably the best SMB fishery in the world and I may have fished it a half dozen times in 4 years. I was 40 minutes from what many would argue is the best wild Trout stream in the state, and NEVER fished it in 4 years.
