In our usual effort to avoid holiday weekend crowds by pointing the car away from the beach, we ended up at Allamuchy Mountain S.P. (North). It had been years since we last hiked at Allamuchy. At the time there wasn’t a decent trail map available and the trails were confusing – so much that we just hadn’t bothered with it again.
Somewhere along the way, I stumbled upon an excellent trail map created by JORBA so we added the park back on our to-do list. Before we got to try that out, the new mapset Jersey Highlands Trails came out, which is what we prefer to use. The park is much easier to navigate now using either map.
The park is now well-blazed but there are tons of unmarked trails that crisscross the park – make sure you have a map with you and watch the trail markers. Seriously, do not wander around this park without a map – even for a short hike.
There aren’t a lot of views or destinations in this park: it’s mostly about hiking though dense, shady, lush, beautiful forest. Early in this route we did have a really lovely viewpoint on the Highlands Trail. We expected a 2nd viewpoint on the Ditch/Cardiac Trail (PURPLE) but did not find where it would be. Not sure if it’s a seasonal view and the foliage blocked it, or we needed to take a side trail to it and missed it. Read more…
We’d been saving this park for a Saturday during hunting season (no-hunting here). A longish route can’t really be done, but the trails are typical Jersey Highlands (up-n-down-up-n-down) so they give you a workout anyway. Really enjoyed the trails at this park in West Milford, very pretty… overlooks, Butler Reservoir, waterfalls.
Directions and a park map can be found here. There were no paper maps in the kiosk, and no bathroom. (gas stations on Rt 23 best bet).
About 6.4 miles. We did a loop around the perimeter of the park, so we missed a few interior sections of trail. We also took the WHITE trail out beyond the Preserve, until we ran out of markers, then backtracked….
11 miles; challenging loop around Splitrock Reservoir. Suitable for experienced, fit hikers only. Even though the loop is on the low end of challenging distance wise, the relentless minor elevation changes of the Highlands terrain gives you a workout. The path is blazed but you need keen eyes to spot the markers… and requires constant vigilance.
We wanted to do this hike over the summer, but it was way too hot to do this hike so we waited. We lucked out with a gorgeous Labor Day weekend.
We did this loop in Nov. 2008 and the Splitrock Trail blue markers were frustratingly hard to find; they still are. After that experience, and reading the recent blog at Gone Hikin’ who had the same issue, we opted to see if the markers were easier going the opposite way around (four birds then splitrock). Read more…
Complete hike details, photos, and video on our Stairway to Heaven page.
Gorgeous and diverse section of the Appalachian Trail through northern NJ….
Hike first on boardwalks through marshy areas and over the Pochuck Suspension Bridge, then through hardwood forest, tall fields of wildflowers, over train tracks, a cow pasture (watch for cow pies!) and a boulder field.
All of this before steeply climbing up Wawayanda mountain on the “Stairway to Heaven” – lots of stone steps up switchbacks – to one of the best viewpoints in NJ: Pinwheel Vista. You can see the Kittatinny Mountains in the distance, farms in the valley below, and on a clear day, High Point Monument is visible. Read more…
For detailed hike directions, maps, photos and GPS coordinates, visit our Four Birds – North page.
Headed to the Farny Highlands to do a northern section of the Four Birds Trail that we hadn’t done before. (Four Birds is 19.4 miles in length, one-way) This part of the trail is part of the Pequannock Watershed and requires a permit (although the other 4 cars there didn’t seem to have a parking sticker so not sure how much that is enforced)…. Read more…
In our usual effort to avoid holiday weekend crowds by pointing the car away from the beach, we ended up at Allamuchy Mountain S.P. (North). It had been years since we last hiked at Allamuchy. At the time there wasn’t a decent trail map available and the trails were confusing – so much that we just hadn’t bothered with it again.
