We headed over to our favorite bike route… the Delaware and Raritan Canal towpath. We usually park at Rocky Hill because it’s closer, but decided to head over to Lambertville because it had been awhile since we’d done that section.

It was so nice and breezy cruising along on our bikes. (We like rail trails and comfort bikes… we’re not that into mountain biking, and road biking in Jersey is… well… small shoulders and tons of whizzing traffic isn’t really our cup-o-tea)

The trail surface is level packed dirt or fine crushed stone, basically a rail trail. It is mostly shaded, and runs along the canal and river. On this section of the towpath, there are about 28 miles of trail… so you can get a real long ride in if you like. We prefer to bike the towpath, but it would make for easy hiking as well (more like walking really).

There are many parking and access points along the canal, as well as restaurants and shops in some areas, with the majority in Lambertville (and New Hope if you cross the bridge).There are also canoe/kayak rental further down the canal. This area is popular, especially around Lambertville, but as soon as you get a little distance from the main shops it thins out and you can really cruise along.

Route: 21.8 miles roundtrip starting in Lambertville and going north, turned around at a picnic table not quite at Warsaw Rd. View the route in google maps here.

MAP: Print out the maps and distance charts from the D&R Canal website. This map gives a overview of the whole towpath, while page 3 of this brochure has parking lots marked on it. The towpath is easy to spot, and the parking is usually right at it.

Parking: We took 518W from Rocky Hill. From the North, 518 can be accessed from 206 or Rt 27. From Trenton you could take Rt 29 to Lambertville. We used the lot on Mt. Hope St which is a small lot, there are others on the map from the site. There is also a PDF that gives GPS coordinates of the parking areas. You can plug them into your GPS or right into Google Maps.

Lambertville is roughly an hour from central NJ, New Brunswick-ish area.

Restroom: None at the lot we started at, but in Lambertville you have several gas stations and a bunch of shops. Two porta-johns are at Prallsville Mill, right along the trail, about 4.2 miles north of Lambertville.

Finally a “cool” 80 degree partly-sunny day… what a nice change.

Sterling Forest is just over the NJ-NY border in New York, to the west of Harriman State Park. We hadn’t been there in awhile, and decided to check out the Bare Rock trail and Greenwood Lake overlook. There is a small viewpoint trail from the Bare Rock trail that leads to an open area with a wide view over Greenwood lake and makes for a nice break spot.

After that we just put our route together as we went, and ended up at the fire tower, which was open.  Even though it was overcast that day, the 360° views were nice. There are two other nice small overlooks, before and after the fire tower. Near the visitor center, you can check out an old iron furnace and some other building ruins.

8.1 miles. Trails are very well marked, and there are signs posted at junctions to really make things clear. A lot of Sterling is old woods roads that are quite rocky. We’d rate this route as moderate, with the exception of the approach to the fire tower that is up a steep rocky section, with a little scrambling.

Trail quality overview…  the beginning short BLUE section is nice, then you are walking along a paved park road with the Lake to your right. The first part of ORANGE was just OK. In general the trails are nicer when they are trails and not following woods roads, and this route felt more interesting after the lookout over Greenwood Lake… in our opinion anyway.

Route: From the visitor center… BLUE – ORANGE (Bare Rock) – BLUE STRIPE on ORANGE (Viewpoint Spur) – WHITE STRIPE on RED (Fire Tower Trail) – BLUE (Sterling Ridge)/TEAL (Highlands) – ORANGE (Bare Rock) – BLUE

Map: You can print this Sterling Forest Map PDF, or get one at the visitor center. For clarity and a larger covered area, we really prefer the Sterling Forest Trails Map

Parking: Parkway N to cross into NY, to 87N to exit 15A for 17, to 72 (Sterling Mine Road) to right onto 84 (Long Meadow Road). Follow signs to visitor center. Lot is on the right, walk across the road to the Visitor Center. It’s nice, has several displays, a ranger, maps, regular bathrooms. Takes about 1.5 -1.75 hrs from central NJ (New Brunswick-ish).

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.

Notes: This is a popular area (everything from short hikes to AT thru-hikers), so don’t expect solitude. We didn’t see anyone from Canal Rd to Rt 94 however. That section was also the most overgrown, you’ll want long pants or bug spray to be safe (though, oddly, bugs were almost non existent on this hike.)

Until you start up the mountain, a large portion of this hike is in full sun. You do pop in and out of shady areas, but plan accordingly in hot weather. We put this hike off for weeks because of the 95 degree weather we’d been having. 85 and sunny was OK, but pushing it. Some road noise from 94 is the only reminder that you are still in NJ.

7.4 miles, out-n-back from Rt 517 to Pinwheel Vista. WHITE blazes of the Appalachian Trail, to a BLUE spur trail off to the left. Trail surface ranges from super-duper-easy-peasy boardwalks to flat, hardpacked to dirt to serious rocky sections up Wawayanda. Stairway to Heaven is steep.

MAP: North Jersey Trails Map Set (the very start of the hike is off the map however), and “Hiking New Jersey” has a diagram of this route in it.

“50 Hikes in New Jersey” (2nd ed.) and “Hiking the Jersey Highlands” have the popular short route (only 2.5m roundtrip) from Rt 94 parking up to Pinwheel.

Parking: Rt 287N to exit 52B for Rt. 23 Butler. Follow 23 for awhile to 515N. Left onto 644 (Vernon Crossing). Right on 517. There will be a sign with hiker symbol on it, then another to denote the parking. Parking is on the right side of 517, on the road. There is a slight path along the road, follow that to a trail kiosk and turn right onto the start of the boardwalk.

About 1.5 hrs from central NJ (New Brunswick-ish area).

Restroom: None. Gas stations in Butler, or in Vernon.

Wildlife spotted: Tons of adorable turtles in the large pool of green muck in the boardwalk section. Make sure you look for them along the bank and swimming, they aren’t obvious as they are covered in muck. Saw a small water snake there on the way back. Lots of turkey vultures catching thermals at Pinwheel Vista.

We were looking to do less driving during the holiday weekend. I didn’t have a lot of info on the park, it’s not in any of our books, no trail mileages to really gauge the park by… but it was only 30 minutes away so we didn’t have much to lose. Boy was it HOT though …. 95-ish and sunny HHHHOT. The weather has been brutal for hiking lately.

The park was just OK for trail interest and scenery. Other than walking by the reservoir on the RED trail… not too much to see. The hawk watch looks over a quarry. While interesting… it’s not the best view.  It’s certainly decent for a park in Central NJ, but it lacks ooomph.

This is a biking-allowed park and the trails are geared as such… some seemed to twist around more than needed. We find that a bit tedious to hike, but since there are less parks available for bikers than hikers in NJ…  it’s not really a complaint… just an observation.

Slight road noise throughout the park… you are never far from a road.

9.5 miles roundtrip (8.8 if we hadn’t got off track a bit) – easy to moderate trail surface. Hard-packed and rocky, but with loose, smaller rocks… easy to slide on. Minimal elevation changes.

Route: The park is split in sections but connectible by crossing roads. We first did the BLUE trail from the parking lot on Newman’s Lane (2 miles), then from the lot again, we took the RED trail along the Reservoir, crossed Chimney Rock Rd. to the ORANGE trail to Gilbride Road to the YELLOW trail.

The trails are somewhat confusing: there are ‘inner’ and ‘perimeter’ loops for each trail color, denoted by square signs (perimeter) and circle (inner). There are also “connector” trails blazed by a black C on white, but shown as a solid color of the main trail on the map. There are also unmarked trails not on the map.

Because of how the trails are on the map, it’s hard to describe our route… we’ve highlighted the trail map to show the route.

Map: print it out from the Washington Valley Park site; there was a kiosk with a map posted but no spot hold hold paper maps to take with you.

Parking:We took 287N to exit for Thompson Ave (think it was 13b). Took that north till it ends, and turn right onto Chimney Rock road. Left on Washington Valley Road. Left on Newman’s Lane. Parking is a large paved lot on the left, after you pass a bridge. The park site has directions from Rt. 22. There is another lot at the hawk watch.

Restroom: porta-john in the Newman’s Lane Lot. The lot by the hawk watch had nothing.

Wildlife spotted: a lone deer, then later a doe with two fawns, tons of fish and tadpoles in the East Branch Reservoir, and a 4 foot black snake hidden in a grassy trail that I nearly stepped on – yowza!

And unfortunately we had to finish putting out a campfire… we took a break on rocks overlooking the reservoir and smelled a faint whiff of campfire… we found a still smoldering fire putting off a decent amount of heat. “Luckily” we found several bottles laying by the water, and scrambled up and down the bank a few times to bring water up to it till it was out. Fires are not allowed at the park to start with, but to set one with everything being so incredibly dry is just mindbogglingly stupid.

The Lemon Squeezer is a rock formation on the Appalachian Trail in Harriman State Park, NY. It’s a really interesting and fun section of the trail: The AT goes through an opening created by rocks, then you need to squeeze through a narrow section about 8-10′ long. After the Squeezer, you can scramble up a rock face, or you skirt off to the left and follow the “easy way” sign.

The scramble up is harder than it appears – or at least it was harder than I recalled. (it’s been a few years, but a guy with a backpack going before us yelled out a few choice words as he went up it so…)

This loop passes by Island Pond, then gets to the Lemon Squeezer. Continue on the AT then loop back on the Long Path near a low, swampy area. The Lichen trail was really overgrown but leads you to a wide rocky face with views to the west. Plenty of boulders to sit and take a break on, and one with a tree providing shade. The trail ends at Ramapo-Dundenberg and continues over these open rock slabs with lots of blueberry bushes. The terrain reminded us a little of being out West.

We started heading back on Dunning (Yellow), which skirts around Green Pond. Yellow ends and you pick up Nurian (White) and go through an area with huge rocks called “Valley of Boulders”. Turn right onto Stahahe Brook trail, which becomes Arden-Surebridge trail. Both follow a woods road. It would be more pleasant on this easy stroll back, except for the very loud highway noise.

8.5 miles roundtrip from the Elk Pen parking lot. Hot and humid, somewhere in the 90s… not great hiking weather for sure. Blueberries were ripe and tasty in areas, mostly where the trail was sun baked and up higher. It’s a little early for them I think – usually late July into Aug.

Route: AT (WHITE) – Long Path (TEAL) – Arden-Surebridge (RED) – Lichen (Blue L on White) – Ramapo-Dundenberg (RED) – Dunning (YELLOW) – Nurian (White) – Stahahe Brook (RED) – Arden-Surebridge (RED)

Map: #119 of the Harriman Trails NYNJTC mapset.

Parking - There are many parking areas to access the extensive trail system at Harriman, and you can approach the Lemon Squeezer from a lot of directions. We chose to start at the The Elk Pen lot, which is the closest to the Squeezer.

Parkway North to the NY border, pick up the NY State Thru-Way North to exit 15a for 17N. Pass the main entrance to the park and keep going, then turn right on Arden Valley. Cross the bridge over the Thruway, and turn right into the large dirt lot next to a field.

Wildlife spotted: A deer munching on leaves and that could care less that we were standing watching it, and several little lizards.

The views just didn’t stop on this hike… Hewitt-Butler trail follows along the ridge so there are views almost the whole way. Gorgeous.

There are 360 degree views from Osio Rock (too hot-n-hazy to see NYC today), and we assume most people turn around here. We had intended to as well, and go back to Otter Hole to add in a loop from the main part of Norvin, but changed our mind and decided that since the trail goes off the map edge with the notation “To Camp Vacamas, 1 Mile”…. we needed to see where that took us.

We continued on as the trail did some steep, rocky, dry and dusty switchbacks down Osio Rock (with some early ripe blueberries to keep us occupied mmmm). Then the trail entered into some pleasant shady forest and became pretty level… which was a nice change from the rugged trail and all the sun.

An orange trail marked “To Vacamas” goes off to the right eventually (not on the map), and we continued straight on BLUE Hewitt-Butler. The trail ends at the parking for Camp Vacamas, where they kindly have a few parking spots for hikers. Lake Larriwien is at the end of lot, but it’s part of the private camp so there is no access for swimming or fishing.

We took the RED Torne trail on the way back, and this was much shorter, level and shaded. We decided against adding another part of the main Norvin to our hike for the day, since we’d taken longer than usual for this hike because of stopping for photo after photo. And for the blueberries… that slowed us down too.

6.4 miles; moderate… couple minor scrambly areas. A lot of sun exposure.

Route: BLUE (Hewitt-Butler) to end at Camp Vacamas and turn around, pick up RED Torne trail after Osio on the return trip.

Map: NYNJTC provides the Norvin section of their North Jersey Trails Map Set as a paper map at the trailhead and online.

Parking: This route starts from the “Otter Hole” parking area of Norvin, not the main one at the Weis Center. Rt 287 to exit 53, bottom of the ramp turn left onto Hamburg Turnpike, right onto Glenwild Ave.

Pass a hiker parking area for Wyanokie Crest on the right, shortly after that is limited parking for Otter Hole (8-10 cars or so). The trailhead is across the road.

Restrooms: none. There was a gas station in town on the way there.

Only had time for a short hike this weekend, so we headed to Turkey Mountain. This is located across the road from Pyramid Mountain in Boonton, NJ. Turkey Mountain has some nice hiking, but most people tend to head over to Pyramid for Tripod Rock and Bear Rock etc. Pyramid and Turkey offer easy access to decent hiking, and is also a great place for beginners.

5.4 miles, moderate, minimal elevation gain. 4 viewpoints: two obscured, one of a lake, and one of the NYC skyline (very faint in the day’s humid haze). Also pass the ruins of a house.

This is pretty much the longest loop you can put together on the Turkey Mountain side without duplicating trail sections. Easily make a longer day by combining this loop with one at Pyramid as well.

Parking: Rt 287 to exit 45. 472 A Boonton Avenue, Montville Township, NJ. Detailed directions here.

Restrooms: In the visitor center, which is open at 10a. There is also a porta-john in the lot near the exit driveway that is in decent shape.

This route starts from the Pyramid Mountain parking lot. Walk out the exit driveway, near the visitor center, cross the road, and start on the easy YELLOW trail. On the return, you come back via “100 steps” – a series of stones steps that follow the powerline cut down the hill to to the road. At the road, the trail turns left and then cross the road back to the entrance to the lot.

Overview: YELLOW – WHITE – RED – GREEN – BLUE.

Important! The map on the morrisparks.net site is slightly outdated and doesn’t have the WHITE trail on it. You can download the Pyramid Mountain trail map we scanned in. Or you can skip the white and stay on yellow (easier trail) and you end up in the same place. There also should be maps in the trail kiosk in the parking lot.

Note: Look for a overlook spur trail behind the stone ruins that leads to a powerline cut and an overlook of NYC… the spur trail is not obvious going this direction.

7.5 miles – Easy-moderate… first half on the Highlands trail was more rugged than the 2nd half on the Pine Swamp trail. Ogden Railroad is flat, level, cinder path. A good shorter hike would be to just do the Pine Swamp Loop from the main parking lot; that would be 3.8 miles with options to bail along the way.

It was Memorial Day so we wanted to head away from the traffic and the beach. We thought we were taking a gamble going to Mahlon, as there are campgrounds there, but we only saw a handful of people.

The first part of this route has a view point at Headley Overlook of Lake Hopatacong and lots of greenery towards the east. The view is nice but somewhat limited and not as grand as some viewpoints in the state – but worth checking out anyway. The Pine Swamp loop has no views but is nice, easy hiking and passes the “highest point in Morris County” at 1395′.

We opted to take the Ogden Mine Railroad on the way back to check it out. We were concerned it could be a bad choice if the rail bed was out in full sun (it was in the upper 80s and very sunny out), but it turned out to be fully shaded. The surface was flat and level, and actually quite pretty as it passed several swampy areas. We even spotted a Great Blue Heron by the water, before it swooped off into the trees.

Route: Highlands Connector Trail (Black on Teal Diamond) to Highlands (TEAL diamond/Highlands tag) to Pine Swamp Trail (White) to Boulder Trail (unmarked) to Ogden Railroad (unmarked)

Parking: This route starts from the lot near Saffron Pond. Rt 287 to Rt 80 W. Exit 34 to Rt 15 North. Right onto Weldon Road. Large parking area is on the right. (You will first pass a park sign and driveway that goes to another lot)

Restrooms: Porta-john in the parking lot. There is another porta and camp-style restrooms (composting toilet in a building) at the picnic parking area, just after the trail crosses the road.

Map: There were maps in the kiosks, but it’s best to print one ahead just in case: Mahlon Dickerson Trail Map.

Been wanting to do this hike for awhile, but Stokes is a bit of a drive for us (1.75+ hrs from central NJ), so it makes for a long day… but it was worth it for a great view from Sunrise Mountain and just some nice secluded forest hiking.

The first viewpoint on the Cartwright trail – as the trail starts to head steeply up – is fantastic. Sit on a rock and look out over nothing but thick green… you can’t see or hear a road… a rare treat in NJ. Look north (your right if you are looking at the view) and spot the High Point Monument in the distance.

Sunrise Mountain can be driven up, and there is a parking lot near the viewpoint – so expect some people there. There also is a pavillion with benches down the trail a bit, but the views are obscured some by brush. The first view is better.

There is another wonderful break spot, with a rock to sit on and a nice view, further down the AT before hitting Stony Brook.

We only did an 8.5 mile loop, cutting our planned 10 mile route short due to us still not being fully 100% after catching a bad cold after our vacation earlier this month. (Peru – Machu Picchu!)

Directions: 206 North until you enter Stokes, pass Rt 636 and then turn right for the park entrance. The ranger station has a bathroom and a park map. There is a parking fee charged between Memorial and Labor Day.

Drive down Coursen Rd and make a right at the end to get to the trail lot. There should be bathrooms open in season (Mem-Labor Day) if you walk up the hill to the beach, but nothing appeared open when we went just a week before.

Look for the trail kiosk, that marks the beginning of the trails – all 5 start down the wide path.

Route overview: From Stony Lake parking… Swenson Trail (RED) to Cartwright (BROWN-RED) to AT (WHITE) to Stony Brook (BROWN) to Station (Light GREEN). To make the 10 mile loop, pass Stony Book and take the next trail instead, Tower (GREEN).

]]> http://www.njhiking.com/njhiking_trailblog/2010/05/22/stokes-state-forest-sunrise-mountain/feed/ 0 http://www.njhiking.com/njhiking_trailblog/2010/04/10/ringwood-skylands-manorilgenstein-rockerskine-lookout/ http://www.njhiking.com/njhiking_trailblog/2010/04/10/ringwood-skylands-manorilgenstein-rockerskine-lookout/#comments Sat, 10 Apr 2010 23:38:56 +0000 NJ Hiking http://www.njhiking.com/njhiking_trailblog/?p=622 Complete hike details, photos, and video on our Skylands Manor page.

Multiple views on this hike, plus you can wander around Skylands Manor and the NJ State Botanical Gardens. We did a 9.5 mile loop starting from Parking Lot A of the Manor:

Crossover (WHITE) to Halifax (RED) to Pierson Ridge (BLUE) to Crossover – past Ilgenstein Rock – Hoerferlin Memorial (YELLOW) – past Erskine Lookout – Old Guard (GREEN LEAF) to right on Ringwood/Ramapo (RED) to Crossover (WHITE)

…make sure you have map #115 of the NYNJTC North Jersey map set so you can follow all that!

Parking: Rt 287 N to exit 55 to Rt 511. Turn right onto Sloatsburg Rd, there should be signs for Ringwood. Right onto Morris Ave, go straight where there are stone lions on either side of the road and parking lot A will be on your left.

Walking out of the parking lot, turn left to pick up the Crossover (White) trail. If you follow the road around instead, you will shortly come to the visitor center and bathrooms on the left, while the Manor is on your right.

Skylands Manor info is here: www.njbg.org and there is a map of the grounds you can print out and directions and info. Parking fee is charged from Memorial to Labor day. The Manor is only open for tours one Sunday a month, but you can wander the grounds and the garden.

Formal gardens are not our cup-o-tea normally, as we really prefer trails… but we spent about 20 minutes wandering around taking pics before starting the hike… things were starting to bloom and it’s quite pretty and peaceful. There are many paths that run throughout it that we did not check out. Note that they do not allow dogs on the grounds.

The only very slight negative is that the Ringwood-Ramapo (RED) trail must be biking also, and we had to get out of the way for quite a few bikers. The trail in sections also seemed to be quite twisty and geared more for biking than hiking… but that’s just our tastes. It wasn’t a huge deal.