We tried this hike nearly one year ago to the day but had to cut it short due to snow (see “Brendan Byrne – Pakim Pond/Mt. Misery Trail“). So this time we waited for the snow to be finally gone from South Jersey before we headed down.
This trail is a great sample of New Jersey’s pine barrens: endless pine, sandy trails covered in pine needles, and cranberry bogs. It’s also a hike that is more about the journey than the destination: Mt. Misery is the end point but there is not much to see… just the back of some old, uninteresting buildings. And it’s not even a hill, let alone a mount!
9.9 miles. While long in length, we’d rate this hike somewhere between moderate and challenging. Moderate, since the trail surface is level, and covered with soft pine needles or sand roads. Challenging, because it still is almost 10 miles plus we feel it can be easy to get lost here. If you’ve never hiked 10 miles but regularly do 7 or 8 (or even 6) mile hikes on the hills and rocks of Northern Jersey, this could still be doable for you. Read more…
Complete hike details, photos, and video on our State Line page.
What an enjoyable hike – fantastic views as Ernest Walker follows a ridge overlooking Greenwood Lake, then head to Surprise Lake, then some more views. The trail is nice and interesting… rugged with a few decent scrambling sections. It was gorgeous and the trees hadn’t even gotten green yet… we’re planning to come back again when its green or the fall.
Our route ended up being 7.6 miles as we cut the AT section shorter than planned. State Line (BLUE) till it meets Ernest Walker (YEL) – AT – backtrack at the road on AT to State Line (BLUE). The AT was just “ok” and paled in comparison to the other trails… plus that section of the park gets close to neighborhoods and was noisier. When we got to the road we’d decided this portion of the AT was less than thrilling and turned back. Next time we’ll cross into NY and try the AT north. Read more…
For detailed hike directions, maps, photos and GPS coordinates, visit our Buttermilk Falls page.
7.4 miles – Moderate trail surface; steep in the beginning, some rocky sections but also a lot of really easy woods roads.
BLUE (Buttermilk Falls) – AT – ORANGE (Crater Lake) – Woods Road around Hemlock Pond – Woods Road – BLUE (Buttermilk Falls)
Another lovely fall day, a little warmer than we expected… a couple spots on Buttermilk are in the sun and we felt it. The falls are better with spring runoff but they weren’t too bad with the rain we’d had the day before. From the top of the falls it’s steep right away on Buttermilk Falls trail (BLUE) – more than people would expect.
For detailed hike directions, maps, photos and GPS coordinates, visit our Terrace Pond page.
4.8 miles - moderately challenging/challenging. Scrambling involved.
YELLOW (Terrace Pond South) – RED (Terrace Pond Red) – WHITE (Terrace Pond Circular) – BLUE (Terrace Pond North)
This is just a pretty trail, one of the best in Jersey really. A nice variation between easy, pleasant forest walking and rocky scrambling areas, a lot of nice trail packed into 5 miles. The weather was absolute perfect hiking temp, partly sunny with a nice breeze… and somehow there was hardly anyone on the trail.
In fact, we saw no one until we arrived at the Pond, and then passed a handful of people heading to the Pond on the Blue trail on our way back. This is a popular trail, too, so don’t go here expecting solitude… not sure where everyone was. In front of the TV for opening day of football perhaps?
Wildlife spotted… 3 deer, tons of frogs, couple of those adorable orange salamanders… and a snake…
For detailed hike directions, maps, photos and GPS coordinates, visit our Best Hikes in NJ – Bearfort Ridge – Surprise Lake page.
Mileage: 5.9 miles, challenging… We debated on whether to rate this as “challenging” or not. It’s not a long loop, and in some spots the trail is actually easy… but on the Bearfort Ridge trail you have some rugged quick up and downs, as well as some minor rock scrambling and wet sections to cross. It’s also rated under the “challenging” secion in the Hiking the Highlands book.
Basically, this trail falls on the high end of difficulty for a beginner, and on the low end of challenging for a more experienced hiker.
It’s a great loop at any rate, and offers a little of everything Jersey has to offer: a mix of rugged and easy trail surface, including long patches of exposed rock, some short scrambling sections, nice views from the ridge, a rhododendron tunnel, and several wet areas/streams. Surprise Lake makes for a pleasant break spot, and the return is on a woods road…
We tried this hike nearly one year ago to the day but had to cut it short due to snow (see “Brendan Byrne – Pakim Pond/Mt. Misery Trail“). So this time we waited for the snow to be finally gone from South Jersey before we headed down.
