For our annual New Years Day hike we ended up at Mahlon Dickerson Reservation. Many people had the same idea, whether it was to take advantage of the unusually mild (low-50s) winter day or maybe getting an early start on a New Years resolution to exercise more.

We chose Mahlon because we wanted a moderate loop that we’d mostly done before so we didn’t have to think too hard after having our annual ‘wine-n-cheesies’ the night before. Mahlon’s trails are very scenic, plus there is Headley overlook and another viewpoint. (Both viewpoints are a little drab this time of year however)

We planned on parking at the Saffin Dam lot. While I knew that there was a Highlands Trail re-route on the one side of the dam, I didn’t know the entire Saffin Pond parking lot was roped-off and closed (and porta-john removed). There were several cars parked along the road but we decided to head further down the road to another parking lot and start our route from there.

Saffin Pond is really pretty, but if you are heading just to the park just to see it – hold off. It’s not-so-scenic while they are working on the dam. The water is very low, and there is construction equipment at the dam. The trails in the park are fine and worth hiking though!

>>>For more info, trail maps, and other hikes in Mahlon, check out Headley Overlook or the Beaver Brook Trail. Read more…

NJ Hiking Morris County Parks Lake, Morris, Viewpoint

Detailed hike info on our Hartshorne Woods page.

We took a little time off around the holidays so of course we needed to get some hikes in. Since it was a weekday we wanted a park that was no-hunting (though it is closed a few days in December) plus we didn’t feel like driving far so we decided to hit up Hartshorne Woods Park in Middletown.

It was also forecast to be very cold (like in the mid-30s brr) so we wanted a park we could bail on if we had enough. Of course, the forecast for the next day changed from rain to the 50s as we were heading out the door. Ah, well.

We knew it was a long time since we’d been to this park, but until I couldn’t find an entry in our Trail Blog (which goes back to 2006) I didn’t realize how long. I had to root through our photos to discover we’d last been in 2003. Yikes.

It’s a very nice park but we had found the multi-use trails a nuisance – not that the bike riders were anything but polite – we just prefer to hike without the possibility of a bike whizzing ’round the corner, so we had put the park on a back burner. Even on a chilly Thursday we saw a handful of bike riders, so imagine on a warm weekend. Read more…

NJ Hiking NJ General Central NJ, Historical, Moderate, Viewpoint

Complete hike details on our State Line page.

The fall foliage maps pointed to the Bearfort Mountain region being at peak color. They were right. The last time we hiked to Surprise Lake there weren’t many leaves on the trees, so we wanted to come back to get photos during autumn.

This hike has tons of views of Greenwood Lake and the surrounding NJ/NY area, a nice lake, and multiple rock scrambles. Most people probably just do the 4.1 mile loop around the lake, but we added on two viewpoints along the Appalachian Trail in NY. This section was much nicer than when we went south last time. Another option is to make a larger loop by using the Bearfort Ridge and Quail Trails, and of course you can go for a very long way on the AT.

There were a lot of hikers and hiking groups there, and they all were going around the loop opposite than what we do. We like to hit the view over Greenwood Lake and arrive at Surprise Lake early and have them to ourselves, which also allow us to tack on the AT out and back at the end… but you can do the loop the other way. Some scrambles on Ernest Walker may be easier that direction.

Note: There is a ladder to the a viewpoint on the AT north. It’s more like climbing up skinny steps than a ladder… but if you hike with a dog that doesn’t do well with scrambling, check out the photo of it in the gallery.

Parking: N41 11.146 W74 19.918 – 287N to exit 55, Rt 511 towards Wanaque. Follow 511 as it makes a right (Lakeside Rd) and hugs the west side of Greenwood Lake. Take it all the way to just before the NY border (if you hit the border, you went too far). The parking is tough to spot, it’s on the left across from a marina. Go straight back on a rutted dirt road (we managed in a car) to the trail sign. Very limited parking.

Restrooms: None. There was a gas station as you turned onto Lakeside Rd., and before that there are ones on 511.

Miles: 7.2 – Rocky trail, steep right in the beginning, multiple elevation changes. Even though it’s not a long hike, we’d rate it challenging due to the rock scrambles. Read more…

NJ Hiking Bearfort Ridge Appalachian Trail, Challenging, Lake, Passaic, Rhododendron, Scrambling, Viewpoint

Complete hike details found on the Jenny Jump Trail page.

When we were last at Jenny Jump we nearly got carted off by swarms of mosquitoes. So when a windy Saturday was forecasted we thought it would be a prime time to go back and check out the Jenny Jump Trail (even a gentle breeze usually thwarts mosquitoes).

Not sure how long this trail has been around or if it’s technically ‘open’ quite yet, but it was well blazed and even had nice “you are here” map plaques throughout the trail. There were a lot of thorns crossing the path… so wear long pants unless you’d like to rival my impressive collection of calf scratches (I need to accept that the weather is changing and I should retire my fave hiking knee pants until spring)

The first view on the map isn’t much, but the second is a very nice view of the Delaware Water Gap. If you’ve ever hiked to the summit of either Mt. Minsi or Mt. Tammany you can see where you were. To this viewpoint and back would make a nice easy 3.4 mile roundtrip hike. Read more…

NJ Hiking NJ General Moderate, Viewpoint

Fall foliage in New Jersey usually starts in the northwest corner of the state in the Delaware Water Gap and along the Kittatinny Ridge, so on yet another nice fall day we headed out that way. The foliage was kind of a mixed bag still, but hiking Mt. Minsi is always nice. It was quite hazy but the views were still great.

Normally when we hike Minsi we just keep going south along the AT then backtrack, and come back via the Minsi fire road which makes for a nice long hike (16.6 mile version here). Or sometimes we “Mind The Gap”… hiking both Mt. Minsi and Mt. Tammany in one day. And of course, you can just hike Mt. Minsi itself for a wonderful 5.1 mile trip.

This time we decided to change it up. Sometimes with really familiar routes you overlook things, and there were areas on the Kittatinny Trails Map we realized we’d never checked out… Read more…

NJ Hiking Delaware Water Gap Moderate, Viewpoint