Complete hike details, photos, and video on our Headley Overlook page.

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′. Read more…

NJ Hiking Morris County Parks Central NJ, Moderate, Morris, Viewpoint

Complete hike details, photos, and video on our Sunrise Mountain page.

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. Read more…

NJ Hiking High Point/Stokes Moderate, North NJ, Viewpoint

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. Read more…

NJ Hiking Ringwood Moderate, North NJ, Viewpoint

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…

NJ Hiking Bearfort Ridge Challenging, Lake, North NJ, Passaic, Rhododendron, Scrambling, Viewpoint

Headed over to Ramapo Mountain State Forest to check out a newer trail, Wanaque Ridge, in the western part of the park. We slapped together a route as we went along and ended up only with 7.2 miles, but there was a decent amount of up and down along a pretty rugged trail surface. It was a brrrrisk and dreary day, so we plan to come back to take photos when it’s more colorful.

Ramapo is a great park to hike and the Wanaque Ridge trail was no exception, especially if you enjoy ridge hikes. Once we got to the Wanaque Trail from MacEvoy Trail, it started out just as nice forest, then climbed up to the ridge for some great views of Wanaque Reservoir and dams and all the surrounding mountains. (and, well yeah, houses too)

Further down the trail, views opened up back toward the main part of the park and we could just see the ruins of Van Slyke Castle and the water tower (another great hike in the park). Read more…

NJ Hiking Ramapo Mountain Moderate, North NJ, Viewpoint