Lakes on the Kittatinny Ridge?

[Hank Hall]

Hi everyone.  I'm looking for information about Blue Mountain Lake, Crater Lake, Hemlock Pond, and Long Pine Pond, which are located roughly in the middle of the Delaware Water Gap NRA along the Kittatinny Ridge.  My wife and I (and Hank, our chocolate lab) are slightly more than novice hikers having tackled Cushetunk at Round Valley, Point Mountain (Hunterdon) Schooley's Mountain and Hacklebarney (Morris), and some of the more strenuous trails in Acadia National Park.  However, we're expecting our first child in September, so my wife isn't so much up for hiking these days.  However, we still enjoy being outside and Hank loves to swim, so we were hoping to get up to one the lakes during my week off to spend the day.  We drove to Blue Mountain Lake in March, but the road to Crater Lake was closed to vehicular traffic so we didn't get there.  Blue Mountain looks like a pretty decent swimming spot though.  Hemlock is probably out of our reach because it's a hike to get there, but what about Long Pine Pond?  Long Pine Pond was once the home of Camp Ken-Etiwa-Pec, one of a few BSA camps taken over by the Park Service when the land was turned over to them by the Army Corps.  The park maps imply that it is federal land and just another part of the park, but I found a BSA website that mentioned that you had to get permission to go to the lake?  Just curious to hear what the experience of others has been up there.

[njHiking.com]

We haven't been to Long Pine Pond since there aren't trails to it, and I am not sure about access on that one. I was curious so I did a quick google of it, and a couple sources made it seem like the lake is crystal clear so that sounds pretty nice. I found a scout site that mentioned making arrangements for swimming, but perhaps they mean for a whole troop of scouts.

I think it would be fine to go check it out and if for whatever reason there is no access, just head over to Crater Lake.  The road to Crater Lake is of course open this time of year so that would be an option. It's quite scenic, some pics are in this hike description.There is a parking lot and bathrooms.

 

Hemlock Pond is probably too far, yes, though I believe the trails to it from Blue Mountain Lakes are easy woods roads. Joseph on this site recently went to Blue Mountain Lakes and has a post: http://njhiking.ning.com/profiles/blogs/an-attempt-at-buttermilk-falls

 

My other suggestions are a bit further north. In Stokes, there is Stony Lake that has a picnic/beach area. And in High Point there is Lake Marcia (some photos in this hike description) Both require no hiking to get there. Also in that park is Steeny Kill Lake, which we haven't personally been to, but the trail map shows boat access, and the Steeny Kill trail along it.

 

Hope that helps a bit,

 

Dawn

 

P.S. Hank the Lab is very handsome!

[Hank Hall]

Thanks for the links and the suggestions.  I think we'll stick to either Blue Mountain or Crater (whichever is less crowded)-we'll save Hemlock for when our daughter is older and we get one of these:

Kelty Kid Carrier

As for the lakes at Stokes, we'll skip those as swimming is only allowed in the lifeguard area which dogs are not allowed at :(  The State of New Jersey is not very dog friendly when it comes to parks-I do get it, we are a very densely packed state, our wild areas are fragile, and if everyone was running wild with their dogs in the parks it would likely be chaos.  However, some of the most fun we had on our trip to Acadia last summer was hiking to Sargent Mountain Pond, a tiny body of water tucked between two peaks.  We had a great time swimming with Hank and relaxing on the rocks afterwards.  It probably sounds silly, but it's a simple pleasure that's not so easily done here in the Garden State.  Regardless, it sounds like the DWG is the place to go!

[Daniela Wagstaff]

You might want to check out the "Doggin' Jersey" book.  I hiked with the author several years ago and he is all about finding every available water hole for his dog to swim in.  My dog is not much of a swimmer but likes to get wet to cool off while hiking. (And what you described doesn't sound silly at all - I totally get it!)

http://web.mac.com/crudbay/KatiesBlog/Doggin_Jersey.html 

 

In case anyone is interested - Stony Lake at Stokes closed for the month of June per the signs posted while I was there last weekend.