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All Blog Posts (324)

Sterling Forest - Bare Rock, Fire Tower - 8/15/10

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… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on August 19, 2010 at 1:10pm — No Comments

Maurice River Bluffs

I have to thank NJHiking.com for this hike.. I live about 30-35 minutes from here and never knew it existed. I have tried to do this hike a couple times the past few weeks, but couldn't get a cooperative weather day, but since todays high is ONLY 92, I decided to give it a shot!! Being that this is South Jersey, I was expecting the hike to be fairly flat, and was actually surprised that it…

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Added by William and Marieann Bannan on August 11, 2010 at 1:25pm — 1 Comment

The Giant Stairs

This trail is neatly tucked away behind the Palisades Interstate Parkway in the cozy town of Alpine, NJ. The location of the trail-head is still in question, however, I managed to find my way nonetheless. The hike begins on a gravel road that affords a great view of the Hudson River/NYC region. The spectacular view is visible for about half a mile before the trail enters the woods, gradually descending amidst a multitude of beautiful trees. After another half a mile or so, the… Continue

Added by Sara Clasp on August 9, 2010 at 3:01pm — 2 Comments

Stairway to Heaven: Pochuck Valley to Pinwheel Vista - 7/31/10

Gorgeous and diverse section of the Appalachian Trail through northern NJ…



Hike boardwalks, a suspension bridge, hardwood forest, fields of wildflowers, train tracks, a cow pasture, 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,… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on August 2, 2010 at 8:52pm — 1 Comment

Splitrock Reservoir Parking Closed (Four Birds, Reservoir loop trail) - 7/27/10

Splitrock Reservoir parking lot closed - heads up if you wanted to hike from that lot (Popular parking area for Four Birds Trail or to do a loop around the Reservoir).



Daily Record Article.…



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Added by njHiking.com on July 27, 2010 at 12:54pm — No Comments

Schooley's Mountain Park 7/21/10

My wife and I decided to stop at Schooley's Mountain Park on our way to the Delaware Water Gap since we were travelling up 206 anyway. We have hiked Hacklebarney, and according to the map this wasn't too far passed that in Long Valley.. You can't miss the trailhead as there is a good size sign that says Patriots Path off of Fairview Ave. You immediately start heading uphill for the first 0.9 miles, which doesn't sound like much, except when it is 94…

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Added by William and Marieann Bannan on July 24, 2010 at 6:00pm — 3 Comments

Washington Valley State Park - 7/4/10

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… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on July 13, 2010 at 7:30pm — 2 Comments

Four Birds Trail (Wildcat Ridge WMA and Split Rock Reservoir, Rockaway, NJ) - 6/12/10 and 7/3/10

On June 12, 2010, I hiked the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area portion of the Four Birds Trail/Split Rock Trail and thoroughly enjoyed the hike. (Click here for details of the Wildcat Ridge WMA hike.)



The bat cave.





The old cemetery was very interesting.



Hawk Watch:







Saw lots of… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on July 4, 2010 at 11:00am — 4 Comments

Lemon Squeezer – Harriman State Park, NY - 6/27/10

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.…



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Added by njHiking.com on June 30, 2010 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Ramapo Mountain State Forest - Van Slyke Castle ruins

Sunday, June 27, 2010



It was a hot day for a hike, but I'd been wanting to explore this area plus, there were a few caches to find nearby. Unfortunately the directions on the njhiking page were incorrect. It is NOT exit 55 off of 287. It's exit 57. Somehow we managed to find the upper parking lot and hiked from there. We did the yellow trail (Hoeferlin Memorial) from the upper parking to the blue trail. Then picked up the white trail (Castle Point). A nice area to hike in....water… Continue

Added by Jennifer on June 27, 2010 at 6:00pm — 1 Comment

Norvin Green - Torne Mountain and Osio Rock

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"....…

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Added by njHiking.com on June 22, 2010 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Turkey Mountain

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… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on June 16, 2010 at 12:30pm — No Comments

Mahlon Dickerson - Headley Overlook

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… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on June 2, 2010 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Black River County Park (Chester, Morris County, NJ) - 5/30/2010

I have a strong aversion to holiday traffic and avoid it at all cost so finding a hike for Memorial Day weekend was quite a challenge. The Garden State Parkway was out and from where I live, that is the route to anything hike-worthy. (Sure enough, when I drove over the GSP heading home from the hike, it was a parking lot in both directions.) So I started looking out west since I-78 is generally a good choice to avoid heavy traffic. Nothing out in western New Jersey sounded all that exciting.… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on May 31, 2010 at 2:36pm — 3 Comments

Stokes State Forest - Sunrise Mountain 5/22/10

Been wanting to do this hike for awhile, but Stokes is a bit of a drive for us at about 1.75+ hrs, so it makes for a long day... but it was worth it for a great view from Sunrise Mountain and just some nice thick, 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… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on May 24, 2010 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Ramapo Mountain State Forest - 05/16/10

I hiked the reverse of the Wanaque Ridge hike NJ Hiking did in March and added on a loop for Van Slyke castle and a Ramapo Lake loop to make a 12 mile hike. I started a separate blog for some out of state hikes I am doing and am putting directions for all of my hikes there. Refer to that link if you want specifics. I'll just… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on May 17, 2010 at 9:40am — No Comments

Delaware Water Gap NRA: Copper Mines, AT, Catfish Mountain, Rattlesnake Swamp, Catfish Pond - 4/18/10

Another great hike in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Only ran into a handful of other hikers at the fire tower, passed 1 hiker on the AT and none on the other trails, so you should just about have the place to yourself. I saw the rest of the world over at the Mount Tammany/Dunnfield parking lot as I drove by. The trails for this hike are on the NY/NJ Trail Conference Southern Kittatinny Trails Map… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on April 19, 2010 at 9:00am — No Comments

Ringwood - Skylands Manor/Ilgenstein Rock/Erskine Lookout - 4/10/10

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… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on April 16, 2010 at 7:30pm — 1 Comment

Bearfort Mtn - State Line Trail/Ernest Walker/AT - 4/3/10

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… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on April 12, 2010 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Stokes State Forest/Del Water Gap - Tillman Ravine/Buttermilk Falls/Rattlesnake Mountain - 4/3/2010

Wow! This was one spectacular hike! It covered just about everything - ravines, waterfalls, valleys, ridges, climbs, and great views in a loop of about 10 miles. The directions are outlined here briefly but I will give a little more detail.



MAPS: You will need the NY/NJ Trail Conference Kittatinny Trails maps number 121 and 122. Each map has half of the hike on it. I overlapped, lined up, taped and photo… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on April 3, 2010 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

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