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November 2010 Blog Posts (7)

Merrill Creek Reservoir - 11/21/10

We didn't have time for a long or far away hike this weekend so we decided to try out Merrill Creek Reservoir in Washington, NJ. It's about 50-60 minutes from central NJ (New Brunswich-ish area). It's a nice park with easy hiking, well marked trails, and a very nice visitor center. There are some ruins of farm buildings along the trails near the visitor center.

Directions: 287 to 78W to exit 4, then meander through back roads... Get the detailed directions on the… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on November 27, 2010 at 8:43pm — No Comments

Harriman State Park - Tom Jones Mtn, Parker Cabin Mtn, Claudius Smith Den - 11/14/10

Decided to head over to Harriman on a gorgeous nice day (mid 60's, partly sunny in November!). Just picked a parking area and slapped together a route on the drive up; Harriman is great for that. This route include Tom Jones Mountain, Parker Cabin Mountain, Claudius Smith Den, Sebago Lake and Skenonto Lake.

8.4 miles. Moderate-difficult with some steep rocky ups/downs along Ramapo-Dunderberg. Nice views along this section. After Claudius Smith Den the trail is more even,… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on November 16, 2010 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Big Pocono State Park, PA - 11/14/2010

This hike gives a different perspective with views into New Jersey from the "back door". Only 15 minutes west of the Delaware Water Gap on I-80, you will feel like you have arrived at the top of the world as you summit Camelback Mountain at 2,132 feet. There are unobstructed views of the Kittatinny Mountains where your eye can follow the horizon along miles and miles of the Appalachian Trail. Although I could not make out High Point monument, it is somewhere to the northeast. Mount Tammany,… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on November 15, 2010 at 2:46pm — No Comments

Appalachian Trail: Pochuck Mountain to Wawayada Mountain - 11/7/2010

I did the same hike NJ Hiking did a few months ago but bumped it out a notch to the next parking area to the west to make it a 10 miler, which added another mountain to climb. The nice thing about adding on that part was there was nobody else there. The parking area is small - 2 maybe 3 cars - but I was the only one parked there all day. I ran into no other people while hiking across Pochuck Mountain both ways. The… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on November 11, 2010 at 6:46pm — 2 Comments

Apshawa Preserve - 11/6/10

Really enjoyed the trails at this park in West Milford, very pretty... overlooks, Butler Reservoir, waterfalls. We'd been saving this park for a Saturday during hunting season (no-hunting here). A longish route can't really be done, but the trails are typical Jersey Highlands (up-n-down-up-n-down) so they give you a workout anyway.

Directions and a park map can be found here. There were no paper maps in the kiosk,… Continue

Added by njHiking.com on November 6, 2010 at 8:38pm — No Comments

Black River County Park – Cooper Mill - 10/31/10

On Halloween we ended up hiking along the Black River, starting at the Cooper Mill lot in Chester. The foliage was still decent, but not as brilliant as we'd passed the week before on our way up to The Gap. We also wanted to hit this park on a Sunday, as they do allow hunting here.

We've hiked this beautiful area many times, but added in a spur we hadn't done before. I'd noticed in "Hiking New Jersey" that a side trail lead to "Kay's Summer Cottage Ruins, Grotto…

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Added by njHiking.com on November 6, 2010 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Stonetown Circular, Ringwood, NJ - 10/31/2010

This is supposed to be the most strenuous hike in New Jersey. The Stonetown Circular trail goes up and down four different mountains. Add to that a large amount of leaf drop that covered rocks on the trail and yes, very strenuous! Most of the hike is lovely with more views than you can count. The Wanaque Reservoir, however, was quite unattractive this time because the water level was very low - it looks much nicer when full. Ran into one other hiker around 5 miles then a few small groups on… Continue

Added by Daniela Wagstaff on November 1, 2010 at 12:53pm — No Comments