Blue Mountain Road/Crater Lake

[Beth and Dave]

Does anyone know if this area is open and accessible now after the hurricane and snow storm of fall 2011? We went here in the spring and would love to revisit.  

[Beth and Dave]

I meant Blue Mountain Lake Road.

[njHiking.com]

Still closed as of Dec 7 2011, unfortunately... check the NPS closure page and map for updates:

http://www.nps.gov/dewa/parknews/irene-updates.htm

We also have a Hurricane Irene Trail Damage page, too.

Dawn

[Beth and Dave]

Thanks.  I was looking for that page and couldn't find it.  Bummer:-(

[Paul]

You might take the option of parking by Buttermilk falls (if that road is open to the falls) and hiking in to Crater lake.

[Daniela Wagstaff]

Blue Mountain Lakes Road is still closed at Old Mine Road but if you don't mind a couple of miles of road walking, there is an unofficial parking option.  The road walk is not bad at all since the road is closed and there is no traffic.  If you put 41.087842, -74.909042 into Googlemaps and zoom in to street view you can see a couple of cars parked where Fairview Lake Road ends on the Stillwater, NJ side.  I gave that a try today and since I did not see any no parking signs other than one off to the right at a small clearing, I felt comfortable parking there.  At the end of my hike there were more cars parked by mine.  I asked a man who had just parked and he said he has been parking there for years and there have been no issues.  This picture was taken from the other side of the gate - you walk up the old paved road beyond the gate and meet up with the AT in under half a mile.  Blue Mountain Lakes is another 1.5  miles ahead on the paved road.

[Beth and Dave]

Thanks for the info.  Due to house renovation issues it might be awhile until we get there.  But we will get there!

Daniela Wagstaff said:

Blue Mountain Lakes Road is still closed at Old Mine Road but if you don't mind a couple of miles of road walking, there is an unofficial parking option.  The road walk is not bad at all since the road is closed and there is no traffic.  If you put 41.087842, -74.909042 into Googlemaps and zoom in to street view you can see a couple of cars parked where Fairview Lake Road ends on the Stillwater, NJ side.  I gave that a try today and since I did not see any no parking signs other than one off to the right at a small clearing, I felt comfortable parking there.  At the end of my hike there were more cars parked by mine.  I asked a man who had just parked and he said he has been parking there for years and there have been no issues.  This picture was taken from the other side of the gate - you walk up the old paved road beyond the gate and meet up with the AT in under half a mile.  Blue Mountain Lakes is another 1.5  miles ahead on the paved road.

[Emily Hughes]

This worked out really well for us this weekend! We changed our thru-hiking plans last minute and decided to do an out and back from Crater Lake to MOC. We followed the directions, and found Flatbrook-Stillwater Road closed. Luckily, we ran into locals who directed us to this parking spot. I'm just curious about whether this is the only access point now. According the the NPS website:

• Flatbrook-Stillwater Road (Routes 617/627) east of the park no longer connects to Skyline Drive and Blue Mountain Lakes Road within the park. Cars can only reach Crater Lake by approaching from the west via Old Mine Road, Blue Mountain Lakes Road, and Skyline Drive within the recreation area. This is a permanent closure.

This seems to be the only update related to access to Crater Lake. Is the road closed now due to hurricane damage? Has anyone heard if it will reopen this year?

Daniela Wagstaff said:

Blue Mountain Lakes Road is still closed at Old Mine Road but if you don't mind a couple of miles of road walking, there is an unofficial parking option.  The road walk is not bad at all since the road is closed and there is no traffic.  If you put 41.087842, -74.909042 into Googlemaps and zoom in to street view you can see a couple of cars parked where Fairview Lake Road ends on the Stillwater, NJ side.  I gave that a try today and since I did not see any no parking signs other than one off to the right at a small clearing, I felt comfortable parking there.  At the end of my hike there were more cars parked by mine.  I asked a man who had just parked and he said he has been parking there for years and there have been no issues.  This picture was taken from the other side of the gate - you walk up the old paved road beyond the gate and meet up with the AT in under half a mile.  Blue Mountain Lakes is another 1.5  miles ahead on the paved road.

[Hank Hall]

Hi just bumping this old thread for folks who are interested in this area.  Via a Facebook post from a group of folks who have a reunion every year at Blue Mountain Lake I found out that the road opened up sometime in December of last year at least to Blue Mountain Lake-not sure if they've reopened the road all the way to Crater Lake though.  If anyone has been up there lately I'd love to hear from them as I'd like to get out there this Spring.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/BLUE-MOUNTAIN-LAKES-WALPACK-NEW-JERS...

[njHiking.com]

I just popped over to the NPS site to see if they had info; they have it listed as a closure:

"Blue Mt. Lakes Road, Skyline Drive, and the access road to Crater Lake. Due to the start of repairs on this road in November 2012, foot traffic as well as vehicle traffic is suspended. HIkers may reach the Appalachian Trail in this area via Buttermilk Falls Trail spur in Walpack Center."

http://www.nps.gov/dewa/planyourvisit/area-and-road-closures.htm

--Dawn

[Beth and Dave]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr   :-(

[Beth and Dave]

We were so totally planning on heading up there in the spring.  This is getting really old!  Most of the trails we love are closed or damaged right now.  I wonder how long this will last.

Beth and Dave said:

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr   :-(

[Paul]

Well, with any luck, the work may be done by spring. I agree that Crater lake is a sweet little spot for a quick getaway, but the hike from Buttermilk Falls is pretty neat too.