ABOUT THE PARK:
Stephens State Park - New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.873742, -74.805525
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| Parking at the park office. |
TRAIL MAPS:
Jersey Highlands Trail Map #126 - NY-NJ Trail Conference
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HIKE DISTANCE: 8 miles
THE HIKE:
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| Before starting, some views of the Musconetcong River at the parking lot. |
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| Starting on the wide gravel path from the parking lot ... |
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| ... which is the red trail. |
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| Red follows along with white. |
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| Just the other side of the picnic tables on the left ... |
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| ... more river views. |
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| The teal diamond Highlands Trail joins in also ... |
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| ... then leaves to the left. We would be returning that way. |
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| Left on the red/white trail. |
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| After the picnic shelter ... |
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| ... the trail becomes a footpath. |
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| Left on white. |
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| Turning left on pink. |
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| Coming out into ... |
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| ... a power cut. |
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| There was a ton of bird activity here. After sorting through about 30 pictures of leaves, I came up with ... |
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| ... a few shots of juvenile common yellowthroats. |
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| Back into the woods. |
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| Towards the end of the pink loop, some ponds/swamps on the right. |
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| And lots of fungi. |
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| Back through the power cut. |
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| At the end of pink, retracing right on white. |
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| Where white turns left (from where we had come the opposite way earlier) we stayed straight on unmarked ... |
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| ... which leads to Waterloo Valley Road where we turned left. |
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| I decided to road walk back since the mosquitoes were horrendous in the woods and I had run out of Deep Woods OFF from reapplying and was being eaten alive. The gnats were so bad on Waterloo Valley Road that Brodie's head was engulfed in a swarm of them and he kept snapping and pawing at them. So annoying, those gnats. |
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| We agree, Brodie, furniture does not belong here. |
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| Left just before the bridge (photo bombed by a gnat) ... |
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| ...left on the Highlands Trail/Patriot's Path/White Trail. |
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| Highlands Trail/White veer right along ... |
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| ... the Musconetcong River. |
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| Back to red ... |
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| ... all the way back to the parking lot. |
Looks like a beautiful place to hike! Great shots! I give you so much credit for hiking in the summer with the bugs. I won't do it. Can't wait for fall. Thanks for sharing. Joanne from Denville, NJ
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne. This was the worst with mosquitoes and gnats and I am sure it is because of all of the rain. And the fact that I forgot my OFF can was almost empty.
DeleteLooks like a peaceful park. What kind of camera do you use?
ReplyDeleteIt's a Canon SX60 HS.
DeleteWow -- what *great* pictures, as always (especially of the Musconetcong River). I've never been to this park (well, you may remember, I'm a South Jersey guy :-) ), but a long time ago, I _did_ actually visit Allamuchy State Park, which I know is right next to Stephens SP. I've also been on a small (well, _much_ too small) portion of Patriot's Path (in Morristown, NJ), but I never knew that it merges with the Highlands Trail at times!
ReplyDeleteAlso love your butterfly pix...looks like the yellow one is a Yellow Swallowtail; beautiful species! (I like the Black Swallowtails as well; ranks right up there with the Monarch for me!) As always, love the bird shots too! I always try to get bird shots as well; I don't know my species nearly as well as you do, but one of my favorites (outside of the unmistakable Red-Winged Black Bird) is the American Yellow Warbler.
Anyway, so glad you braved the weather (although, perhaps the chances of rain up where you were weren't as great as down here in South Jersey, or Northern Delaware, which is where I was looking to go to today, but "chickened out" due to the chances of bad weather. (I was looking to go to Ashland Nature Center in Hockessin, DE...not sure if you've been there, but it looks like a beautiful place to hike!)
Thank you (as always) for the great pix, and I look forward to your next adventure!
-- Jim
Thanks, Jim! It wasn't so much braving the weather (I had enough of a dry window to get hike in, amazingly enough) it was more braving the mosquitoes. They were horrible.
DeleteThere is a Facebook page called "What's This Bird?" and if you post a picture of a bird you cannot identify with the location and date, birders will respond back, usually within minutes, with an answer. That was how I confirmed the juvenile common yellowthroat since I was not sure but thought that is what it might be.
We made the mistake of hiking Stephens in July three years ago and the bugs were so horrendous that we jogged almost the whole way back in an effort to create enough wind to thwart them...
ReplyDeleteThankfully we saw no one because we made quite a sight running in boots, backpacks, and with trek poles... while flailing our arms around to swat them from our faces... LOL
LOL I can relate! So it wasn't just all the rain. No wonder nobody else was there. And yes, quite a sight I made, too, flailing my trekking poles ahead of me to down spider webs (or dancing wildly to pull a hairnet of webs of me when I missed one) while fanning with one of those paper accordion fans to keep bug off of my face and out of my ears (as it was wilting and falling apart from the humidity) while speed hiking and not stopping to get a drink, nothing! Note to self: Try in the dead of winter.
DeleteThat little island in the River just off the parking lot is one of my favorite spots in all of NJ. Very serene with the water rushing all around. Best in the off season on a weekday though. I think that's it in your 4th picture (not counting the map).
ReplyDeleteYes, I think I know what you are talking about - there are a few picnic tables on it? The bridge to that island is boarded up with closed signs all over it :( I was thinking the same thing that it must be a nice spot if you could actually get to it.
DeleteI haven't been there in a few years but that's the spot. The boarding up must be a new development, hopefully not permanent.
DeleteThe bridge looked pretty decrepit so maybe it is being replaced.
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