Passaic River Park, NJ

ABOUT THE PARK:
Passaic River Trails - City of Summit, NJ

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.725659, -74.389374

Stanley Avenue Parking

TRAIL MAPS:
Passaic River Trail - City of Summit, NJ

The Pioneer Path is a continuation of the Passaic River Tail to Oakwood Park in New Providence.

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HIKE DISTANCE: 5 miles

THE HIKE:

Heading towards the Passaic River where to the right of the picnic table ...

... is a short footpath.

This path follows along the river to ...

... the railroad track bridge.

Passaic River

Heading back.

Through the parking lot ...

... right on Stanley Avenue then left before the bridge...

... on to the blue-blazed Passaic River Trail.

Because I thought this was only going to be a 3-mile hike, Brodie did not wear his backpack.

Of course this would be the time he decided to poop early on so I would get to carry it instead of being able to put it in his backpack.

The trail goes through a power cut which is pretty overgrown but the trail can still be followed.

Views of the Passaic River along the way.

Brodie stuck his nose in this hole for a sniff, something hissed at him and he jumped back.

Coming up on Mount Vernon Avenue.

Veer left to the end of the guardrail then right on Mount Vernon Avenue ...

... then left back on to the trail.  The kiosk has nothing to do with the hiking trail.

The trail then comes out on New Providence Avenue where there is parking and to the right ...

... the recycling center.  We'd be going to the other side of that gate later but for now, left back into the woods.

We left blue to do the yellow lollipop loop.

Back at New Providence Avenue, left beyond the gate towards the recycling center.

... then right to the trail.  There is no sign but seems to be marked by that boulder.

The trail continues as the yellow trail.

A spur to the left goes past this pond ...

... to an overlook above the Passaic River.

Coming back off the spur, left to ...

A flight of steps down to river level.

We turned left here but on the return route we would be crossing over on the rocks to the trail continuation on the right.

Continuing left on the now blue-blazed Passaic River Trail.

Fortunately I had plotted out a track in the Gaia app because it showed trails not on any maps, that pink loop which we would be doing on the way back.  But for now, at the end of the track as shown on the app, the trail continued on so I wanted to see how much farther it would go.  (Turns out it continued as the blue-blazed Pioneer Path for another mile.)

Making note of a kiosk on the left; would check that out on the return route.

At these steps that go down to the river on the right ...

... left goes up to ...

... Oakwood Park which is where I saw the map in the kiosk designating this additional section of blue-blazed trail as the Pioneer Path.  This would be the turnaround point at the end of the trail.

Coming down from Oakwood Park, this would be the beginning of the Pioneer Path as we were heading back.

At this fencing, heading uphill to check out that kiosk we saw earlier.

Looks like this would be parking on a cul-de-sac at about the mid way point of the Pioneer Path.

Back on blue heading back.

We had turned right on an unmarked path that I had seen on the Gaia app.  It ascends to the right of a gorge.  We came upon a kiosk with nothing in it.

Near the top the trail is blazed orange.

Then red.

Then left on yellow to descend and  return back to blue.

Looks like the color changed to orange?  The blazes can be confusing but since there is no map, you don't quite know what they are supposed to be anyway.

Yellow/orange ends with blue just a short distance ahead beyond those logs.

Back to right on blue.

These large flowers were very pretty but they were all facing the water so I couldn't get a picture from the front.

This would be the end of the Pioneer Path but the trail continues.

Directly across from that flight of steps we came down earlier, cross over those rocks to continue on the trail.

The trail goes up to ...

... Mount Vernon Avenue.

Crossing over at the guardrail.

Back at the parking lot on the other side of Stanley Avenue.

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