Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center - Morris County Park Commission
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.76420, -74.71127
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| Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center Parking |
TRAIL MAP:
Cooper Gristmill & Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center - Morris County Park Commision
HIKE DISTANCE: 8.3 miles
THE HIKE:
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| Heading towards the kiosk ... |
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| ... to pick up the Black River Trail which is also ... |
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| ... the Patriots Path. |
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| Black River |
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| The dam ... |
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| ... at Kay Pond |
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| Those fluffy yellow babies from last month are now teenagers. |
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| Cooper Gristmill. Dogs are not allowed there so this was our turn around point. |
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| Someone hitched a ride on Brodie's backpack. |
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| Heading back. |
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| A right turn on green. |
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| Then right on orange. |
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| Orange crosses a bridge over Black River and continues as an out and back trail to ... |
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| ... steps on the left leading down to ruins. |
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| The end of the trail continues as a short loop before heading back. |
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| After the bridge, right on orange/green. |
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| This will lead back down to those ruins on the opposite side of the river. |
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| We made our way over to the red trail on an unmarked trail. The red trail is more of a rugged footpath than the trails so far. |
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| Yes, a bathtub in the woods. |
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| We missed a turn to stay on red because of a path continuing straight ahead over a newer bridge. |
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| In a short distance there were ribbons but no more trail so this must be a new trail under construction. |
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| We found our way back to red and descended back to the river. |
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| There are some pretty cascades and small waterfalls along the way. |
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| Red then goes uphill over a rocky area ... |
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| ... then descends down the other side on switchbacks. |
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| At Pottersville Road a left turn for a road walk or straight ahead for a slightly longer loop on trails with less road walking. |
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| This is a red connector for the Patriots Path... |
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| ... that runs into the Patriots Path where we turned left. |
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| Coming back out on Pottersville Road and turning right ... |
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| ... for a short road walk. |
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| Left onto the Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center entrance drive. |
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| On the right opposite a private residence is a mowed path. We meandered around several of the mowed paths for a bit. |
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| Back on the entrance drive, we turned left then right to continue on paths on the other side. |
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| We ended up back on the section of Patriots Path from the entrance drive to the parking lot. |
Wildflowers seen on the hike:
Hi Daniela -- been a while since I commented (and *not* because all your hikes since your last one in South Jersey haven't been spectacular, but there's just *something* about this hike that grabbed my attention from your first picture!) ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy favorite pics, other than *all* of the ones of the gorgeous Black River, were 3 in particular:
(1) That dragonfly that "hitch-hiked" on your backpack was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen (don't recall ever seeing one with _that_ shade of green!)
(2) About those "ruins"...they seemed to be in the best shape I've ever seen "ruins"!
(3) And how about those two (different) bees [honeybee & bumblebee) sharing the same flower???
Finally, one cannot possibly go wrong on the Patriot's Path! I may have to check this one out, despite the (inevitable) lonnnng drive it would be for me! Thank you for this (and all other) posts...cannot wait to see what's next!
Jim
Thanks, Jim! I think you would find it worth the drive. It's an incredibly beautiful place. So much to see along those mowed meadow paths, too. Something happened with my camera when I was on the mowed paths to where the display was not working and I had to look through the viewfinder which is blurry and TINY so I had lots of out of focus pictures. Fortunately when I returned home I Googled the problem and was able to do a reset to get the display back. Time for a new camera soon anyway. It's not like I don't use them up!
DeleteThis is one of my favorite hikes in NJ, although I mostly visit this place in the winter. We usually start at the Cooper Gristmill and hike along the river to the Kay Environmental Center and back...I think it's 6.5 mi. The wildflower meadows around the environmental center are a fantastic spot to observe native plants, birds and insects.
ReplyDeleteI started at the Cooper Gristmill when I hiked there 12 years ago but dogs actually are not allowed there so I picked a different starting spot this time. I had not explored the Kay area before and yes, lots going on there. Keeping that in mind for when I need to entertain the grandkids.
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