Berkshire Valley Wildlife Management Area, NJ

ABOUT THE PARK:
Berkshire Valley WMA - New York New Jersey Trail Conference
Berkshire Valley Management Area Trail - TrailLink.com

DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates to Gordon Road Parking 40.909909, -74.617063

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PEAK BAGGING:
Mount Arlington - NJ 1K Club
Mount Arlington - Peakery.com

TRAIL MAP:
Jersey Highlands Trail Map 126 - New York New Jersey Trail Conference
Berkshire Valley WMA, NJ at EveryTrail


HIKE DISTANCE:  6.7 miles

THE HIKE:

The trail begins at the far end of the parking lot.

A 4-way intersection a few steps in.  To the right is the return route coming from the old rail bed, the summit of Mount Arlington is to the left.

The trail looks overgrown at first ...

... but it opens up to a woods road ...

... and is blazed with some red smiley faces although just in this area and near the summit, not all along the way.

Crossing Stephens Creek which is pretty much dry right now.

Lots of forks and intersections (and no more red smiley faces) but it's not very hard to figure out with a GPS.

Bushwhacking to the summit of Mount Arlington but it is fairly clear so it's easy going

At the summit!  Shawnee turns 13.5 sometime this month and she just bagged her 22nd NJ 1K'er!

Bushwhacking back to another woods road we saw on the way to the summit ...

... which turns out to be blazed with those red smiley faces.

There is lots of old rusty stuff around.

There was a pretty long section of woods road covered in broken dishes, broken bottles and shards of glass.  I kept getting glass stuck in the treads of my hiking shoes.  How I managed to maneuver Shawnee through that minefield of broken glass without her getting cut was nothing short of a miracle.

Fortunately the walking surface eventually cleared but then we entered an overgrown section.

I saw movement to the right - domestic cat or something else?  It was gone by the time I tried to get a second shot.

Ruins in the woods.

The trail ends at a residential area but following the GPS, I kept turning right until...

... a trail entered the woods at the end of a paved road and ...

... led straight to the Berkshire Valley Management Area Trail where I wanted to be.

This old rail bed leads all the way back to the parking area, gradually downhill with a nice breeze.

An old railroad tie off the trail.

A railroad tie left in the trail.

The only bird shot of the day.