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. |
