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:
