ABOUT THE PARKS:
Allamuchy Mountain State Park, NJ - NJ DEP
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 40.92156, -74.73881
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| Sussex Branch Parking |
TRAIL MAPS:
Morris County Highlands Trails Map 126 - New York New Jersey Trail Conference
HIKE DISTANCE: 9 miles
THE HIKE:
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| Starting on the Sussex Branch Trail. |
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| The light up ahead is the clearing where Jefferson Lake is. |
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| Just before the lake, a right on the Byram Trail. |
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| Jefferson Lake |
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| Coming out on a residential street for a short distance. |
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| At the intersection there is a path on the left ... |
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| ... that leads to ... |
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| Jefferson Lake. |
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| Continuing on following the path to the right to ... |
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| ... the boat launch parking ... |
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| ... then left across the dam. |
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| The sign on the right is very faint but it says "TRAIL ----->" |
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| Oh no, what is this "bridge closed" sign? |
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| Rats! That totally destroys the hike I had planned. However it appeared others had gone on over the bridge via an opening to the left of the fencing. |
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| So I went on around then VERY carefully over staying to the far left and ... |
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| ... on we went. |
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| At the fork we left the gravel path to the left on a dirt footpath. |
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| At the end of that path, left on the Highlands Trail. |
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| When the Highlands Trail turned left, we turned right on an unmarked trail. |
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| We worked our way around on unmarked trails over to the Sussex Branch Trail up ahead ... |
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| ... then turned left for a short distance ... |
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| ... to a right on the blue Iron Mine Trail. (Keeping straight on the Sussex Branch Trail would make it about a 4.5 mile hike.) |
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| At the double left turn blazes, we went right on unmarked. |
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| Those were a couple of large rocks that had been pulled up out of the ground. No doubt a bear looking for his dinner of bugs. |
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| Right on red. |
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| Right on unmarked. |
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| Left on white. |
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| And at the fork right on yellow. |
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| Stopping at the overlook for views of the Musconetcong River and Waterloo Lakes. |
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| Tilcon Lake |
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| Leaving the overlook on the Highlands Trail. |
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| Right on yellow/white. |
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| Staying on white when yellow leaves to the right. |
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| Right on the Sussex Branch Trail back to the parking lot. |
