Norvin Green State Forest, NJ (Buck Mountain/Wyanokie High Point/Carris Hill)

ABOUT THE PARK: New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry

TRAIL MAP:
NY/NY Trail Conference North Jersey Trails Map #115
Online Map
The kiosk in the parking lot was well stocked with maps but that might not always be the case.
PARKING DIRECTIONS:
I-287 to exit 53, left on Hamburg Pike, right on Glenwild Avenue to parking on right.

NEW JERSEY 1K CLUB PEAK: Buck Mountain

HIKE DIRECTIONS:
This hike is 10 miles long but can be split into two 6-mile hikes. Plenty of exceptional views either way. The parking lot holds about 10 cars - get there early because it fills up. From the parking lot turn left on Glenwild Avenue and walk a few steps to the trailhead on the left. Follow the blue-blazed trail through Otter Hole.


At .5 miles turn left on the yellow-blazed trail which climbs up steeply with views of the New York City skyline along the way. This trail will pass the summit of Buck Mountain around 1.5 miles.


At 2.8 miles continue straight on the pink-blazed trail for some short rock scrambles and great views.


At 3.9 miles turn left on the red dot on white blazed trail. Watch for the turn because if you suddenly find yourself on the red dot trail, you missed the turn and are going the wrong way.



At 4.9 miles turn left on the green-blazed trail for the 10 mile hike. (Turn right on the green-blazed trail then right on the blue-blazed trail to take you back to the parking lot for a 6 mile hike.)

At 5.2 miles turn right on the white-blazed trail.

At 5.8 miles turn left on the blue-blazed trail and walk briefly to a view.


Retrace your steps on the blue-blazed trail going back the way you came and continue on the blue trail until you reach the intersection for Wyanokie High Point.


Go around the rock and follow the trail up to Wyanokie High Point with spectacular 360 degree views. This picture shows the Wanaque Reservoir with the New York City skyline in the background.



Retrace your steps off of Wyanokie High Point, continuing on the red dot/teal/blue trail.

At 6.4 miles the red dot trail leaves off to the right. Stay on the teal/blue trail to Yoo-Hoo Point where you can turn around and see Wyanokie High Point where you just came from.


At 7.2 miles keep left on the yellow-blazed trail which has multiple views along the way.



At 8.2 miles turn right on the white-blazed "Lower" trail. (This blaze has an "L" in the center.) Keep on this trail briefly, then turn right at the intersection on to the solid white-blazed trail (no "L" in the center) passing waterfalls.

At 8.7 miles continue straight on the blue/teal-blazed trail.

At 9.7 miles, turn left on the blue-blazed trail which takes you through the Otter Hole and back to the parking lot.


LITTER REPORT:
Some interesting litter today. On the pink-blazed trail, smack in the way of a scenic overlook, somebody's plastic clamshell from their lunch with a slice of very "ripe" tomato in it. Squashed it flat, sealed it up in a poop bag and my dog carried it out in her backpack.


Saw this book and candy wrapper on a log early on at 7:30 am so figured if it was still there on my way back by in the afternoon, I would take it. It was still there, has now been posted on paperbackswap.com and hopefully it will find a new home.

Delaware Water Gap, NJ (Copper Mines, AT, Catfish Mountain, Rattlesnake Swamp, Catfish Pond)

ABOUT THE PARK: National Park Service

TRAIL MAP: NY/NJ Trail Conference Kittatinny Trails Map #121

PARKING DIRECTIONS:
I-80 to New Jersey exit 1, north on Old Mine Road for 7.5 miles, parking on left.

NEW JERSEY 1K CLUB PEAKS: Catfish Mountain

HIKE DIRECTIONS:
Great hike at Delaware Water Gap NRA. Very few people there so lots of solitude, waterfalls, views, swamps and ponds. The hike is 11.6 miles.

From the parking lot cross Old Mine Road to the trailhead. The red-blazed Copper Mines Trail goes straight. To the left is an unmarked trail that goes along waterfalls to a mine. Out and back is only .25 miles so we did that first.

Take the red-blazed Copper Mine Trail until you reach the white-blazed Appalachian Trail at about 2.5 miles. This trail is very scenic and even though it is a steep uphill, you barely notice there is so much to look at.



When you reach the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, turn left, go over a bridge then cross a gravel road and continue on. This stretch seems really boring after the waterfalls but once the views start, they keep getting better.



At 5.3 miles you reach the Catfish Fire Tower which is the summit of Catfish Mountain if you are peakbagging. You can go up the fire tower for better views.

Continue on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail 1/2 mile then turn left on an unmarked gravel road. After about 1/4 of a mile, turn left on the orange-blazed Rattlesnake Swamp trail at 6 miles.

You'll reach Catfish Pond at about 7.9 miles.

At 8.2 miles, leave the orange trail turning right on an unmarked trail. This trail turns into a gravel road which goes through the AMC Mohican Outdoor Center. Continue on the gravel road until you meet up with the white-blazed Appalachian Trail at 9 miles. Turn right and cross back over the bridge you crossed earlier. In just a few feet turn right on the red-blazed Copper Mine Trail and follow that back to the parking lot. From the far side of the parking lot, you can get a nice view of the Delaware River.


LITTER REPORT:
Only one plastic bottle and one napkin which we packed out.

Mahlon Dickerson Reservation (Morris County, NJ)

ABOUT THE PARK: Morris County NJ Park Commission

TRAIL MAP: Morris County NJ Park Commission online trail map
Maps are usually available at park kiosks but recommend printing one out in case none are available.

PARKING DIRECTIONS:
I-80 to Route 15 North to right on Weldon Road to Saffin Pond parking lot on the right.

NEW JERSEY 1K CLUB PEAKS:
Bowling Green Mountain
Morris County High Point

HIKE DIRECTIONS:
The weather was very iffy so decided to bag some peaks (NJ1K.org) at a park where I would have opportunities to cut the hike short if need be. This is a fairly easy hike with inclines to the peaks but no scrambles. The total distance is 11 miles. There are many trails in this park so a variety of shorter loops are possible.

From the parking lot follow the teal-blazed highland trail along Saffin Pond:

At .50 miles turn left on an unmarked trail which meets up with a yellow-blazed trail at .80 miles.

Follow the yellow-blazed trail to 1.50 miles when the yellow trail turns right, keeping straight ahead to the Headley Overlook sign at 1.75 miles. Turn right and walk a short distance to Headley's Overlook with a view of Lake Hopatcong:

Retrace your steps and continue right on the teal-blazed Highland Trail crossing over Weldon Road at 2.00 miles. At 2.50 miles turn right the white/teal trail then right on an unmarked trail at the next intersection. Keep right on the unmarked trail to Weldon Road and cross over entering Snow Bowl, an abandoned ski area. Follow the wide gravel road up the mountain. You will see a communication tower at the top of the mountain and that is where you will end up either via the gravel road or a trail which runs to the left of the gravel road. Once at the top turn left and a short distance ahead on the left at 3.75 miles is a large boulder with a cairn on top which is the Bowling Green Mountain summit.

A little farther ahead is an abandoned chairlift cut. Continuing past that to 4.25 miles where dirt roads intersect, you will see a fire tower to the right which supposedly offers great views but when I got there it was drizzling so I did not go up. Retrace your steps all the way back crossing back over Weldon Road and reentering via the unmarked trail. Turn right at the next unmarked trail which will bring you to the Cascade Trail which you will follow to the end at 6.75 miles.

At the end of the Cascade Trail there are many options for getting to the Morris County High Point on the white-blazed trail but with all of the unmarked trails, I am not quite sure how I got there. We arrived at Morris County High Point at 8.25 miles.

From the Morris County High Point head south on the white-blazed trail to meet up with an unmarked trail at 8.75 miles. Head west on the unmarked trail which takes to you a left on the pleasant, flat, easy Ogden Mine Railroad Path at 9.75 miles.

The Ogden Mine Railroad Path comes out at Weldon Road at 11 miles with the parking lot where the hike started on the other side of Weldon Road.

I found an old map online that shows the former the ski trails that are not on the Mahlon Dickerson Reservation trail map.


LITTER REPORT (This is included in hopes somebody who litters will see it and think twice before littering again.):
The trails are immaculate. The park has an Adopt-A-Trail program and there is no litter. Over at Bowling Green Mountain, however, the litter is disgusting. This seems to be more of an abandoned/non-maintained area. There was too much litter for me to even think about making a dent in it so I just picked up random trash along the way.

Schunemunk Mountain (Woodbury, NY)

ABOUT THE PARK: NY/NJ Trail Conference Park Description / Wikipedia

TRAIL MAP: NY/NJ Trail Conference West Hudson Trails Map #114

PARKING LOT GPS COORDINATES:

TRAIL DESCRIPTION and DIRECTIONS: NY/NJ Trail Conference Schunemunk Mountain Via Dark Hollow & Jessup Trails

WEATHER FORECAST: Weather.com for Woodbury, NY

This is not an easy hike, lots of very steep ups and downs, some challenging rock scrambles (especially for the dog) but the views are awesome and well worth the effort to get to the top. Early on there is traffic noise from the nearby New York State Thruway and you have to cross active railroad tracks but you do get away from all of that after about the first mile and will be very pleasantly surprised at how nice of a hike it turns out to be. This is a popular place so get there early if you want solitude (and a parking spot).

The New York State Thruway early on in the hike:


The Hudson River:


The Shawangunk Ridge and Catskills:



Waterfalls:


First signs of spring:


Be VERY careful crossing the railroad tracks. I stopped and listened and thought I heard something so I stayed put. Within seconds, the train whooshed by.


And our litter haul for the day, now in the recycling bin instead of on Schunemunk Mountain for the next thousand years.