Sunday, July 10, 2022

Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center to Cooper Gristmill, NJ

ABOUT THE PARK: 
Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center - Morris County Park Commission

DIRECTIONS: 
GPS Coordinates 40.76420, -74.71127
Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center Parking

TRAIL MAP: 


HIKE DISTANCE:  8.3 miles

THE HIKE: 
Heading towards the kiosk ...
... to pick up the Black River Trail which is also ...
... the Patriots Path.
Black River
The dam ...
... at Kay Pond
Those fluffy yellow babies from last month are now teenagers.
Cooper Gristmill.  Dogs are not allowed there so this was our turn around point.
Someone hitched a ride on Brodie's backpack.
Heading back.
A right turn on green.
Then right on orange.
Orange crosses a bridge over Black River and continues as an out and back trail to ...
... steps on the left leading down to ruins.
The end of the trail continues as a short loop before heading back.
After the bridge, right on orange/green.
This will lead back down to those ruins on the opposite side of the river.
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.
Yes, a bathtub in the woods.
We missed a turn to stay on red because of a path continuing straight ahead over a newer bridge.
In a short distance there were ribbons but no more trail so this must be a new trail under construction.
We found our way back to red and descended back to the river.
There are some pretty cascades and small waterfalls along the way.
Red then goes uphill over a rocky area ...
... then descends down the other side on switchbacks.
At Pottersville Road a left turn for a road walk or straight ahead for a slightly longer loop on trails with less road walking.
This is a red connector for the Patriots Path...
... that runs into the Patriots Path where we turned left.
Coming back out on Pottersville Road and turning right ...
... for a short road walk.
Left onto the Elizabeth D. Kay Environmental Center entrance drive.
On the right opposite a private residence is a mowed path.  We meandered around several of the mowed paths for a bit.
Back on the entrance drive, we turned left then right to continue on paths on the other side.
We ended up back on the section of Patriots Path from the entrance drive to the parking lot.

Wildflowers seen on the hike: