The Best New Jersey Hiking Trips

The Best New Jersey Hiking Trips

The Batona Trail, The Pine Barrens
This 50 mile trails interconnects the Brendan T. Byrne, Wharton, and Bass River State Forests. This trail is very flat and easy to hike, and is excellent for a day trip with the kids. Other trails intersect with the Batona Trail to provide loops of about 6 miles and 14 miles for day hikes. Loops of about 2 miles at the forest office and one mile at Pakim Pond provide short easy hikes with wide pathways which avoid contact with vegetation that may harbor ticks or other insect pests.
Parking/Trail head: The best access points are at the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest headquarters and the Batsto Visitor Center.

Buttermilk Falls Loop, Branchville, NJ
Difficulty: Moderate. It offers 9.3 miles R/T and includes 3 waterfalls, cascades/slides, views, natural Area, hemlocks, good climb. The best time to come is in the Spring or after a heavy rain. From the falls, you can follow markers to the blue trail, which leads to the white Appalachian trail.
Parking/Trail head: Take Rt 206 west from Branchville, beyond Stokes State forest headquarters. Make a left onto Strubble RD. Follow signs for Tillmans Ravine. About 4 miles from Rt 206, Strubble Rd intersection. There are two parking lots with the Tillmans Ravine sign in front. Proceed past them to you . come to a stop sign with a cemetery in front. Make a Sharp left and follow the dirt road down. Parking is on the right. Note: If you come to a green Steel bridge you went to far. If you want a shorter hike that takes you directly to the falls, go about about 1/4 mile past the second lot and you will come to a 4 way intersection. Make a left onto a dirt rock road that has a grave yard on your right. Proceed about 1 mile down that road, on the left, is Buttermilk Falls.

Delaware & Raritan Canal
This 77-mile trail has several sections that are easy and flat and run through three counties. The most popular sections are:
1) The 29 mile main canal towpath trail was used by mules to pull barges along the canal.
Parking/Trail head: A good access point with parking is the Landing Lane Bridge on County Route 609 and spans the Raritan River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and the Griggstown Causeway in Princeton.

2) The 28 mile Feeder Canal Towpath/Rail-trail. The trail begins in Trenton near Route 1 and ends north of Frenchtown.
Parking/Trail head: Convenient access points with parking and rest rooms are Washington Crossing State Park, Lambertville, and Bull's Island.

3) The 8 mile South Bound Brook trail. The hike is along a leafy canal towpath from Bound Brook to New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Hacklebarney State Park, Chester, NJ
892 acres of a glacial valley with gorges carved by the Black River and two tributaries that feed it. There are over 5 miles of overlapping trails. This is an easy hike. Good for kids. There are a number of bridges and picnic tables throughout the park. Anyone who wants to experience a wonderful outdoor setting without a lot of hiking or effort Fishing - the water is stocked with trout. Note this is a very popular place without much solitude.
Parking/Trail Head: Rt 206 to 513 W. Just past Cooper Mill make a left onto State Park Road. (There are signs) Continue for about 2 miles and make a right onto Hacklebarney Road. Park entrance on your left.

Mt. Tammany - Delaware Water Gap
Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult. One of the most popular trails in New Jersey. Great views of the surrounding area and Mt. Minsi across the way. Take the Red Dot Trail head. There are several trails of .5 miles, and 1.3 miles to the summit. Take the more gradual Blue Dot Trail back.
Parking/Trail head: Route 80 west to just before the last exit in New Jersey. On the right there is a sign for Dunnfield Creek Natural Area. There is a parking lot on the right, then a large main lot in the center.

Pyramid Mountain – Tripod Rock
Difficulty; Moderate but interesting for experienced hikers. 4.6 miles R/T with a variety of short to medium trail loops with moderate elevation gains, rocky footpaths, several streams, interesting glacial erratics in a beautiful setting. For nice views of the NYC skyline take the blue trail. It crosses a stream and power lines and then ascends on a short, but steep climb to the top of Pyramid Mtn.
Parking/Trail head: Rt 287 to exit 45. 472 A Boonton Avenue, Montville Township, NJ

Ramapo Mountain State Forest & The Van Slyke Castle
This route takes in Ramapo Lake, Van Slyke Castle ruins, plus views of the surrounding area and of NYC. It's easy to create loops of any length here, and there is a lot to see, even on a short loop. The entire 9.8 mile loop is recommended for experienced hiker in decent shape. For less experienced hikers that are easier, shorter and flatter trails. Suggest access on Skyline drive at the "upper" lot with parking. The trails from that will lead to the lake area via Hoeferlin in yellow, Schuber in orange, or Todd in white and head north. There are several short trails from 1.1 to 1.6 miles that can take you to the Van Slyke Castle and Ramapo Lake.

Sunrise Mountain & High Point
This very popular 7 mile R/T Appalachian Trail hike with easy difficulty takes you to the northern Kittatinny Ridge with a climb to the highest point in NJ to an elevation 1803 feet at High Point. Here you can experience beautiful vistas along jagged ledges and views of the High Point Monument, Normanook Fire Tower, and the Sunrise Mountain Pavilion over the Walkill River valley and Delaware River.
Parking/Trail head: Route 15 north to Route 206 North. Go past Culvers Lake and shortly past turnoff for Sunrise Mountain Rd, make right onto Coursen Rd. Follow to day use area at Stony Lake.

Terrace Pond South, West Milford, NJ
This 4.5 mile moderate difficulty loop offers some attractive forest walking with rocky scrambles. The ascend is a little rocky with some easy wooded sections over a gradual climb to Terrace Pond, a secluded lake on top of Bearfort Mt. There are some cool cliffs around the lake. Along the rout you pass some neat rock formations and glacial erratics. There a a few small waterfalls off the Terrace Pond South trail. Take the Blue Terrace Pond North, to White Terrace Pond, to Yellow Terrace Pond South.
Parking/Trail head: Take Rt. 23 North into West Milford. Make a right onto Clinton Road past Clinton Reservoir. Trail head is on left on Clinton Road, just before the pipe Line. If you go to Warwick Turnpike you went to far.

Torne Mountain - Osio Rock Norvin Green State Forest
This 3.5 miles R/T moderate difficulty trail takes you to the top of Torne Mountain along the ridge for great views on the way up to Osio Rock for a 360 degree view of the Wanaque Reservoir, the Ramapos and on a clear day, the NYC skyline.
Parking/Trail head: Take Rt 287 to exit 53, turn left onto Hamburg Turnpike, right onto Glenwild Ave. Pass a hiker parking area for Wyanokie Crest on the right, shortly after that is limited parking for Otter Hole (8-10 cars, The trail head is across the road. This route starts from the "Otter Hole" parking area of Norvin, not at the Weis Ecology Center.

Wanaque Ridge Trail Ramapo Mountain State Forest
6 miles, moderate difficulty hike covering Ramapo Lake with views from Wanaque ridge of the reservoir and surrounding mountains. There are a few steep climbs with some easy wooded road sections around Ramapo Lake.
Parking/Trail head: Rt 287 to Exit 57, north on Skyline Drive. The "lower" parking lot is on the left. Take caution for low-clearance vehicles: The entrance is rocky and rutted.

Wawayanda Mountain, Wawayanda State Park
This 6-mile hike through Wawayanda State Park takes the hiker through 13,000 acres of remote trails, cliffs, plateaus, bogs, ravines,streams, and beautiful vistas. The mountain contains some of oldest bedrock along the entire Appalachian Trail dating back over 12,000 years.
Parking/Trail head: From Route 23, take Route 94 North for about 1 mile into New York and turn right on Moe Road. This road becomes Warwick Turnpike in New Jersey; the park entrance will be to your right, well marked. Start at one of the two access points on the Warwick Turnpike.

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