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Outdoor destinations and recreation

Hiking
Allamuchy State Park
Together, Allamuchy Mountain and Stephens State Parks comprise 9,200 acres of park lands in Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties.
Appalachian Trail
Now, my own soon-to-be adventure on the Jersey AT demanded to be done. I told them my hiker buddy and I, both women in our 50s, aren't hikers, never camped out nor tossed food over tree branches to keep it away from hungry, wild animals.
Appalachian Trail Short Hikes
With a little planning and a map or two, the New Jersey section can be conquered one day at a time in seven modest day-hikes.
Bald Pate Mountain, Washington's Crossing, Howell Farm
Just a few miles south of Lambertville lies an area ripe for weekend adventure and exploration. Components of local, national, and natural history are well represented, as well as brilliant prospects for craft seekers, hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and picnickers.
Blair Creek Preserve
Under the shade of oak, hickory, maple and beech, a rutted, over-grown driveway leads to a little cabin by a lake deep in the woods in Stillwater.
Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park
Today the canal's route provides a 67 mile corridor of recreation and wildlife that invites your pleasure by foot, bike or canoe.
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
After years of struggle, controversy and benign neglect, ways to offer interpretive looks at the rich history of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area are finally becoming reality.
Delaware Water Gap Trails
The famous notch that characterizes Warren County's western skyline is where the Kittatinny Mountains have given way to eons of gentle persuasion by the Delaware River, creating one of the most majestic of New Jersey's natural features between Mount Tammany and Mount Minsi in Pennsylvania.
Geocaching
Tech-savvy outdoors enthusiasts have found a new way to spice up their never-ending quests for adventure.
Hacklebarney State Park
Hacklebarney State Park is 892 acres of glacial valley, with gorges carved by the Black River and two tributaries that feed it, the Rinehart and Trout Brooks. There are over 5 miles of trails.
High and Mighty
From the top of Mount Tammany the trees lining the Delaware River have shrunk to resemble props for a toy train set. Intent on finding the next hand and foot-hold in the metaquartzite cliffs along the Kittattiny Ridge, climbers work their way skywards. They don't look down.
High Point State Park
I found my thrill walking the Monument Trail in High Point State Park recently. The path along the forested mountain top at the top of New Jersey at 1,800 feet offered me palettes of color and texture that only the shallow-soil ridges of High Point can. Golden vistas of New York, Pennsylvania and Sussex County await the woodland explorer seeking gorgeous views and an enchanting w
Highlands Trail
When complete, the trail will link the full distance of the Highlands from end to end, a 150 mile footpath network for the more than 1.1 million acres of this distinct physiographic province.
Highlands Trailblazing
New routes on the Highlands Trail
Hiking Groups
Organized group hikes carry a certain appeal for those looking for new challenges or guidance getting started.
Hunterdon County Hikes
Although it may not match the drama of the Delaware Water Gap or the legend of the Appalachian Trail, Hunterdon County has plenty of diversity to offer hikers wishing to explore the unspoiled areas of the Skylands Region.
Hunterdon County Rail Trails
When I first began leading long distance day hikes, I sought out routes along abandoned railroads beginning in northern Hunterdon County. While Hunterdon's system of rails was not as intricate as farther north, where mining was more prevalent, the county was home to many spur lines used to transport passengers and products to charming villages and hamlets.
Ice Hiking
One doesn't usually think of New Jersey's Kittatinny Mountains in the same breath as glaciers and icy slopes of higher mountains. Some years this changes in January and February when ice climbing routes come "into condition" on Mount Tammany and on many waterfalls in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Jenny Jump State Forest
Jenny Jump State Forest stretches between the four Warren County Townships of Frelinghuysen, Hope, Liberty, and Independence some 12 miles southeast of the Delaware Water Gap
Karamac Kandy
A former railbed just north of the Delaware Water Gap provides another short but satisfying taste of days past in a beautiful setting.
Kittatinny State Park
It is, except for the completion of a few bridges, now possible to hike a continuous distance of nearly 50 miles on public trails through Sussex and Warren counties on the Paulinskill Valley Trail.
Merrill Creek Recreation Area
Visitors have the chance to help in environmental studies by merely carrying a turtle or lending a fish on the end of your hook.
Million Dollar Highway
All along the Water Gap?s historic Kittatinny Park in Pennsylvania.
Mohican Outdoor Center
Mohican provides a base of operations for a wide range of trail work projects carried out by AMC in cooperation with the National Park Service.
Natirar
Hiking, horses and fishing outdoors, events, exhibitions and concerts, a museum and interpretive center.
New Jersey High Country
From impressive rock walls to the scattered glaciated boulders that dot the landscape, there's a little something for everyone out here, whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned wall rat.
North of the Tension Line
Bag all the West Milford peaks and give them something to talk about!
Pochuck Valley
The trail is skinny and unobtrusive with scattered benches good for watching hawks and herons.
Rail Trails
Since my grandfather first took me hiking on the old DL&W line through Warren County, I have had an affinity for exploring the paths left along these rights of way,
Rock A Bye Rail Trail
The Rockaway Valley Railroad was about 25 miles long and lasted for about 25 years.
Round Valley Recreation Area
My family and I have enjoyed many hours boating on the reservoir and exploring the terrain.
Sourland Mountain Preserve
Legstretchers
Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area
The Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) lies in Sussex County off Route 517 and Glen Road near the Town of Sparta, and along the Highlands Trail.
Stokes State Forest
On the north side of Branchville near the top of New Jersey is a 15,482-acre playground known as Stokes State Forest.
Stokes State Forest Family Hikes
The Forest does have its own charm and quiet presence that you and your family won't want to miss.
Tripod Rocks
Begetter of mystery, artifact of glacial motion or signpost of American Indians?
Warren County Hkes
Hiking may be Warren County's favorite sport. Certainly the county offers the largest variety of hikes in New Jersey, including a panorama of magnificent vistas, intriguing history, and abundant wildlife.
Warren County Natural Resource Areas
Though not well-known, these places provide pristine destinations for family jaunts, hikes full of historical fabric, even the excitement of cave exploration.
Wawayanda State Park
As wild as its name, the land of "winding, winding water" is home to Indian shelters and some of the best bear dens in NJ, a lake to swim and boat on, great gobs of pudding stone to climb, rock to scramble, ledges for leaping, primeval forest, 20 miles of Appalachian Trail and so much more
Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area
Tucked between Rockaway Township's town of Hibernia and Split Rock Reservoir lies a large portion of Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area, one of New Jersey's many multi-use WMAs
Wildlife Management Area Hikes
Discover over 305,000 acres of little known forests, meadows, streams, and lakes collectively called Wildlife Management Areas - all public property, all owned by the people of New Jersey.
Winter Hikes
The Winter season has it's own wonders that merit braving the cold. In fact there are intrepid hikers that don't take to the trails until the branches are bare, in search of vistas from ice formations to sun glistening on a freshly fallen snow.
Worthington State Forest
Situated along the river, within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Worthington State Forest comprises almost 6,000 acres extending about seven miles along the Kittatinny Ridge.
Fishing
General Guide To Fishing
Fishing is indeed a passion for many, but the sport is also an ideal activity for regular dads, moms and kids. In fact, women hold the state records for both smallmouth bass and brown trout, both out of Round Valley Reservoir in Hunterdon County. And, of course, kids and fish go way, way back.
Bass Fishing
With a twitch of the rod tip, an explosion on the surface and a set of the hook, I was into one of New Jersey's feistiest gamefish, Micropterus dolimieui, the smallmouth bass. A fine two and a half pound specimen - a prize on any water - I returned it to the water from which it was born nearly a decade befo
Carp Fishing
"Carping" is often used as synonym for complaining. But to an angler, in particular, a fisherman from Great Britain, the word denotes someone who is dedicated--no, devoted--to the fine art of seeking and catching what some Americans foolishly call "Trash Fish". Carp! You see, more people fish for carp in the world than for any other species. But here in America, anglers are not too anxious to seek out this commonly found critter!
Early Spring Fly Fishing
It's the puzzle that draws me back to the stream as much as anything else. The trout are there. I can see their rise forms, concentric circles expanding outward from where a fish has taken a bug, but are they feeding on mayflies, caddis or stoneflies, or maybe it's flying ants, perhaps beetles in season?
Fishing From A Belly Boat
I walk from the shore down the wooden planks to the dock, lugging my old belly boat over one shoulder, carrying fins in one hand and a nine-foot graphite fly rod in the other. In my chest pocket is a small box that contains a few Woolly Buggers and other large streamers tied especially for the big bass of this pond
Fishing on Lake Hopatcong
Anybody can be a fishing boat captain for a day. Go to a bait and tackle shop and rent a boat and engine. Bring clip-on down riggers, a thermometer to find the right temperature and a portable depth finder to pinpoint locations and you are a big game fisherman like on Lake Ontario or anywhere in the world. Or try marshmallows, hot-dogs, or shiners under a bobber from a boat ramp or bridge. Either way you will quickly find something at the end of the line. And the surprises never end...
Fly Fishing
In recent years fly fishing, a sport which has been practiced in the United States since pre-revolutionary days, has enjoyed increased popularity.
Fly Tying
Fishing for trout with flies is like solving a puzzle. The current, the fish, the bugs under the surface and in the air all seem indecipherable. The clues are there however. The key to discovering them is never the same. But slowly, with much patience, and relying upon an ever-expanding body of experience collected over a series of seasons, the code can sometimes, although by no means always, be broken. To do so requires an understanding of those insects that live in the streams where you fish, which for me is here in northwest New Jersey.
Hybrid Bass Fishing
Pound for pound, the hybrid striped bass rates right up there with the best of the fresh water fish when it comes to putting up a good fight once hooked. Pound for pound, the walleye is hard to beat for table fare, with some fishermen calling it the best tasting fish of them all. Fortunately for those anglers in this part of the state who like some muscle on the end of their line and tasty fillets on the table, there are plenty of both fish around due to vigorous and well-planned stocking programs. These fish are there ... but you're going to have to work for them
Ice Fishing
The first fishable ice (three inches or more) usually forms by sometime in mid to late December. Then you can head out onto the fishable coves on such impoundments as Lake Hopatcong, Lake Wawayanda, Swartswood Lake, Paulinskill Lake, Cranberry Lake, Lake Musconetcong, Budd Lake, Mountain Lake, or any other frozen body of water in where you can gain public access.
Musky Fishing
Muskies? In New Jersey? You bet! Quality muskie fishing can be found in many Garden State waters. More muskies are being caught today than ever before.
Round Valley Recreation Area
My family and I have enjoyed many hours boating on the reservoir and exploring the terrain.
Shad Fishing
The restless army enters the river proper in smaller divisions; schools clustered densely at the center of the run with advance brigades in front, followed by platoons hanging back at the rear. Their mission is simply to swim, females following males to nesting locations along a journey that, for some, can continue for more than 300 miles.
Three Great Reservoirs
Fishermen love these huge man-made lakes with a passion, as do campers, birders, boaters and folks out for a good hike. Within twenty miles of one another, Merrill Creek, Spruce Run and Round Valley can satisfy either the most avid outdoorsman looking for trophy fish or the casual daytripper in the market for a nice view.
Trout Fishing
When snows melt and the grasses and daffodils push up through the softened ground of New Jersey's Skylands, it's time to think trout. For many outdoors folks, thawing snow signals the beginning of trout season. Sorting and cleaning tackle and shopping to replace items gone missing last season, all serve to build anticipation.
Vernal Equinox
In a hemlock forest surrounding a little stream, snow remains packed, although receding, the stream's current running high and cold, coltsfoot spreading over an exposed shoal, a touch of yellow to brighten the otherwise bland landscape.
Winter Tactics For The Delaware River Angler
On a cloudy, raw February day, the air thermometer read 28 degrees, never to rise above freezing. In five hours, we boated 11 large smallmouth bass on hair jigs, with two exceeding four pounds. The Delaware River angler need not hibernate!
Canoe and Kayak
A Paddling Poupourri
New Jersey is well known for its canoeable rivers, but nowhere in New Jersey is there a greater diversity of canoeing/kayaking experiences than in the Skylands.
Canoeing the Delaware River
The main stem of the Delaware, 331 miles from Hancock, NY, to its mouth at Cape May Point, NJ, is the longest free-flowing river in Eastern United States.
Canoeing Wawayanda Creek
A classic canoeing adventure on Wawayanda and Pochuck Creeks.
Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park
Today the canal's route provides a 67 mile corridor of recreation and wildlife that invites your pleasure by foot, bike or canoe.
Delaware River Islands
Islands of the Delaware are markers for the miles traversed on a float down the river, and for centuries of human history along its banks.
Different Strokes
The journey begins in a neighbor's garage. He wipes the cobwebs off two personal flotation devices while you stare at a long, ungainly thing with stained, leaf-strewn seats.
Round Valley Recreation Area
My family and I have enjoyed many hours boating on the reservoir and exploring the terrain.
Camping
Campground Events
Campgrounds have developed their own internal subculture of special events o spice up campers' weekends.
Fall Camping
Campgrounds make a perfect home base for most outdoor fall activities such as leaf peeping, bird and wildlife watching, hunting and fishing, simply because they've got "location, location, location."
Seasonal Camping
Many families make a Skylands campground their own vacation home, renting seasonal sites or bringing their own RV to rest at a lovely- and well-serviced- spot somewhere up in the New Jersey countryside
YMCA Camps
What began in London in 1841 by a farmer-turned-drapery salesman on a bent for Bible-study has become the largest not-for-profit in the world open to all people in need
Cycling & Equestrian
Bicycling in Northwest New Jersey
Northwest New Jersey offers a variety of specific trails and open road routes
Bicycling In Sussex County
Loop through Lafayette, Branchville, Vernon and Warwick, NY.
High and Mighty
From the top of Mount Tammany the trees lining the Delaware River have shrunk to resemble props for a toy train set. Intent on finding the next hand and foot-hold in the metaquartzite cliffs along the Kittattiny Ridge, climbers work their way skywards. They don't look down.
Motorcycle Trips
The gorgeous bike blew through Hunterdon County like a magic carpet, chuffing like a happy tiger.
Horseback Riding
The thought's been ringing through my head ever since I rode Mama four years ago. Born Wiggles Cat's Meow and owned by my niece Jenna, then age 11, Mama was a quiet, retired Quarter Horse brood mare.
Playing The Horses
Divided into four to six chukkers (or sets) that last seven and a half minutes each, polo requires extraordinary athleticism. The real stars, however, are the horses, or "ponies."
Airsports
High and Mighty
From the top of Mount Tammany the trees lining the Delaware River have shrunk to resemble props for a toy train set. Intent on finding the next hand and foot-hold in the metaquartzite cliffs along the Kittattiny Ridge, climbers work their way skywards. They don't look down.
Hot Air Ballooning
The sky is still above you, yet you are very much a part of its landscape. There seems to be no breeze, but you would not be getting far without it.
Golf
Golf Lessons
Golf is for everyone: for men and women, girls and boys, including individuals with handicaps. It can be a great family activity. But golf can be very frustrating. Like anything else worth doing, it takes time to learn. Here are a few places that can help you "get it
Pine Creek Miniature Golf
One of the largest and most beautiful miniature golf facilities in America, two 18-hole courses roll over acres of natural countryside in a country club setting.
Public Golf Course in Somerset County
Course profiles
Public Golf Course in Sussex County
Course profiles
Public Golf Courses In Warren County
Course profiles
Scenic Tours
Along the Old Mine Road
In the 1600s Dutch miners discovered copper ore in a beautiful ravine located about seven miles north of the Delaware Water Gap. To access the ore and to transport it to Kingston, New York, they constructed a road, now known as the Old Mine Road. Primitive by present standards, it was a major undertaking in its day, and legends of the road and its Dutch miners have persisted for over two centuries
Bald Pate Mountain, Washington's Crossing, Howell Farm
Just a few miles south of Lambertville lies an area ripe for weekend adventure and exploration. Components of local, national, and natural history are well represented, as well as brilliant prospects for craft seekers, hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and picnickers.
Both Sides Now
Follow the narrow, twisting back roads along both shores of the Delaware River -- from Phillipsburg south to Milford in New Jersey, and Upper Black Eddy back north to Easton in Pennsylvania -- through countryside rich in local history and lore, old hamlets of which little trace remains, past quaint homes and natural wonders along the way.
Fall Foliage
The annual fall foliage bloom is dependent primarily on moisture and the first frost, but peak leaf viewing in Northwest New Jersey normally occurs somewhere around the first full week of October.
Fall Foliage In Sussex County
Sussex County is a leaf peeper's paradise. You can spare yourself the time, road miles and money of a New England journey and enjoy brilliant colors and friendly, rural charm in New Jersey's Great Northwest.Sussex County contains six State Parks and one State Forest, accounting for almost 1/3 of the county's land mass.
Fall Foliage Trips
Northwest New Jersey's scenic beauty is never greater than during the glory days of autumn. A riot of color transforms the landscape; old villages and quaint hamlets, surrounded by yellow birch and red maple, become even more picturesque.
Hunterdon County Arboretum in Fall
Foliage in Northwest New Jersey is different than that of New England because of our wide variety of trees. Where can you find the most diverse panorama of tree species? An arboretum of course!
Roads Best Traveled
The historic and scenic river towns of Easton, Portland, Columbia, Belvidere and Phillipsburg all merit in-depth exploration of their own, but this forty-eight-mile loop tour emphasizes the old roads connecting them.
Route 513, Dover to Frenchtown
Off the beaten track but not too far
Sussex County Vistas
Northwest Sussex County is New Jersey's wild land. It reaches the primitive core of our beings. Its landscape is largely untamed, only the hand of the plow turns its soil. It's a land whose beauty inspires the imagination and motivates creative fulfillment. Its colorful history is living.
The Lackawanna Cutoff
Following this route takes you along one of the most innovative endeavors of the early part of this century and through some of the prettiest countryside in the northeast!
The Walpack Valley
A wild and scenic countryside.
Trickle Down
Follow the Spruce Run from the top of Schooley's Mountain to the reservoir that bears its name.
Van Campen Inn and Fort Shapanack
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) covers a 40-mile stretch from the Delaware Water Gap to Port Jervis, NY. Interesting and scenic old roads can be found throughout the area, but none possess more mystery and legend than New Jersey’s Old Mine Road
Winter Outdoors
Back Country Skiing
The purest form of back country skiing marries the skills of cross country and downhill telemark skiing (done at ski areas) in a joyous union that allows the skier to ski anywhere there is snow. For eastern back country skiers the consummation of this marriage is climbing hills to ski down through forested slopes untracked by other humans.
Cross Country Skiing
Nordic skiing represents an easy glide through woods and gentle valleys surrounded by the sparkling serenity of freshly fallen snow.Equipment is simple, straightforward and inexpensive, with little risk of injury.
Dog Sledding
Sled dog racing is a great spectator sport. No snow potatoes allowed! Onlookers are recruited as sled holders and dog handlers. Others just come to learn more about dogs.
Downhilll Skiing
From the Paulinskill to the Iditarod
Blairstown's determined adventurer, Kim Darst, uses a motorless, dog-powered ATV to exercise and train her team of more than a dozen Alaskan huskies on the Paulinskill Valley Trail.. She hopes the training will adequately prepare them to complete Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. If she succeeds, her team will be the first from New Jersey ever to do so.
Ice Fishing
The first fishable ice (three inches or more) usually forms by sometime in mid to late December. Then you can head out onto the fishable coves on such impoundments as Lake Hopatcong, Lake Wawayanda, Swartswood Lake, Paulinskill Lake, Cranberry Lake, Lake Musconetcong, Budd Lake, Mountain Lake, or any other frozen body of water in where you can gain public access.
Ice Hiking
One doesn't usually think of New Jersey's Kittatinny Mountains in the same breath as glaciers and icy slopes of higher mountains. Some years this changes in January and February when ice climbing routes come "into condition" on Mount Tammany and on many waterfalls in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Learning to Ski
Snowboarding
Sussex County native Danny Kass brought national attention to the Skylands Region in the 2002 Winter Olympics when he won a silver medal for snowboarding. For those in the area who knew nothing about the sport, it suddenly became interesting.
Telemark Skiing
Improvements in equipment are making Telemarking more versatile and attractive to winter sports lovers. And, as Alpine skiing and Snowboarding become passé, suddenly the old way is the new way. Telemark is cool.
Winter Hikes
The Winter season has it's own wonders that merit braving the cold. In fact there are intrepid hikers that don't take to the trails until the branches are bare, in search of vistas from ice formations to sun glistening on a freshly fallen snow.
Winter Outdoors
Looking for a new relationship? Well, how about you and Northwest New Jersey; Perfect Together? The landscape is frigid and quiet, yet stunningly attractive. Somebody's got to take some action here. If you don't do it, somebody else will!
Winter Tactics For The Delaware River Angler
On a cloudy, raw February day, the air thermometer read 28 degrees, never to rise above freezing. In five hours, we boated 11 large smallmouth bass on hair jigs, with two exceeding four pounds. The Delaware River angler need not hibernate!