THE PARKS...
Abram S. Hewitt State Forest
Phone - None
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/abram.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Hewitt, Passaic County; take I-287 to Exit 57 and continue on Skyline Drive to its western end at Greenwood Lake Turnpike in Ringwood. Turn right and proceed for 8.4 miles to a Y intersection with Union Valley Road. Take the right fork and continue ahead for 0.3 mile on Warwick Turnpike. Just past a short concrete bridge, there is a turnout on the right side of the road. Park here.
The Park
Abram S. Hewitt owned the great ironworks at Ringwood and was regarded as America’s greatest ironmaster. In 1867 he introduced the open-hearth process for manufacturing steel into the United States. Abram Hewitt’s interest in iron began to wane and he became involved in New York politics, winning election to the United States House of Representatives and eventually becoming New York City mayor as part of the progressive movement. He is often called the Father of the New York Subway for his initiatives in public underground transportation, although the subway system wasn’t actually built until 10 years after he left office.
The Walks
The 2,001 acres of Abram S. Hewitt State Forest are accessible only on foot and paw. Most of that walking is done to get to the exposed open rock trails of the Bearfort Ridge. You will need to climb about 600 feet to reach the ridge with its long exposed views of Greenwood Lake and beyond. A common destination is Surprise Lake, which can be circled before the return trip. Two long-distance trails cross the ridge: the Appalachian Trail and the Highlands Trail, a 150-mile work-in-progress that will eventually link the Hudson River north of Bear Mountain to the Delaware River.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt and rocks
Workout For Your Dog - Yes, a good done
Swimming - Your dog will come to hike, not to swim
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Puddingstone is a type of sedimentary rock in which white speckles of quartz sand has cemented itself together over millions of years. Mixed with it is a combination of other pebbles and stones of various sizes, shapes and colors. Some may even contain fossils from ancient river beds. Much of your dog’s walking will be on Bearfort Ridge will be across good-gripping, purplish puddingstone. Tightly cemented puddingstones make a good ornamental stone when cut and polished properly.
Allamuchy Mountain State Park
Phone - (908) 852-3790
Website - http://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks/allamuch.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Hackettstown, Warren County; from I-80 take Exit 19 and head south on Route 517, following the signs for Stephens State Park. Go two miles looking for a small sign (maybe) and an unimproved road on the leftthat passes through some houses to a clearing that doubles as a parking lot. If you care to challenge a rugged dirt road you can access lots deeper into the park.
The Park
Most of the 8,000+ acres that comprise Allamuchy Mountain State Park were once the estate of Rutherford Stuyvesant - a direct descendant of Peter Stuyvesant, the last governor of Dutch New Amsterdam. He established a 1000-acre game preserve here and introduced the English pheasant to America. The State of New Jersey purchased the land in the 1970s.
The Walks
It’s a beautiful day in central New Jersey and you want to go for a long hike with your dog but you don’t want to spend the day dodging other trail users. Where do you go? Allamuchy Mountain State Park. Even though the park abuts busy I-80 few people are familiar with it. The State of New Jersey is in no hurry to rectify the situation. The park is undeveloped, save for a 15-mile trail system, and lacks signage. If you really want to disappear with your dog there are another 25 miles of unmarked trails across I-80 in the northern chunk of the park. This trail system is accessed on Waterloo Road, where the parking lot is the southern terminus for the 21-mile Sussex Branch Trail.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth - Dirt roads and softer dirt footpaths
Workout For Your Dog - Long hikes with some good climbs
Swimming - There is fine dog paddling in Deer Park Pond
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Have you ever driven across New Jersey on I-80 and seen the sign for the Scenic Overlook approaching the Pennsylvania state line? Did you stop or were you too busy and just flew past? Well, if you’ve always wondered what the fuss was about you can reach the overlook from the Allamuchy State Park trail system. The view looking towards the Delaware Water Gap was suggested in the 1960s when the highway was built by Mrs. Lyndon Johnson as one of the best vistas in New Jersey.
Cheesequake State Park
Phone - (732) 566-2161
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/cheesequake.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Cheesequake, Middlesex County; from the Garden State Parkway take Exit 120 and follow signs for the park through residential streets.
The Park
Located between northern and southern plant communities, this area has long been recognized for its botanical value. The State of New Jersey began acquiring land for the park in 1938 and opened a picnic grove and hiking trails two years later. The name Cheesequake is commonly believed to derive from a Lenni Lenape Indian term roughly translating to “upland village.” But the area does rest atop a tetonic fault and one of the earliest earthquakes on record that shook the metropolitan New York area in 1779 was centered in Cheesequake.
The Walks
The agreeable canine hiking at Cheesequake State Park is concentrated in the western section of its 1,274 acres. Four trails all launch from the same trailhead just past the park entrance. Another trail designed for mountain bike use but open to foot traffic is also available hard by the Garden State Parkway. The star trek here is along the Green Trail that will introduce your dog to just about every forest type in New Jersey - scrub pine barrens, Atlantic white cedar swamp, red maples in saltwater marshes and upland hardwood forests. There is just enough elevation changes to keep your dog interested on these paw-friendly trails.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Soft dirt for the most part
Workout For Your Dog - Expect hilly stretches but not severe
Swimming - The Yellow Trail drops down to Hooks Creek Lake for a quick chance at a doggie dip
Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs in the campground
Something Extra
Cheesequake State Park is home to some of the tallest trees in the area. One stand of giants in particular is a grove of old growth white pines dating to the Civil War. They can be found along the Green Trail.
Delaware Water Gap NRA-Kittatinny Point
Phone - (570) 828-2253
Website - http://www.nps.gov/dewa/
Admission Fee - Only for recreation areas where dogs are not allowed
Directions - Warren County; traveling west on I-80 exit into the rest area as you enter the Water Gap approaching Pennsylvania. You can park in the rest area but the actual parking lot is just beyond on the right.
The Park
In the Lenni Lenape language Kittaninny means “endless mountain” which is quite ironic when looking at Mount Tammany where the 1,527-foot high Kittaninny Ridge ends abruptly by plunging 1200 feet into the Delaware River. It didn’t take much imagination for early American entrepreneurs to dream of glorious resorts in the vicinity of one of New Jersey’s great wonders. More recently U.S. Army engineers envisioned damming the gap and creating a giant reservoir for water supply and recreation. Amidst great controversy the Tocks Island Dam project was finally scuttled in 1992 and today the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area encompasses 70,000 acres for more than 30 miles along the Delaware River on both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides.
The Walks
The climb up Mount Tammany may be the steepest canine hike in New Jersey but not beyond the capabilities of a healthy dog. The Red-Dot Trail covers the 1200-foot elevation gain in 1.5 miles using switchbacks on an oft-times rocky path under paw. There is one 30-foot rock climb that will need to be negotiated. After enjoying the spectacular views push away from the Water Gap on the Blue-Dot Trail. A welcome respite in light woods on the level ridge begins a long, steady descent accentuated by groves of mountain laurel in the early summer. You will eventually reach the white-blazed Appalachian Trail along Dunnfield Creek that you’ll use to close this four-mile loop.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt and rocks
Workout For Your Dog - Maybe the best in the state
Swimming - You will need to travel up Old Mine Road to get access into the Delaware River
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not allowed in the Kittatinny Point Visitor Center and picnic area or Watergate Recreation Site in New Jersey
Something Extra
Dunnfield Creek brings many waterfalls on the tumbling brook and creates a perfect doggie swimming hole at the ideal time for refreshment - the first water encountered on this strenuous hike.
Gateway NRA-Sandy Hook Unit
Phone - (732) 872-5970
Website - http://www.nps.gov/gate/
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Highlands, Monmouth County; north of town at the end of Route 36.
The Park
Ships sailing into New York harbor have always needed to navigate around the shifting sands of Sandy Hook. The first lighthouse was built from lottery funds in 1764. The strategic peninsula has been fortified since the War of 1812 and the Hook was the site of the first United States Army Proving Ground. The last active military base, Fort Hancock, closed in 1974 but the United States Coast Guard still maintains an active presence at Sandy Hook.
The Walks
The best canine hiking in the 1,655-acre Sandy Hook Unit is on the seven miles of ocean beach. The open sands of North Beach curl around to reveal views of the Brooklyn skyline and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1964. Open all year to dogs are short nature trails through a 264-acre maritime forest that holds the greatest concentration of American Holly on the East Coast. When hiking around sand trails, steer your dog clear of low-lying prickly pear cacti that grow in abundance on the peninsula. In addition to the unspoiled natural areas at Sandy Hook, there are plenty of places to explore with your dog through historic Fort Hancock, much of which is used for educational purposes today. Interpretive trails describe missile testing sites, anti-aircraft defenses, and lead into overgrown gun batteries.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Sand and concrete
Workout For Your Dog - Miles and miles of flat canine hiking
Swimming - As much Atlantic Ocean time as your dog wants
Restrictions On Dogs - Dogs are not allowed in the recreation area from March 15 to Labor Day to protect nesting shorebirds, dogs are also not allowed on the Old Dune Trail
Something Extra
The Sandy Hook Lighthouse has been guiding ships through the sandy shoals for 240 years. You can walk your dog around the grassy base of the National Historic Landmark and well-behaved dogs can even sit in on the short video history of the illumination of New York harbor. While looking at the old brick sentinel, you can grasp the dynamics of land-building at Sandy Hook - when first built, the lighthouse was a mere 500 feet from shore and today is more than one and one-half miles from the northern end of the peninsula.
Hacklebarney State Park
Phone - (609) 861-2404
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/hackle.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Chester, Morris County; from town follow Route 24/513 west for one mile to State Park Road for two miles. Turn right onto Hacklebarney Road and travel 1/2 mile. The entrance is on the left. From Pottersville, take Pottersville Road (partially paved) right of the Black River and turn left on Hacklebarney.
The Park
In the 1800s settlers mined this area for veins of iron ore exposed by the retreating glaciers. It is believed by some that the colorful name for the park came from workmen in a mine who heckled a petulant foreman named Barney Tracey. “Heckle Barney eventually morphed into Hacklebarney. Others believe the name has Lenni-Lenape Indian origins based on the word for ground, “Haki.” Park staff apparently buy into this theory since there is a Haki Trail and no Tracey Trail. Adolph E. Borie (who also has no trail) donated the first 32 acres of land in 1924 as a memorial to his mother and niece, a Titanic survivor. The Civilian Conservation Corps helped develop the park during the 1930s and today it consists of nearly 1000 acres of Black River glacial valley.
The Walks
There are some five miles of sporty canine hiking in Hacklebarney State Park to enjoy with your dog. Most of the park can be experienced on the red-blazed Main Trail that sweeps down the ravine to the Black River and comes back up the opposite side. The trail drops about 200 feet in elevation to the water and this is negotiated on wide, graded gravelly footpaths.Along the rollicking Black River the trail is narrow and rocky with a different angle of footfall on every step. Your dog can take a misstep here as easily as you can so take care.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt and gravel
Workout For Your Dog - Hilly almost everywhere
Swimming - The rushing Black River waters slow into pools a few times to provide a refreshing doggie dip
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
If you are looking for a place to picnic with your dog in New Jersey this is it! Picnic tables and benches have been spotted on spectacular locations throughout the park, perched on rocks atop racing river waters or tucked deep into secluded wooded grottoes. Some of these sites are quite a hike away from the parking lot so try and avoid cooler duty!
Hartschorne Woods Park
Phone - (732) 872-0336
Website - http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/parks/hartshorne.asp
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Middletown, Monmouth County; take the Garden State Parkway south to Exit 117. Bear left beyond the toll booths and continue on Route 36 for 11.5 miles. Turn right at the exit for Red Bank Scenic Road, then turn right at the stop sign onto Navesink Avenue. Continue for 0.3 mile to the Buttermilk Valley parking area on the left. To reach Rocky Point continue on Route 36 and turn right on Portland Avenue before crossing the Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge and follow to end.
The Park
In 1677, Richard Hartshorne came to the Native Indians with crates of guns, beads and liquor and purchased 2,320 acres that included Sandy Hook on the Atlantic Ocean beach and the land where the park that today carries his name is today. During World War II, concrete batteries were built as part of the Atlantic Coast Defense System. The military abandoned the facility in the 1970s, and in 1973 Monmouth County purchased 736 acres of wilderness for use as an undeveloped open space.
The Walks
Hartshorne Woods is indeed undeveloped, save for its more than 15 miles of trails. The park is divided into three segments, each with a feature trail. From the Buttermilk Valley lot the main loop is the Laurel Ridge Trail in the Buttermilk Valley Section, a 2.5-mile romp through - surprise - thick stands of mountain laurel. The center of Hartshorne Woods is the Monmouth Hills Section, disected by the Grand Tour Trail. These moderate elevation changes are a welcome find for canine hikers at the shore. In the eastern part of the park the Rocky Point Trail swings through the remains of the old military installation. Short connectors link these main trails to expand your dog’s time here.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt, crushed stone, paved roads
Workout For Your Dog - Yes, plenty of hill hiking here
Swimming - At Blackfish Cove Fishing Pier is a sandy beach with fantastic swimming in the Navesink River
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The Atlantic Highlands, the highest point on the Atlantic Coast in the United States, were first spied by a European in 1524 when explorer Giovanni de Verrazano sailed by. In the Rocky Point section of the park, beyond Battery Lewis you can linger and enjoy the views from this highpoint over the ocean.
High Point State Park
Phone - (973) 875-4800
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/highpoint.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Sussex, Sussex County; travel on Route 23 for seven miles north of town to the park entrance.
The Park
Colonel Anthony Kuser, founding member of the New Jersey Audubon Society and director of more than 50 corporations, and his wife Susie Dryden, daughter of Senator John Fairfield Dryden, founder of the Prudential Life Insurance Company, made the largest land donation in the history of New Jersey when they deeded 11,000 acres for High Point State Park in 1923. The Kusers had purchased the High Point Inn in 1910 and transformed it into a transcendent wildlfe sanctuary. To help complete the transition from country estate to public park the Olmsted Brothers, sons of Central Park creator Fredeick Law Olmsted, were retained to landscape the mountaintop.
The Walks
The park maintains an 11-trail system around the 1,803-foot summit at the top of New Jersey. You can choose to hike with your dog on wide, manicured paths or take off on rock-strewn mountain trails. Leaving from the far end of the parking lot at the High Point Monument, the trail tops the ridge in light woods with abundant views east and west. The narrow path is rocky as it rolls along but completely manageable for any dog. Below the ridge you will find the 1,500-acre Dryden Kuser Natural Area, created in 1965 and site of some of the most pleasant canine hiking in the state. The Atlantic white cedars here are normally found only in the Pine Barrens of south Jersey. This cedar swamp is at the highest elevation of any of its kind in the world. The swamp trail is level and wide and shouldn’t be missed by any dog who visits the roof of New Jersey. There is also extended canine hiking available on the Appalachian Trail that crosses through the park.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Rocky dirt on slopes
Workout For Your Dog - Only a very few small hills
Swimming - Not the dominant feature of canine hiking here
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
In 1927 Kuser commissioned the construction of a 220-foot obelisk on the state’s high point to honor all war veterans. A scramble up 291 steps leads to panoramic views of the Pocono, Catskill, and Kittatinny mountains. The monument, crafted of grey New Hampshire granite and local quartzite, was dedicated on June 21, 1930, just months before Colonel Kuser died.
Huber Woods Park
Phone - (732) 872-2670
Website - http://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/parks/huber.asp
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Locust, Monmouth County; the park is east of the Garden State Parkway. Take State Highway 35 to Navesink River Road. Travel east for 2.8 miles and turn left onto Brown’s Dock Road (unimproved). The park entrance is on the right at the top of the hill.
The Park
Joseph Maria Huber sailed for New York City from his native Bavaria in 1883 as a sales agent for his family’s ink-pigment business. Once in America it didn’t take him long to see opportunities for a hard-working ink supplier. Before the decade was out Huber was so successful that he bought out the American stake of the business from his German relatives―and launched J.M. Huber Corporation. Four generations later the multinational supplier of engineered materials is one of the largest family-owned companies in the United States. Huber Woods Park is the result of a 118-acre gift of land from the Huber family in 1974. Ongoing acquisition in the same spirit of land preservation has doubled the size of the present-day park.
The Walks
It is hard to imagine a more pleasant place to hike with your dog in New Jersey than at Huber Woods. The six-mile trail system offers any length of outing from a half-hour to a half-day. You can stay completely within an airy, mixed hardwood forest or cross Brown’s Dock Road to include open fields on the Meadow Ramble Trail. In spring on the short Nature Loop, azaelas and later mountain laurel bursts into bloom. The trails roll up and down hills but never in a way that will leave your dog panting. Once you have explored the hollows and valleys of the woodlands cross to the other side of the parking lot and try the Farm Path, an equestrian trail that passes through fields managed to maintain the pastoral feel of the Huber farm.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Paw-friendly dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Just hilly enough to keep your dog’s interest
Swimming - None
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The Environmental Center in the park is the former manor house of Hans Huber, son of the company founder. Its distinctive appearance is German-Swiss in inspiration with a central block of brick with half-timbering. Additional wings are covered in stucco.Three massive chimneys sprout from a red tile roof dominated by a plump turret.
Jenny Jump State Forest
Phone - (908) 459-4366
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/jennyjump.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Hope, Warren County; take I-80 to Exit 12 to Hope. Turn onto Route 519 north at blinking light. At the third right, turn onto Shiloh Road. After aproximately one mile turn right onto State Park Road.
The Park
Mile-thick glaciers did the carving of ridges and valleys in this forest and littered giant boulders about for decoration. There are several legends surrounding the name “Jenny Jump.” The most dramatic has little Jenny out picking berries with her father when they were surprised by hostile Indians. Preferring the fate of a leap off an exposed cliff to capture by Indians for his daughter, the father yelled for Jenny to jump. And so she did, to her death.Kinder, gentler versions have Jenny and her father transporting a wagon of homemade beer and Jenny jumping off the kegs and fleeing to safety or Jenny leaping from a precipice to avoid an unwanted suitor and being rescued at the base of the cliff by her true love.
The Walks
The main canine hiking in Jenny Jump State Forest is along the Summit Trail that rambles up and down along a 1,090-foot high ridge. The trailhead is almost at that elevation so the climb will scarcely get your dog panting. Several trails intersect the ridge with its views to the west and many dog walkers will want to use the Orchard Trail to complete a loop hike through a picnic area built by Civilian Conservation Corps workers in the 1930s. Adventurous canine hikers can drop off the ridge on the Ghost Lake Trail that leads to a man-made lake fed by an artesian well. This lake is only about ten feet deep and becomes choked with vegetation, including yellow-blooming water lilies in the summer. This trail doesn’t loop so you will have to climb about 400 feet back up the mountain unless you have employed a car shuttle linked to the Ghost Lake parking lot.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Paw-friendly dirt
Workout For Your Dog - It can be if you leave the ridge
Swimming - Ghost Lake provides a venue for canine aquatics
Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs in the campground
Something Extra
At the Ghost Lake parking lot on Shades of Death Road you can take your dog along a short, rocky trail along the lakeshore to a steep rocky slope.Here you will find a cave known as Faery Hole. The cave room has a flat floor and enough headroom for a Great Dane to stand on two legs.
Kittatinny Valley State Park
Phone - (973) 786-6445
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/kittval.html
Admission Fee - Yes, during summer
Directions - Andover, Sussex County; from I-80, take Route 206 north for 8 miles through Andover Borough. Turn right onto Goodale Road and follow it to the park entrance on the right.
The Park
Fred Hussey’s family made their money in whaling in early America. In the mid 1900s Hussey owned a company called Aeroflex that developed an ingenious rubber camera mount that was the first way to take steady photograhs from the air. The company started in producing aerial maps but the camera mount was invaluable to the military in identifying targets for bombing raids. In the late 1950s Hussey built an airport here to maintain his private collection of WWI aircraft, antique cars, and military surplus cars. For its time, the facility was state-of-the-art; almost everything was custom-built. After his death in the mid-1970s, the LoRae family acquired the land at auction and converted several buildings into stables to house their beloved Arabian horses. The State of New Jersey acquired the property in 1994 and created Kittatinny Valley State Park. The airport still operates today under the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. It is the only state-owned and operated airport in New Jersey. The former Hussey home on Lake Aeroflex has been converted into the new park visitor center.
The Walks
Just about any type of canine hike your dog is after can be crafted in Kittatinny Valley State Park. The Sussex Branch Trail, the remnants of the Sussex Branch Line of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, runs down the spine of the park providing relaxed, peaceful trotting on cinder based paths moving on mild grades. It can be used to create hiking loops of varying lengths.For a more energetic pace there are miles of are miles of short, interlaced tails that roll on small hills through woods and around rock outcroppings. Four lakes are a prominent feature of Kittatinny Valley State Park but the trails just skirt the water occasionally.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural and cinder surfaces
Workout For Your Dog - Long, flat trails with gentle hills
Swimming - You can seek out a canine swimming pool here
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The long, gentle grades of the Sussex Branch Trail and the Paulinskill Valley Trail are ideal for dog sledding in the winter. Check with the park for any scheduled events or bring your own team.
Lewis Morris County Park
Phone - (973) 829-8257
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/belle.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Morristown, Morris County; take I-287 into Morristown. From Morristown Green turn right onto Washington Street.Go 3.5 miles west towards Mendham and Chester on Route 510 West/Route 24. The park entrance is on the left.
The Park
When it opened in 1958 this was the first park to be created by Morris County in a public park system that now features over 17,000 acres - New Jersey’s largest. The original park was 350 acres but has tripled in size over the past half-century. The park, as is the county, was named in honor of Lewis Morris, a wealthy landowner born near the present-day Bronx in 1671. Morris became a Colonial official and was instrumental in achieving the separation of New Jersey from New York in 1638. Morris was named the first governor of the State of New Jersey and served until his death in 1646. His family lost all their land and great wealth in New York City during the American Revolution.
The Walks
With six picnic areas, a recreational lake, a group camping area and several ballfields most people don’t think “hiking” when they think about Lewis Morris County Park. But there are many miles of woodsy trails that leave all the recreational amenities behind. The terrain is hilly but never taxing - many of the trails slide around the hills rather than charge right up them. There is little understory and the airy woods give this canine hike a big feel. Parking in the Mendham Overlook Area provides central access to the trail system. The Green Trail and Red Trail are connected loops that are more or less surrounded by the Yellow Trail. They all explore the same ridges and valley so it is no problem to bounce back and forth. If your dog is having too good a time to return to the car there are connectors to the Grand Loop and hours more walking in Morristown National Historical Park.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Big, easy hills
Swimming - In the off-season when no one is around Sunrise Lake can make a fine canine pool but there is no swimming along the trails
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Lewis Morris County Park does have a dog park. The surface is blacktop, however, so it is not a prime choice on a hot day.
Mahlon Dickerson Reservation
Phone - (973) 326-7631
Website - http://www.morrisparks.net/parks/directions/mahlondir.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Milton, Morris County; from I-80 exit onto Route 15 North. Proceed for 5 miles to the Weldon Road Exit and travel approximately 4 miles east. Signed parking lots can be found on both sides of the road.
The Park
This park is the largest facility in the Morris County Park System, and with more than 3,000 acres can easily be mistaken for a rustic state park. It is named for one of the Garden State’s most accomplished citizens, Mahlon Dickerson, born in Hanover Township in 1770. Dickerson graduated from Princeton in 1793, having mastered several foreign languages and was soon admitted to the New Jersey Bar. He owned and operated iron mines and was widely known for his work in botany. Dickerson was appointed to the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1813 and before his political career was over he had served as governor and United States Senator.
The Walks
This is a canine hiker’s trail system. Your dog can stretch his legs on the wide old logging roads that make up most of the 20 miles of trails. Save for Headley Overlook (beware of false overlooks if you approach from the south!) and its east-facing views there are no great destinations at Mahlon Dickerson, just miles of rambling under a solid canopy of mixed forest. On the way you’ll pass through interesting rock formations, dank hemlock groves and thick stands of laurel. Although the average elevation in the park is over 1,200 feet the ups and downs are never grueling. The high point tops out at 1,388 feet along the Pine Swamp Trail but there are no views here. Several stream crossings add flavor to your dog’s expedition in Mahlon Dickerson. If you start your explorations at Saffin Pond she will have an ideal pool to cool off in after the hike.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surface and old woods roads
Workout For Your Dog - Yes, a good walk
Swimming - Saffin Pond is centralized and convenient for a doggie dip but out on the trails there is only splashing in streams
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
A large slice of trail at Mahlon Dickerson runs on the old Ogden Mine Railroad right of way. The only remaining structure of the railroad is a stone arch bridge on Sparta Mountain Road at the northern edge of the park.
Morristown National Historic Park
Phone - (973) 543-4030
Website - http://www.nps.gov/morr/
Admission Fee - Yes
Directions - Morristown, Morris County; the park is located along I-287. Traveling south on I-287, use Exit 36; traveling north on 287, exit at 36A. Look for the signs for Jockey Hollow.
The Park
Morristown, a village of 250, was a center of iron supply for the American Revolution and even though it lay only 30 miles west of the main British force in New York it was protected by a series of parallel mountain ranges. It was the twin luxuries of a defensible position and close proximity to the enemy that twice brought General George Washington to camp his main army here, first in 1777 and again in 1779-1780. The park was created in 1933 as America’s first national historic park.
The Walks
Canine hiking at Morristown National Historic Park is found at the Jockey Hollow Encampment Area. When here, nothing could have prepared the Continental Army for the worst winter of the 18th century. Twenty-eight blizzards pounded the slopes and whipped through the wooden huts that were cut from 600 acres of hardwood forests here. The forest has grown back and is open and airy with long views through the trees from the trail. Four main trails circle the Jockey Hollow Encampment. The 6.5-mile Grand Loop Trail, blazed in white, circles the park but doesn’t visit any historical attractions without a detour. It is also the only trail that cannot be accessed from the centrally located Trail Center. The Aqueduct Loop Trail and the stacked loop Primrose Brook Trail are two of the prettiest rambles in the park as they trace some of the many gurgling streams that once served the Colonial Army. The long-distance Patriot’s Path traces its lineage back to 1966 and links Jockey Hollow to the New Jersey Encampment Area and neighboring parks and contributes mightily to the total of 27 well-groomed miles of Morristown trails.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural dirt trails
Workout For Your Dog - Long, rolling canine hikes possible
Swimming - A few streams do not a canine swimming mecca make
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The trails lead directly into reconstructed Revolutionary-era huts that you can explore with your dog.
Norvin Green State Forest
Phone - (973) 835-2160
Website - http://nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks/norvin.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Bloomingdale, Passaic County; take I-287 to Exit 57. Follow Skyline Drive to Greenwood Lake Turnpike to West Brook Road to Snake Den Road. Follow signs to Weis Ecology Center. Park in the lot before the center or along Burnt Meadow Road and Glen Wild Road.
The Park
This area supported active mining through the 1800s but officials began eyeing the Wanaque River as a potential water source as far back as the 1870s. Construction on the Wanaque Dam began in 1920 and a decade - and $25 million and 70 homes - later New Jersey communities began tapping into the some 30 billion gallons of water held in Wanaque Reservoir. The state forest is named for its donor, Norvin Hewlett Green. Most of the trails across the 4,210 acres of forest were cut by the members of the Green Mountain Club in the early 1920s.
The Walks
The attraction at Norvin Green are numerous viewpoints on hilltops ranging to 1,300 feet, most reached via some of the best, albeit rugged, canine hiking in New Jersey. There are many places to spend the day with your dog in the northern highlands and if this isn’t first on your list it should be in the discussion. Past the mines the climbing begins on sometimes rocky and rooty woods trails. High Point, at 960 feet far from the tallest peak in the park, rewards you with 360-degree views after a steep last ascent. If you choose to penetrate deeper into Norvin State Forest there is a Coney-Island type rollercoaster trail to Carris Hill and more views in every direction. Down the hill on the White Trail is the split plunge of Chikahoki Falls.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Rock-spiked dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Many energetic climbs
Swimming - The mountain streams are suitable only for splashing but a detour can lead to the shore of Wanaque Reservoir
Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs on the Weis Environmental trails
Something Extra
The nearest destinations to the parking lot are the remainders of the mining era of the 1800s along the Red/Yellow Trail. A short detour climbs to Roomy Mine that you can actually explore with your dog in the warmer months when bats are not hibernating. Bring a flashlight and you can enter for 50 feet or so. Up the trail is the flooded Blue Mine that produced tons of ore before the encroaching water could not be abated in 1908.
Palisades Interstate Park
Phone - (201) 768-1360
Website - http://www.njpalisades.org/
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Alpine, Bergen County; from I-95 take the exit for Fort Lee / Palisades Interstate Parkway (Exit 72, after the last toll on the New Jersey Turnpike). Turn left at the light at the top of the ramp. Go through several lights in succession, then the entrance to the northbound PIP is on right.
The Park
If millions of Americans didn’t already live in the area by the time we got around to setting aside land for parks it is not hard to imagine the 500-foot sheer cliffs of the Palisades being a national park right now. The cliffs formed 200 million years ago when molten volcanic material cooled and solidified before reaching the surface. Subsequent water erosion of the softer sandstone substrate left behind the columnar structure of harder rock that exists today. Today’s park meanders about 12 miles along the river - never more than a half-a-mile wide - and preserves 2,500 acres of wild Hudson River shorefront and uplands, including some of the most impressive sections of the Palisades.
The Walks
Two long-distance trails - the aqua-blazed Long Path atop the Palisades and the white-blazed Shore Path along the river - traverse the length of the park. Occasional, and very steep, connectors (sometimes using steps) connect the two that enable canine hiking loops. Every now and then the Long Path touches on the edge of the impressive cliffs and there are spots an overly-curious dog could squeeze under the fence, so be careful. On top of the Palisades the going is mostly easy but does roll through varied woodlands that will distract you from the spectacular views at times. You can also find extra trail time for your dog on cross-country ski paths if you don’t want to walk for miles along the cliffs.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Mostly dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Very demanding
Swimming - Small beaches at the Hudson River
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
The iconic hike at Palisades is “The Giant Stairs” located beneath State Line Lookout. The Giant Stairs are massive boulders that have piled up at the foot of the cliffs from thousands of rock slides over millions of years. You need to scramble for over a mile to complete a 3.5-mile loop at the north end of the park. Unless your dog is light enough to lift DO NOT attempt this with your dog. Is it possible? Yes. Is it fun. NO.
Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area
Phone - (973) 334-3130
Website - http://www.morrisparks.net/parks/pyrmtnmain.htm
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Boonton, Morris County; from I-287 take Exit 45 onto Wooten Street, turning left from northbound or onto Myrtle Avenue and turning right southbound. Go up the hill to the blinking red light and turn right onto Boonton Avenue (Route 511). Proceed to the park entrance on the left after 2.5 miles.
The Park
Hikers had been coming to Pyramid Mountain for decades to enjoy the wilderness but it wasn’t until 1987, when the spectre of expanding suburbia raised its ugly head, that grassroots efforts led to the creation of a permanent public open space. The Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area now protects more than 1,500 acres of varied trails, fields, forests and wetlands.
The Walks
There is quite a menu for canine hikers at Pyramid Mountain. Looking for views? Exposed promontories will provide long looks to the mountains in the west or as far as New York City to the east. Want a waterside ramble? Check out the Orange Trail that works the slopes under a rocky ridge along the Taylortown Reservoir. Like to poke around ruins? You’ll find old homesteads and the remains of stone cottages along the Pyramid Mountain trails. Seeking a leafy ravine to escape to with your dog? You can do it here.Across Boonton Avenue there is actually more parkland than the Pyramid Mountain side. The terrain is less flashy but you will find picturesque wetlands, views of the New York skyline and long, uninterrupted stretches of easily rolling woods walking. Depending on your route - and there are many choices - you can get five miles or so of canine hiking on the east side of the park.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Mostly soft dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Plenty of short, steep climbs
Swimming - The Orange Trail drops to the lake for some excellent dog paddling and Botts Pond is a good swimming hole on the east side
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Pyramid Mountain is best known for its glacial erratics - boulders that were sprinkled across the landscape by retreating ice sheets from the last Ice Age. The most famous is Tripod Rock, a boulder various estimated at between 150 and 200 tons, that is suspended heroically off the ground by three smaller stones. Nearby notable neighbors include two massive monoliths: Whale Head Rock and Bear Rock.
Ramapo Valley County Reservation
Phone - None
Website - None
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Mahwah, Bergen County; from I-287 take Exit 66 onto Route 17 South and then Route 202 South. Drive about two miles and turn right into the parking area (about .5 of a mile south of Ramapo College).
The Park
Ramapo translates roughly to “round ponds.” There are hydro-delights aplenty in this Bergen County park - lakes and waterfalls - as well as great views across Bergen County to New York City. These forested mountains were a strategic route drung the Revolution and later a favorite camping spot for the Boy Scouts before the county began acquiring the land for the 2,000-acre park.
The Walks
There are at least 15 miles of marked trails across Ramapo Mountain, doled out in trail segments in the system. The choice of loops - or even a long car shuttle - is yours. One of the more popular - if ambitious - destinations is Bear Swamp Lake where you can see the scars of a modern day battle. Developers were the loser in this war and you can poke around chimneys and foundations and abandoned patios as remnants of the defeat. If some of the popular trails seem too popular there are many options on these wide woods roads and footpaths created under many a Boy Scout hoe. The Ramapos only rise to about 1,200 feet and your dog won’t find much in the way of strenuous trotting here so you may want to spend extra time on these trails, maybe even exploring neighboring parks like Ramapo State Forest.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Rock-studded dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Moderate pulls to the top of the hill
Swimming - Absolutely - plan a route to visit at least one lake
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
New Jersey is not thought of as a place of waterfalls - there are plenty of places with lively rapids but not many dramatic plunges. Of the 30 or so waterfalls in the state, two are easily reached in Ramapo Valley Reservation, courtesy of Bear Swamp Brook. The Bear Swamp Falls is a dual drop that can be found by walking up the closed Bear Swamp Road about one mile from U.S. Route 202. Buttercup Falls spills over a rock ledge to tumble nearly 25 feet. It is easily reached via the wide trail from the park entrance.
Ringwood State Park
Phone - (973) 962-7031
Website - http://nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks/ringwood.html
Admission Fee - None outside rec areas
Directions - Ringwood, Passaic County; from I-287 take Exit 55 and head north on Greenwood Lake Road (Route 511) heading north. Make a right at Sloatsburg Road (it is not marked) to the park. If you go completley past Wanaque Reservoir, you’ve gone too far.
The Park
The Ringwood Company put a dam across the Ringwood River and used the water power to operate blast furnaces and forges. For the next 200 years some of America’s most famous ironmasters toiled here. In the mid-1800s Ringwood came under control of Abram S. Hewitt, the pre-eminent American ironmaster. His descendents deeded the Ringwood Manor House and property to the State of New Jersey for a park in 1936.
The Walks
The Ringwood trail system ties into the Ramapo Mountain State Forest system to the west and into Bergen County parkland to the east. Volunteers have carved so many trails into the New Jersey highlands your dog could start out sampling them as a puppy and return a senior dog before hiking them all. Some trails serve to connect the two sections of the park, Ringwood and Skylands. Some of the more popular canine hikes explore the areas around the manor houses while those in search of rocky vistas can try the yellow-blazed Cooper Union Trail that explores Governor Mountain. The original trail was laid out by members of the Cooper Union Hiking club from the prestigious Manhattan college founded by one of New Jersey’s largest landowners, Peter Cooper.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surface and old roads
Workout For Your Dog - As tough as your dog want to make it
Swimming - Many ponds in the extensive forest
Restrictions On Dogs - None
Something Extra
Ringwood Manor is considered to have at least two ghosts in residence. One is believed to be Robert Erskine, the original owner of the property. The other may be Jackson White, a strange and restless spirit. His ancestry was parts black, Indian, and white, the descendant of runaway slaves that settled in this valley during the Civil War. The ghosts’ distinctive footsteps can be heard throughout the house. No word on sightings out on the trails but if your dog’s ears perk up for no apparent reason on your hike you may know why.
Stokes State Forest
Phone - (973) 948-3820
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/stokes.html
Admission Fee - Yes, in the summer in the recreation aeas
Directions - Branchville, Sussex County; take Route 206 north of town for four miles to the park office on the right.
The Park
The State of New Jersey began buying land for Stokes Forest in 1907 - sometimes paying a whole dollar an acre. The forest is named for Edward Casper Stokes who served one term as Republican governor from 1905 until 1908, forming the New Jersey Forest Commission during his tenure. He donated the first 500 acres. After he left office Stokes remained active in politics, failing in three bids to win a U.S. Senate seat and another term as governor. In 2001, lightning struck his mausoleum in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Millville. The lightning blasted through the mausoleum’s roof and littered the floor with shattered marble, blowing a 6-inch hole in the governor’s crypt. His casket was not damaged.
The Walks
Stokes Forest is the chunk of land between the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to the south and High Point State Park to the north providing 30 miles of uninterrupted parkland along the Kittatinny Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. With 25 named trails, any type of canine hike is possible here - you could fill up a day just walking on beginner-to-moderate type trails that explore attractive streams, visit old mine sites or just disappear with your dog in a remote patch of woodsland. But most visitors will point their dogs in the direction of Kittatinny Ridge and 1,653-foot Sunrise Mountain. Four trails lead to the Appalachian Trail atop the ridge in the vicinity of Sunrise Mountain enabling you to create hiking loops of between four and ten miles, depending on how long you want to walk on the ridge soaking in the views.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Dirt trails can be rocky
Workout For Your Dog - Absolutely
Swimming - Plenty in the valley, not on the ridge
Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs in the campgrounds
Something Extra
To cap off your dog’s day at Stokes Forest head to Tillman Ravine for easy walking through a dark, shady evergreen forest of eastern hemlock. The Tillman Brook that carves this moist ravine is one of the prettiest in the state.
Wawayanda State Park
Phone - (973) 853-4462
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/wawayanda.html
Admission Fee - Yes, in summer
Directions - Hewitt, Sussex County; take Route 23 north to Union Valley Road and go about six miles to stop sign. From the stop sign, go to second traffic light. Turn left, travel to fork in road (about 2 miles)and go left about 1/2 mile to Warwick Turnpike. Turn left. The park entrance is four miles on the left.
The Park
When the New Jersey Zinc Company was here they saw the miles of trees as fuel for timbering their mines. When Fred Ferber, an Austrian immigrant who helped pioneer the ballpoint pen, bought 6,800 acres of timberland from New Jersey Zinc he saw wilderness that needed to be preserved. Not as a public park. Ferber chased hunters from the land and railed against such facilities as toilets and campgrounds in the woods. When Ferber ran into financial reversals he was forced to sell portions of his land to the state over the years that would become exactly what he hated - Wawayanda State Park, a recreational mecca for boaters, fishermen, campers, picnicers, swimmers, hunters and, yes, hikers.
The Walks
Spread across 16,679 acres are more than 40 miles of trails, many on old logging roads that make for easy, although often active, canine hiking. There are three major destinations in the park:
Wawayanda Hemlock Ravine Natural Area. There is only one trail through this hemlock/hardwoods preserve, a stretch of the Appalachian Trail so you will need to retrace your steps on any explorations here.
Wawayanda Swamp Natural Area. This is the dominant central section of the park with Laurel Pond, a small glacial lake, a quick destination on an old gravel road.
Bearfort Mountain Natural Area. The most famous hike at Wawayanda State Park, the 4-mile loop to Terrace Pond, is here. Prepare your dog for very serious rock-hopping on this memorable journey.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Natural surfaces
Workout For Your Dog - Some of the most challenging hikes in New Jersey
Swimming - Ghost Lake for canine aquatics
Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs in the campground or swimming areas
Something Extra
Wawayanda Lake was dammed in 1846 to provide power for an iron furnace and mills. An entire town grew up on the lake shores. All that remains are foundations and the old 1846 charcoal blast furnace.
Worthington State Forest
Phone - (908) 841-9575
Website - http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/worthington.html
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Millbrook, Warren County; take I-80 West to the last exit in New Jersey (Millbrook/Flatbrookville), getting in the right lane as the higway bends right. At the bottom of the ramp, turn right onto Old Mine Road. The park office is three miles on the left.
The Park
In 1903, Charles C. Worthington, President of the Worthington Pump Company, laid plans for his own transportation system. He would build a pipeline to bring water down from Sunfish Pond at the top of Kittatinny Ridge to his farm on Shawnee Island. Worthington owned more than 8,000 acres of land around the mountain that the State of New Jersey acquired the first parcels of land that would become the 6,000-acre Worthington State Forest.
The Walks
Trailheads for a potpouri of 26 miles of canine hiking spring up along Old Mine Road. The first you come to is the Karanac Trail, an easy canine hike to the sandy shores of the Delaware River. Next come a series of trails that lead to the top of the mountain starting with the Douglas Trail that climbs 980 feet to Sunfish Pond in two miles. The blue-blazed path is named for Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas who participated in a protest hike in 1967 over management practices proposed for the glacial pond. Another hike to the Appalachian Trail at the top of the mountain is the Coppermines Trail that passes two ancient open-faced mines before meandering up the slopes. Once on top a 5-mile loop to Rattlesnake Swamp is possible - be careful as you cross to the eastern edge of the ridge as your dog will be walking on exposed cliff faces. Farther up the road you reach Van Campens Glen and an out-and-back trail leading to a sparkling waterfall in about 30 minutes. Finally at the end of Old Mine Road you reach the preserved Millbrook Village where your dog can trot down an old logging road.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Soft dirt to rocky dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Oh yes
Swimming - The ponds on the ridge and the river below
Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs in Watergate Recreation Area
Something Extra
Worthington fenced in his property with an eleven-mile fence and imported whitetail deer from Virginia to replace deer that had become extinct in New Jersey. When he tore down the fence, the roaming deer became the ancestors of deer herds across the state.