Great park with some beautiful trails! We went hiking here over Memorial Day weekend (in the rain)…read moreand had a great time. We did the river trail which was a nice hike for the whole family. I wish that there were paper maps, there were times when having one would have been very handy. That being said, there are plenty of trail markers. They show up just as you start wondering if you're going the right way or not. The trail could use some maintenance- there were lots of downed trees. There was one you have to completely climb over (we had to scoot over it, you can't step over it as it's too wide). It had been down long enough that people had found a few ways around it that were off trail (didn't look super safe though) and instead have you go over a thinner part of the trunk. The trail is extremely rocky, which we were expecting and found it to be very fun! But make sure you are wearing shoes with a good grip. Overall, we loved this even in the rain. There's some nice waterfalls along the way, and plenty of picnicking spots.

Long Valley, NJ - I love hiking in this park. It's a nice one to do with kids, and good for a…read morecasual and relaxing hike with some scenic features. You can do easy to moderate loops of various lengths. There are paved gravel roads as well as dirt trails with large rocks, and fun scrambly sections (not vertical) along the creek on the red trail, which takes you along the creek for half the loop. This is fun for our toddler who likes to figure out the way over and around obstacles. Great for exercise and physical coordination. Fishing is possible with a permit. A few picnic tables can be found here and there. There's even a small "secret" playground with a couple of picnic tables, located at the intersection of the white and yellow trails near the trailhead. The parking lot is spacious. There are bathrooms at the trailhead but they are only open during the warmer seasons. There's lots to do nearby as well: Hacklebarney Farms Cider Mill, Alstede Farms, Ort Farms, Cooper Gristmill, and Main Street Chester with some cute shops and eateries. You can really make a full day of it!

Love this area for hiking. The dogs enjoy it too. Well…read moreworn path from the mill back to the small bridge that is only open to pedestrians.

This review is more for the hiking paths and the parking lot that runs behind the mill. There is a…read morestone based parking lot and bathrooms. OK they are really glorified port a potties but hey they are there. Morris County has done a nice job of maintaining the area and has some nice trails that run along the river. Some of the trails are blocked thanks to Irene and Halloween snow storm damage but the trails are clearly marked and easy to hike. We will return.

Black River County Park is full of awesome hiking trails and picnicking areas. The Black River…read moretributary which runs through the Park is one of my favorite local trout fishing destinations. The NJ State Fish & Game regularly stocks this River and anyone with a valid Fishing License and Trout Stamp can have access to this activity along the River. Disabled Veterans and Kids under 16 are allowed to Fish freely without either. Plenty of excellent sites to check out including the Nathan Cooper Gristmill, Kay Pond, The Black River, and the picturesque Waterfalls. The Mill was built in 1826 and is still in operation as one of the only remaining water powered mills that has been restored in NJ. The Park often has guided tours and you can take home stone ground flour & cornmeal that's made right on site which is pretty cool. Open Wednesday - Sunday 10 till 5 [12 till 5 Sunday]

Black River County Park has a lot going for it. It's in a convenient location right off of a county…read morehighway and is only a few minutes away from downtown Chester aka a solid handful of post-hike meal options. In terms of the actual hike, you have high quality water features, with the Black River itself and its accompanying rapids the notable highlight, along with one of my all-time favorite hike characteristics - ruins. But the positives are slightly tainted by the lack of overall maintenance, which is a shame. I came here for a 6.4-mile hike with one of my chums last Saturday. It was a nasty, humid scorcher of a day and predictably we didn't see too many brave souls out there. It was character building at least. For those familiar with the park, we took the blue trail from the mill, which more or less runs parallel to the river, following it up past the environmental center to Pottersville Road, and then took the red trail on the right down to the Black River, meeting up again with the blue trail. The first part of the hike is in a lower-lying area with a lot of muddy sections, but the park has been pretty accommodating in building a lot of little bridges to get over those parts without getting your feet sopping wet. We're also in the midst of an epic drought, which at least helps for these types of adventures - I've seen it much muddier than this. A significant portion of the trail early on takes place on top of an abandoned railroad bed, and you could see a few ancient wood pilings down the slopes here and there. All of the trail markings here were pretty decent, and you have some pleasant visuals this time of year, including Kay's Pond. Once you start climbing up toward the environmental center, the trail markings and maintenance begin deteriorating. Both of us are experienced hikers, and we had to stop several times to make sure we were actually on the right trail. There's A LOT of offshoots and obvious places where additional markers should have been painted to steer people in the right direction. As a result, we actually missed the correct path to the environmental center and basically walked parallel to it from a distance in the cornfield. Thankfully there's no tree cover there and it was easy to orient ourselves, but it shouldn't have been an issue at all. Shortly thereafter, we ended up on the wrong part of the red trail for about 10 minutes, which we were able to figure out and retrace easily, but again, the lack of helpful trail markers loomed large. Right around this area (probably not a coincidence), we kept encountering random stretches of 50 feet or so where the path was totally overgrown. It wasn't a huge deal, though we definitely had to spend a little extra time checking for ticks, but these weren't huge areas of need - you could get a county worker to come in here with a weed-wacker and take care of these sections pretty quickly. And it's not clear why the rest of the path WAS maintained. Very strange. In terms of difficulty, there are a few stretches where we were a little out of breath, but nothing crazy (we're both in decent cardio shape, so your mileage may vary). I don't want this to come off as a purely negative diatribe, because there WERE positives. The canine chum situation was one. This is usually a very popular pooch spot but the heat kept most of them away. Thankfully we encountered a delightful, freshly sheared poodle named Toffee who was very accommodating (see attached). The wildlife sightings were solid as well. My eagle-eyed chum noticed a praying mantis on the road, and we met up with a nervous garter snake as well. We've both been here before and romped around in Kay's Ruins before - a remarkably solid foundation still remains there right on the river, and it's an awesome photo opportunity. Especially with the foliage in abundance, the optics are great. Additionally, because of the length of the trails it's easy to do a hike here with decent mileage where you get a legit workout. But this park could take some lessons from nearby Hacklebarney when it comes to making this park a little more hospitable for its guests.

Highly Recommend My…read morewife got me a lesson and some time on the water as a gift I did not know what I was in for but it far exceeded my expectations Chris is passionate about fly fishing and it comes across in how he teaches it. If you have any interest at all in Fly Fishing don't hesitate, get in touch with Chris to get you on the right path. He is also very knowledgeable of NJ Waters. New or not spending time on the water with Chris is highly recommended.

From the owner: We are a Fly Fishing Guide Service specializing in providing unique outdoor adventure…read more We serve all skill levels! Don't know how to Fly Fish and want to learn? We can teach you to Fly Fish with our private Fly Fishing 101 course. Are the lakes frozen? Join us on an ice fishing adventure during the winter months! We have a private stocked pond that is great for children. Our service has access to a private facility at the Lazy "K" Ranch in Frelinghuysen, New Jersey and we access various other private and public water. We are a "western style" Fly Fishing guide service and provider of outdoor adventure. We specialize in Trout and Smallmouth Bass Fly Fishing in Sussex and Warren county New Jersey. Our services include guided walking/wading trips on the Flatbrook, Paulinskill and Pequest rivers. Additionally, we offer float trips on the Delaware River and lake trips on Swartswood Lake, White Lake and Mountain Lake.

Myself and my party of 16 had an amazing time on the river thanks to Chamberlain Canoes. The entire…read morestaff is some of the friendliest and most helpful people you'll ever meet. I've done similar trips with other companies and Chamberlain has been the best. We will be using them again. Highly recommended.

They are amazing! I've been going to Chamberlain Canoes in Stroudsburg, PA for over 10 years, and…read morethey've never once let me down. They are a family owned business and are absolute pros - always friendly, always knowledgeable, and genuinely passionate about making your river trip fun and easy. From the moment you pull into their huge parking lot, to the moment you're back on dry land, they take really good care of you. They walk you through the route clearly, answer all your questions and let you decide your exit point on the river while you're out paddling. That flexibility is a great option. I look forward to my next paddle!

These guys are great! we just held an event for 80+ river rafters last weekend June 28th 2025 and…read moreeverything went off like clockwork! the staff was so friendly and effieicient (special shout out to Kayla!) for making the day so incredibly special and we'll look forward to doing our 3rd Annual Paddle 4Pride Event with you next year! thank you again for helping us to make some beautiful memories!

The grounds are very clean and the staff is very nice and accommodating. There is a lot of highway…read morenoise unless you are down on the water. There is no staff onsite after the main store closes. This was disappointing since there was nobody there to enforce the noise curfew or the amount of people and cars that show up for one camping site. At least I know that the "strict rules" they list on their site are only a suggestion. I would go back again, but only if my camping party was a rowdy bunch. I could not see this place being too kid friendly when it was busy during the summer months.

This is my second time water rafting, the first time I went it was with a different company. I went…read morewith a group of 5, and we had a blast overall. However, I am confused on why they don't offer helmets especially with how many rocks there are. Our guide, Jake did openly swear at one of the customers for hanging onto his kayak, I understand it can be chaotic when people fall into the water and other people are frantically trying to get them back on the raft but it is very unprofessional in my opinion to be openly cursing at people for no reason. It could also be their first time rafting, and to have someone curse at you your first experience is not a good look. I also want to note the other guides were super helpful, it was just that one moment I noticed that threw me off!

The guides gave a thorough safety and intro talk before our drive to the launch…read more once on the river they guide you as to which side to stay on. It is important to stay on certain sides to avoid bigger rocks and your team has to work together. there are simple showers but you need to supply your own towel, soap and shampoo. We were a group of older adults and had a great time!

Fun time kayaking on the Delaware River with a group of 13! The serenity of the river and nature…read morewas incredible. The water is warm even though it was only 70 ish degreees.

(This was a few months ago so the details could be a bit iffy.)…read more This was a very impromptu trip and everything at Edge of the Woods makes doing that easy. Head to the website, book the date & time you want and you're done. www.watergapadventure.com/river-trips A few things worth noting: They offer multiple trip lengths. The standard 4-, 6- and 10-mile trip (Smithfield to Portland) are all booked generically and then when you get there you tell them what you want to do. All pricing is the same which believe me compared to others companies, that's very different - in a good way. They do offer two other longer trips but those require calls to the main office I assume to assess river conditions; your own competency and shuttle availability. The main office in Delaware Water Gap is very easy to find and there was plenty of parking on a quiet post-Labor Day Monday. You check in, you're handed a laminated map, life jacket and given a brief route explanation and then you're off in the van. One problem arose and it was kind of a PIA but it was worked around. Most companies have different types/sizes/models of kayaks and quite often, will ask you what you prefer. Not here. When we left the office, the guy driving didn't say a word to me until we get to Smithfield Beach to unload. He had a few kayaks pre-loaded in the carrier but definitely did not look at them before we left. One of them had a broken foot pedal that he said couldn't be used, another was very much designed for a smaller individual (i.e. if you're taller and/or taller & larger it ain't happening safely) which only left two tandem models. Using a tandem as a single individual is not the end of the world but especially when the seats are still left in the two person configuration (i.e. one front and one back versus the rear one being placed more towards the middle), it's a PIA to maneuver the craft and you are paddling harder to get the job done compared to a single. The scenery along the route was decent. You could see a bit of the Shawnee Resort and Golf Course, an old stone bridge abutment in the middle of the river, under and along 80 and then when you get into the Water Gap itself with the high cliff sides. Very picturesque. Once you go under the old train viaduct in Portland, you give the office a call for the shuttle to meet you at the out point which is at the Portland Pedestrian Bridge. The whole experience was about four hours door to door to cover the ten miles on the water plus the shuttle to & from the pick up and drop off points. Lots of nice scenery, due to the low water level there wasn't much in the way of current except for the area around viaduqt in Portland and even that wasn't bad. I'm not a big fan of the equipment here but I wouldn't let that deter me from coming back in the future for one of their northern longer trips.