Nice trail that has a steep section, but is worth the views. We followed the yellow trail up to the…read moreoverlook and then turned back down at the mailbox shortly after. We visited in mid October and had perfect weather. The trail was moderately busy so I'd suggest going early if you want to be more spaced out from other groups.

I've been wanting to finally complete this hike and I finally accomplished my goal. Now there is a…read moretrail for moderate hikers. There's a boardwalk that is great if you want a nice breezy walk. What I didn't know is that the actual hike starts after the boardwalk which is a bit more strenuous. There's parts on the hike that have more incline. Overall the hike took us about 1.5-2 hours up ( I stopped multiple times). The view of the pinwheel vista is breathtaking and overall I am so happy I got to complete this hike. Make sure to visit the local store that sells fresh pies and ice cream as a reward!

So beautiful. The trails are poorly marked and there aren't any maps really. But it's worth it…read more Just leave plenty of time. Lots of variety

A quiet preserve with a nice, paved path on slight grade. There are more paths through the woods…read moreand alongside the river that runs through the glen. Watch out for coyotes and bears! It's nice to see a refuge like this, and great spot for easy access to a little bit of nature when you need to kick back and dangle your feet in a cool stream..

For an inexperienced party of hikers, this trail might not be the best choice, but we had a…read moregrueling and fulfilling hike. With ample breaks (~10 short water breaks and 3-4 longer breaks to admire scenery), we finished in 5.5 hours. If a short but rough bit of rock scrambling will be a challenge, make sure to bring gloves and proper hiking footwear, and durable fitted clothing. The path we took had varied terrain and tended to go up and down in elevation. Definitely download a hiking app that works without good phone service since there are multiple trails and we had multiple instances where we had to choose the correct direction. We brought 2 bottles of ice water each, but decidedly towards the end we should have really brought 4-5. Didn't see any wildlife except a hawk/falcon, plenty of millipedes, and a weird alien-like squirming worm sticking straight out of a tree looking like a stubby branch. Pathing: we started at the parking lot and followed the blue state line trail (which apparently leads to Maine, informed fellow hikers). We probably missed any views until we changed to the yellow trail (the beginning is denoted by three yellow squares, as well soon learned). On the yellow trail, we were soon treated with a small, private feeling view of a pond next to a campfire pit. The next viewing area consisted of a closeup experience of the same pond from the ground level. After another hour of hiking, we had our best view yet, a canopy high view of the river and small houses across, with trees as far as the eye can see. Seemed worth it after four hours of rocks and mud. Terrain: Short easy walking portions are split between rocky paths with the occasional climb up or down. Having a stick really helped during both parts. Watch out for slick mossy rocks. Weather: matters! We luckily came on a cloudy cool summer day (70-80F) and with shade and breeze it was very pleasant. I could imagine running out of water in the first two hours if it was sunny and hotter. Unluckily, it rained during the last hour as it became afternoon. It will be very hard to hike this trail without sunlight. It also became frigidly cold. Crowdiness: crossed about 10 hikers during the five hours, could be due to the rain warning, but still much less crowded compared to any other spots I've been to. Also saw almost no trash, thumbs up to all the hikers here. Danger: heard about snakes, never saw any. Most dangerous thing on the trail is probably the dwarves that surely live in the trees with the little doors, and slick rocks along with unsure footing. Few scrapes and bruised backsides can be expected for amateur hikers like us, especially when it rains. Feels amazing after we finished, my last hour of the journey nearly blank with desperation to reach the end. Good meal and foot massage ahead! tl;dr fairly difficult trail with ups and downs and rock scrambling, bring more water than you think you need, a hat, gloves, sunscreen if you like, a stick, good shoes, and a tested hiking app. Views depend on the trail you take, we got the best views on the yellow trail. Be careful and enjoy being nearly alone on the trail. Don't stay til dark, and run from the rain.

Medium level hike with great scenery. Not much elevation but part of the trail is rocky. Wear your…read morehiking shoes instead of sneakers, otherwise you will get a foot massage like I did today =) It's a good 3-4hours hike. Parking lot is 50 meters away from the entrance. Hiking might require hands at some points but overall it's smooth and agreeable. Following white trail, then at the crossing of white trail and yellow trail (2.5hours hike), you will enjoy the great view from the top of the mountain. Then follow the yellow trial for 30mins, surprise lake is right in front of you. It's surrounded by the forests with the branches of the trees touching the water. A soft breeze from the lake is very refreshing after a long hot hike. Follow the orange trail, you will get to the entrance nicely and easily. Def worth a visit if you like hiking.

I loved my hike 5 mile hike in Sterling Forest State Park. We did the Doris Duke loop which was…read morejust under 5 miles. We started the hike going clockwise, and in so doing did most of the elevation gain at the start of the hike. I found the path to be very comfortable to walk on, with less rocks and exposed tree roots than typical for NYS. I was also very surprised at how peace full it was, we did not see another living soul until we were 2/3s of the way through the hike, and then didn't see anyone else until we got to the parking lot. I was all set to only hike in this park going forward, because Harriman can get way too busy for me, and then the ticks started. SO MANY Ticks. I hike frequently and ticks are a fact of life in the north east, but this was next level tick infestation. I tuck my pant bottoms into my boots and spray tick repellent on my clothes, boots, and arms. We were pulling them off ourselves in the car on the drive home, and then off ourselves at home. Thank god they were the large size kind of tick and easy to see. I have never seen so many ticks at one time. 100% avoid Sterling Forest.

We've hiked in Sterling Forest several times and have enjoyed the experience! Typically less…read morecrowded than Harriman State Park and others in the area, Sterling has a very nice visitor center with clean bathrooms, a helpful light up model of the forest, a store, and friendly staff to help with any questions. The parking lot is decent sized too. They have some varied hikes but most aren't too difficult. Whether you want lakes, forests or views you can get them here. Many of the trails also connect if you want to make them longer or shorter. Some of the hikes like Mckeags in the summer can be very tick ridden so do all the usual precautions. There's spotty reception in this area so if you're using All Trails or other app, you'll want offline view.

Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge was established to conserve and enhance populations of…read morewildlife and their habitats, to protect and enhance water quality, and to provide opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation and research. The refuge conserves the biological diversity of the Wallkill Valley by protecting and managing land, with a special emphasis on forest-dwelling and grassland birds, migrating waterfowl, wintering raptors, and endangered species. The North American Waterfowl Management Plan identifies the Wallkill River bottomlands as a priority focus area for waterfowl management within New Jersey.

***2 1/2 stars***…read more Wallkill was the site of our First of the Year hike this year, on a warmer than usual January 1 with some decent sunshine. We picked this based almost solely on location - in recent years, a Sussex native has been trekking all over the state to participate in this noble event so a nearby spot was selected as a gesture of good will. Our specific sojourn took place exclusively on the Wood Duck Trail, a back and forth hike that was about three miles in total (perfect mileage for this event). The parking lot is easy to spot, just off 23, and while the lot itself does not have a port-a-potty, the spiffy QuickChek nearby does - and for what it's worth, the bathroom there was pretty clean and the employees very pleasant. I am always warmly received in the Kingdom of Sussex. It absolutely could have been the time of year, but this place seemed super desolate and not conducive to decent optics. It's a lot of marshy/swampy areas off to the sides of the trails, which can be spooky under the right circumstances (maybe they could do some kind of Halloween hike over here with lanterns?) but after a while it's just repetitive. At the end of the trail (very easy to spot - it's literally gated so you have no choice but to turn around), there's a pleasant little off-shoot where you can get pretty close to the Wallkill River and admire the water features. Our Honorary Young Pup scampered down to the edge and played around there for a few minutes before we headed back. There were also one or two wooden bridges to cross over little streams, which were nice enough. However, they were a bit slippery - all of us watched the Honorary Young Pup skip across them with gritted teeth, but she stayed upright. I don't know if that's just the result of recent thawing and the prior day's rain, but something to keep in mind if you're tromping around there in similar weather. Once or twice we also encountered lookout points ostensibly to view birds and other wildlife, but they were not interested in making themselves known on January 1. Our only wildlife sighting of the day was a cardinal hopping around on the ice nearby. It would have been improved if this trail permitted pooches, but alas - only service animals are allowed, and they were off doing their duty elsewhere on this particular day. I don't see any reason why the powers that be couldn't at least allow leashed canines here - I can't imagine a tethered retriever doing any damage to the waterfowl, but I don't make the rules. On the positive side, the trail IS pretty well maintained. Part of that could be the minimal brush along the edges (there were a few sticker bushes but nothing that really hindered our journey), but it was very easy and straight-forward to follow, and even on a morning where everything was still in the process of drying out, I was impressed by how solid the path was. I'd anticipated navigating around a few puddles, and there really weren't any to speak of. Also in that regard, it's very young pup friendly. Our Honorary Young Pup is now a cagey veteran of this event and was comfortable frolicking by herself further down the trail and had no issues completing this adventure. This wasn't terrible by any means, but personal preference-wise, I prefer hikes/trails that are more interesting.

It was a very long but fun hike and I think that you should go to the hike even if you have little…read morekids

It's located in the upper northern area of New Jersey and is part of the Appalachian Mountain…read morechain. Part of the 2100 mile and 14 state Appalachian Trail runs through the park. At 1803 feet, it has the highest Atlantic white cedar swamp population in the world. It is also the highest point in New Jersey at 1803 feet above sea level. From the top of the monument which was built by the Kusers to honor all of New Jersey's war veterans, you can see the Pocono Plateau (Pa.), Port Jervis (NY), Catskill foothills (NY) and Sussex farmlands (NJ). IFrom Memorial day to Labor Day the cost is $10 per vehicle during the week and $20 on the weekends and holidays. After Labor Day and before Memorial Day it is free. The monument has been refurbished relatively recently. . The spiral staircase is physically challenging and if you fear heights it could be a problem. The stairs can be damp if not outright wet. Cross country skiing, snow shoeing, snowmobiling are available through a private contractor. Some people dog sled. There are 10 miles of trails. Ice fishing and other types of fishing require a NJ license as does hunting for deer and bear. Hunting is done in limited areas of the park. Boating on lakes Sawmill and Steenykill requires an electric motor or the old fashion paddle. Lake Marcia has lifeguards, great restrooms and changing facilities. There are camp areas, picnic BBQ grills at the park headquarters and an Interpretive center with displays. Get a map because the trails can be tricky, Some people horseback ride. Bring Deep Woods Off there are ticks. And do not bring alcohol, it is prohibited. There are concession stands open during the season and restaurants on Route 23, Port Jervis, etc..

PROS: Very nice tower that has a great view of all the land. The trails leading up to this tower…read moreare also nice to climb CONS: The tower was closed for renovation, however, they haven't started working on it in months. There also isn't much room around the tower OVERALL: I would come back here once the tower is open. The hike was good and they even had a picnic table up there

The tower is closed as of Sept 19 (bc of COVID). Otherwise, I think it would've been a beautiful…read moreview. The hike to get there is pretty exhausting and is almost entirely uphill. On the way there, there are scenic lookouts (marked on the maps). They're beautiful and made the hike worth it, even though we didn't get to climb the tower. I'd recommend getting "Avenza Maps" from the AppStore before you go. I had no service the entire time but that app works at all times to show you where you are on the trail. There's a map of Sterling Forest on there.

Did a hike today starting from Mary Roth Drive and ending near Lake Riconda Drive. It was four…read moremiles, had some climbs but wasn't too strenuous, and had a few great views. A nice way to spend a day, in the forest.

I usually have to pump myself up to go over to Abram Hewitt; even for legit North Jersey hikes,…read moreit's super out of the way (at least 20 minutes from Route 23, with minimal post-hike eating options) and there's no way to avoid having to walk on the shoulder of a busy state highway for at least 15 seconds - and often significantly more if you don't get there before literally two other cars. This particular hike I did on Saturday IS one of my favorites though and a strong recommend. You can see in the attached pictures that despite a dreary day, the optics here are pretty fantastic. You have to earn the view, and when the sun actually decides to show up, it's arguably a top two or three optic in NJ. Yesterday I did about a 7-mile hike along the Bearfort RIdge, from the trailhead on the Warwick Turnpike, up the western side of the Bearfort Ridge Trail before making a left onto the Ernest Walter Trail before connecting up with the almighty AT for a few moments, then hopping onto the blue State Line Trail before reconnecting with Ernest Walter to the Greenwood Lake overlook before going south to hook up again with the Bearfort Ridge Trail (this time on its eastern side) back to the trailhead. The whole journey took about 4 1/2 hours for me, which includes moseying along for a while and a snack break at the overlook. The parking situation is rough; it's a huge reason you can't say this is an unequivocally positive hiking experience. There's a very small parking area on the shoulder of the Warwick Turnpike that can fit three cars. That's it. There's no signage to speak of, so unless you see one or two other cars there for context, it's not even clear you're allowed to park there for a few hours. Further down Warwick going toward Greenwood Lake, there's a bigger shoulder on the other side of the road that can probably fit 10 more cars but again, no signage and parking there requires you to walk alongside Warwick for a solid few minutes with not a lot of space to avoid vehicular traffic. Not pleasant, and I think they probably could figure out a way to make this much more hospitable for hikers. There's also no port-a-potty at any point in this hike, so I'd stop at the Dunkin or something in the downtown West Milford area beforehand. This is definitely not an easy hike, but the toughest part to me is the first half hour, where you're scaling up the ridge. I prefer to get the rough stuff over at the beginning as a warmup, but it's a fairly steep climb. Once up on the ridge, you're not really doing much more in the way of significant inclines (though there is more up and down, especially on the yellow trail where you have some legit scrambling), but the terrain is VERY rocky/rough, which is to be expected. It's a lot of outcroppings and hopping from one rock formation to the next. The final 2.5 miles or so on the Bearfort is comparatively easy; it's basically just a woods road, and the most annoying part of it was the bug situation, which was nastier than usual with some recent rain. I had some sweat-resistant Off, but it barely made a dent. By far the best part of this hike is the overlook area on yellow that has viewpoints going up and down the length of Greenwood Lake. The eastern side where Sterling State Forest is has some decent eye candy as well, but this is the gold standard because there's minimal foliage on the rock outcroppings; you can just on the boulders and see everything in front of you. There's no way to get up there without doing the work so it tends not to be as crowded as some of the nearby vistas in the area; an added bonus. The trail maintenance and markings are very solid and easy to find for the most part; they were either freshly painted on rocks/trees or actual physical markers nailed down (there's probably an official term for those). The blue trail has a few issues where it's super easy to lose your way because there's more than one possible option to turn onto; an extra rock cairn or two could go a long way here. Unfortunately due to the weather the canine chum situation was nonexistent, and so were the wildlife sightings. I saw/heard a few squirrels, but nothing to write home about. If this one is on your list, I'd recommend getting there early so you're literally one of the first three cars. Otherwise, your warmup is going to consist of exhaust fumes and sadness. Very cool hike though if you can make the time.

I did the Surprise Lake loop in Abram S. Hewitt State Forest this past weekend. I would say this…read morewas a intermediate level hike, there was a lot of rock scrambling. Nothing too crazy, but a few spots were a little tricky. The hike offered some challenges because of the torrential rains the previous day. The rocks were extremely slippery at some points. We carpooled to the parking lot opposite the marina. The parking lot can accommodate probably 10 cars. There was one porta potty at the parking lot, no other facilities. We started with the blue trail, followed it up to the yellow trail on the left. From yellow, we moved on to a portion of the Appalachian trail then backtracked to reach the blue all the way to the parking lot. The hike offers some great views of the Greenwood lake and the surrounding peaks and valleys from the top of the Bearfort mountain. We traversed the ridge line and arrived at the Surprise Lake where we took a break for lunch. Total distance covered was about 5 miles. We didn't spot any bears or snakes while hiking, but kept an eye out just the same as they are supposed to be common in the area. A good pair of hiking shoes will be useful on this hike, be careful while scrambling over the rocks if you're wearing sneakers. As always, carry sunscreen and map of the trail. Hiking map:http://www.nynjtc.org/files/u1/PettyHJH_chp24-SurpriseLakeLoop.pdf

Beautiful garden to spent an hour exploring. I tested out my new camera here and it didn't…read moredisappoint.

Beautiful park to see fall colors in October or the prettiest flowers in the spring. There are…read moremultiple parking lots so plenty of parking. The website has an interactive map if you get lost. I walked around the whole park in about an hour, it's not too big. Leashed dogs are allowed!