This is an amazing hike! It's almost all shaded and once you climb the rocks, straight up on blue,…read moreit's quite an easy hike. Guys we hiked blue to purple to blue to orange (which comes back to blue and the parking lot) and it took 2 hours and 3 miles. We met people who thought the whole thing took 45 minutes and had the water to go with that. This is an intermediate hike and you really need the water, as well as trail map or at least pic of trail map, to make it happily. We met so many lost people on the trail. It's not marked as well as you think. Also we took the pup who thought lake at first sight, meant jump. Pro tip; keep them out of the lake. It's full of stagnant water and stinking mud. Your nose will thank me. Instead enjoy the bubbly creek crossing before and after the hike.

The fam was looking to take advantage of this beautiful fall weather that we have been having. I…read morerecalled doing this hike a number of years ago and enjoyed it, so decided to give it another try. The parking lot was not the biggest, but there seemed to be many spots on the street. Fortunately we were able to find a spot in the lot though. It is dog friendly, so we brought our little guy too. Since the my younger son is only 7 we decided to do the hike (blue trail) to Tripod rock and back, which is about 3 miles. It does have some incline, but didn't receive any complaints about this from the fam. Also there are a bunch of stones on the hiking path, so be careful not to trip. The trail is marked well (apart from one point towards the tripod rock where it splits) so we were able to get to our destination fairly easily. It wasn't too crowded, which was nice.

Went here for the first time and it was gorgeous! Parking is $10 flat fee, I went on a week day so…read moreit wasn't busy at all. The hiking trail was a bit tricky to find because they don't have any signs telling you where to go, but once I figured that out then it was easy! The hiking trail itself was nice, amazing views once you're up top and waterfalls were gorgeous! Great place for a picnic or to spend time with family!

What a stunning beautiful park , so clean with plenty of parking , picnic table and a beautiful…read morewaterfall-river . It's an amazing place to spend the day on a romantic date or with the family .

A small newly updated playground (Spring 2016) with plenty of shade. Consider this a go to…read morelocation on hot and sunny days. The smaller size and limited parking usually keeps the number of kids playing here at any time pretty small. The .9 mile hike starting in the parking lot has been traveled by our 3 year old, but be aware that there are lots of rocks that could be an issue for kids still working on their balance. At this age hand holding would be advised. A gazebo, basketball court, and sand volleyball court are also next to this playground. Would rank this a 5 star playground for kids if there were a fountain and a bathroom at this location. So bring plenty of drinks and take care of potty needs before you arrive.

Small playground with 1 tennis court and 1 basketball court. There is a nice walking trail in the…read morewoods there which it the best upside of the park .

A nice area for hiking/walking that has some wide paths and not so overgrown. There are plenty of…read moretrails to diverge from. Hemlock Falls seems to be a draw and is very nice to relax around but can get a little crowded. Because there are multiple parking lots with easy accessibility, there's a bit of trash and broken glass here and there which is unfortunate. There were quite a few hikers, trail runners and dogs but it never felt claustrophobic. The hikes aren't that difficult but there are quite a few rocks and protruding tree roots. Montclair is less than 10 minutes if you want a bite to eat afterwards.

Great walk. Nothing like a walk through nature. Taking in the sights and sounds, what a beautiful…read morething!!!

Our pup loves taking walks at the Tourne! They have multiple paths so the chances of running into…read morelots of people and other dogs are very slim, which is great for us as he's still in training and is reactive.

This location is an absolutely lovely spot to go for a hike. My SO and I got to explore the park on…read morea quiet Monday morning, there weren't many people around. The trails were clearly marked and very clean, making our trek enjoyable. We hiked to the top of Tourne, enjoying the fresh air and views. We also got to explore the Emily K. Hammond Wildflower Trail, which was a nice detour from the normal trails. We'll be returning once the flowers are expected to bloom so we can learn more about the species on the trail.

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!

***3 1/2 stars*** I…read morewas a little surprised when I saw how low the average rating was for this place; typically parks and hiking trails tend to have inflated/positive reviews, mostly because the only people willing to write them love being outdoors. However, it's really hard to argue. This was probably by fifth time here yesterday, and I'm never blown away by the experience. The hike I do here is featured in njhiking.com (which is a massively strong recommend - great, detailed and varied hikes featured all over the site) as one of the most challenging hikes in the state. It's an 11.1-miler that starts out at the boat launch parking lot on Splitrock Road (and there is ALWAYS a port-a-potty there - strong selling point; very clean this time too), goes east for about half a mile to the white trail, cuts south mostly through the woods and occasionally alongside the reservoir, switches to the blue trail by the southern end, goes up Buck Mountain and then continues mostly north back up to the road and the boat launch. It's a nasty hike (rugged with constant up and down), but it's one I like to do as training prep when I'm about to do a crazy adventure somewhere in the country - if you can do this one pretty easily, you can literally do almost any hike that doesn't involve massive rock climbing or something. In my opinion at least (and I AM in excellent hiking shape right now, full disclosure) the most difficult or challenging part of this is just the mileage. The up and down isn't as extreme as, say, a hike up in Norvin Green where you're literally going up an incline for a solid 15 or 20 minutes multiple times. There's one quick scramble up the mountain that took less than five minutes, and maybe one or two other sharper inclines that were shorter in length than that. But cumulatively, you're going to feel it toward the end of the hike, even though that part is largely on a woods road. I tend to meander and not bulldoze ahead (journey not the destination), so this whole hike took me six hours and 38 minutes. Start early. The primary reason I'm always tepid about this one is that SO much of it is just in the woods with no viewpoints. I'm of the opinion that if you have sweat pouring off of you and sore hindpaws, you'd better have a few majestic vistas or something for the payoff. Aside from the obvious reservoir optics from time to time, there also aren't a lot of exciting natural features to get hot and bothered about. You really just have one view up on Buck Mountain, and for whatever reason, I always seem to be over here on a meh, mostly overcast day. And this is sort of a pro and a con, but this is not a popular hike. Yes, you're not contending with hoards of people and the ones you do are CLEARLY legit hikers - there's no one wearing Uggs asking if you have extra water - but it means the canine situation is pretty barebones. Obviously a personal issue that may not apply to other prospective adventurers. That said, the wildlife game is always pretty abundant and yesterday was no exception. There were tons of frogs/toads, and I saw at least two skinks yesterday (the corgis of reptiles). There were also quite a few representatives of the waterfowl family hanging out on the edges of the reservoir, including one or two swans. The snake game was nuts, and both took place toward the end on the blue trail with maybe a mile or two to go. First I encountered a garter snake who was very on edge and tried to lunge at me (which I just rolled my eyes at), but then a few minutes later I came within a foot of a long black racer snake that mimicked a rattlesnake with the intentional rattling of its tail, which I've NEVER seen before, and that was a bit jarring. But I continued on, no worse for wear. I always enjoy being able to eat an entire pizza guilt-free and chuckling at the temporary loss of water weight from this hike, but this isn't one that I enjoy all that much. It gets you in shape and doesn't have much in the way of other selling points unless you're really into snakes with low self-esteem.

Farney State Park is a 589 acre mature mixed hardwood forest in Northern New Jersey. Tall red,…read morewhite and black oak trees dominate the canopy, The park is a habitat for the red-shouldered hawk and barred owl both of which are endangered. Be aware that there are ticks, bears and copperhead and eastern rattle snakes in the area. The terrain is rocky and features streams, stone walls, dams, a bridge and Split Rock Reservoir. The reservoir is part of the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area. The reservoir is open to kayaking which I do a great deal of since it is so close to where I live. You can also canoe or bring your boat, only electric motors though. There are two car=top launches on the the reservoir. No swimming is allowed and if a ranger sees your feet in the water, you will be reprimanded. Both use of alcohol, smoking or vaping is not permitted. There is a 13 mile loop around the reservoir with other shorter trails of varying difficulty. People come to Farney State to bird watch, fish (16+ need NJ license ), hunt in selected areas, ice fish, and hike. The Split Rock site was used as a production area during the Revolutionary War for producing iron. A furnace can still be seen if you take the trail down the road toward the bridge. It is down the slope by the overflow of the reservoir. There are trail maps on-line. Your phone GPS will work in this area as well. Signage is mixed in this State Park. The bridge crossing on the reservoir dam is one way but there is a red/green light system. ADMISSION IS FREE. Ten minutes from my home, it is my go to kayaking spot.

**We just did the boardwalk then into the woods. We did not continue on to the Stairway**…read more I've lived in NJ over 30 years and I'm still pleasantly surprised when I find new places. My NY plus size hiking group stuck to the Jersey side last weekend and hit the boardwalk. It rained 2 days before so some of the older sections were mighty slick. All Trails reviews warned of dog poop and bugs everywhere but I was doused in OFF and people were cleaning up after their pets. Highlights: The vegetation was gorgeous. NJ has so many landscapes. Loved it. The suspension bridge - very cute but once you get to the middle prepare to sway baby! The woods - the trees were singing but unfortunately one half of the loop was submerged so we called it a day early and then went for beer lmao The Boardwalk is accessible to a point. Strollers, wheelchairs, etc will be good until the suspension bridge. Lots of bench seating along the way. Loved! Things to Know: Parking rules. This is in a neighborhood so park on the main road and main road only. Get there early for a spot. There's a farm right up the street - I was counting on apple cider donuts but we opted to go to a brewery on the NY side so we skipped that. Boo. I'll be back for the stairway one day. And the donuts.

I did the Stairway to Heaven hike and let me tell you. It was a tough one. I parked in one of the…read morelots that was across the street from Heaven hill farm. If you search up this particular trail and look up its difficultly. It is listed as moderate but to me it was more hard. What made it difficult was the extremely rocky sections which there were a lot of them. The whole hike is pretty much rocky. Not only that there were steep sections during this hike. This hike definitely made me realize that I actually need to invest in proper hiking shoes and not just sneakers as well as hiking sticks. I'm not the only one who thought this hike was difficult. I went with a hiking group and we all thought it was challenging. Once we made it to the top the view was definitely beautiful. We decided to relax for a bit and enjoy the view before heading back down. I came prepared and I enjoyed my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and my iced lemon water. Both were hitting the spot after the hike up. I will admit going down was just as hard because you had to deal with steep terrain. If you aren't careful you can definitely roll an ankle. Overall a challenging hike but the view and then getting my goodies from heaven hill farm was a plus.

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..