Hike of the Week 7/17/03

WHERE: Mount Hope Historical Park

FEATURES : This loop hike, through pleasant second-growth woods, follows old woods roads past numerous mine openings of the abandoned Mount Hope Mines.

LENGTH: 2.7 miles.

DIFFICULTY: Easy.

TIME: About two and one-half hours.

MAP: Morris County Park Commission map (available from kiosk at trailhead).

DOGS : Permitted on leash.

HOW TO GET THERE: Take Interstate Route 80 to Exit 35 (eastbound) or Exit 35B (westbound) and proceed north on Mount Hope Avenue. In 0.5 mile, turn left onto Richard Mine Road. Continue for 0.7 mile and turn right onto Coburn Road (which becomes Teabo Road). The park entrance is 0.7 mile ahead on the left.

DESCRIPTION: Known locally as the Richard Mine, Mount Hope Historical Park was once a booming iron mining and processing site. It forms a part of the original Mount Hope Tract, first developed by John Jacob Faesch in 1772. Over the course of the years, three separate veins of ore - each of which runs in a southwesterly-to-northeasterly direction - were mined on the property. The property was divided into three ownerships, which operated the Teabo, Allen, and Richard mines, respectively. During World War II, the eastern end of the site was developed as the New Leonard Mining Complex - a state-of-the-art mining and ore-processing complex that produced 5,600,000 tons of ore by 1950. Mining operations in the area ended in 1958, and the park was opened in 1997. Second-growth woodlands have reforested the areas that once were cleared for mining operations.

  From the trailhead at the east end of the parking area, follow the trail up a switchback to a trail junction under power lines. Turn left, now following the Red Trail. After crossing a seasonal stream, the mine pits of the Teabo #2 Mine - opened in the 1850s and abandoned by 1883 - may be seen to the left in about a third of a mile.

  About 400 feet beyond the last mine pit, turn right onto a diverging route of the Red Trail and begin to follow the loop in a counter-clockwise direction through second-growth woodlands, with an understory of blueberry bushes. This section of the trail departs from the main ore vein, so few mine pits may be seen until the next trail junction is reached in another half a mile. Turn right at this junction onto the Orange Trail, which passes several small mine pits. In 0.2 mile from the junction with the Red Trail, the Orange Trail turns right onto a narrower woods road. Then, in 650 feet - with a stream directly ahead - the trail turns left and begins a steady descent.

  One and one-half miles from the start of the hike, the trail reaches a T-intersection and turns left. Just beyond, the trail passes the remnants of the Richard #6 Mine, opened in 1897. Several mine pits and timbers may be seen to the left of the trail. In another 500 feet, a rail across the trail marks the site of the Richard #2 Mine - one of New Jersey's most productive mines in the 1880s. Cables from the mining operations may be seen to the left of the trail.

  After crossing under power lines, follow the Orange Trail as it bears left, leaving the wide woods road it has been following. The trail soon widens to a woods road and passes the stone ruins of several homes. Just beyond, the trail turns right under the power lines, then turns left onto an intersecting road. After a short climb, the trail passes six shafts of the Allen Mine, first opened in the 1830s. The mine shafts are behind a low ridge to the north and are not visible from the trail.

  When the Orange Trail ends at a junction, two miles from the start of the hike, bear right onto the Red Trail, which passes several trenches and mine pits of the Allen Mine to the left of the trail. One of these pits, known as the Smoke Stack Shaft, was excavated in the 1850s to provide ventilation for the Allen Tunnel, which extended south to Teabo Road. (The tunnel itself is no longer visible.) As the trail swings to the left, a huge pit of the Allen Mine may be seen to the right of the trail.

  Just beyond, you'll reach the start of the loop. Continue ahead, following the Red Trail back to the trail junction under the power lines, then turn right and continue to the parking area.

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