Trail Relocations/Changes

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Highland Trail Missing Link Filled (August 2008)

The “missing link” in the Highlands Trail between Windbeam Mountain and Wyanokie High Point is now filled and open for all to enjoy. One parking area is on Townsend Road, near its junction with West Brook Road; another is on Wanaque Reservoir property on West Brook Road, with permission of the security office at Raymond Dam on Ringwood Ave. in Wanaque. Please put a note on your dashboard: “Hiker.” In the near future we will have a loop entirely on forest trails.

Shawangunk Ridge/Long Path Reroutes (August 2008)

A major reroute has been instituted in the Cragsmoor area. The LP/SRT has been blazed along a nice woods road (the old Rte 52), about 0.4 mi before it reaches Rte 52. The old route to Rt. 52 (about 0.4 mi) is now blazed with yellow DEC disks. The new route crosses Rt. 52 in about 2.5 miles, just before it reaches South Gully, follows the South Gully Trail (see May/June Trail Walker, page 1) up 1400-foot ascent to Sam’s Point Preserve, and follows the loop road to the right to rejoin the old route near the Sam’s Point parking lot. The old road walk along Rt. 52, up Bear Hill, and through Cragsmoor, has been discontinued.

Trail reopens over Gobblers Knob. In Mount Hope a section of 1.3 miles of roadwalking has been eliminated by rebuilding the section over Gobblers Knob, east of Otisville Road. This section had been closed to hikers by private landowners for about 15 years. The Open Space Institute recently acquired the property, which soon will be transferred to DEC, and Trail Conference volunteers have reopened the trail. Directions: Going north from Rt. 211 on Otisville Rd, turn right in about 0.3 mi, soon after passing over the railroad tunnel. The trail climbs fairly steep to a nice lookout point, and then turns south. The trail passes a low escarpment on the right, follows an old woods road for a while, and slowly descends through open woods back to Otisville Rd., about 0.1 mile before it reaches Indian Orchard Rd. Be advised that Indian Orchard road changes to South road when you cross the Deerpark Orange county / Mamakating Sullivan county line.

Reroute in Basha Kill. Along the Basha Kill a reroute has been blazed with blue DEC disks. The new path of about 0.5 mi starts after 0.6 mi on the rail-trail (going north), near a small bridge and a sizable parking area. It follows an old wildlife viewing trail and goes over a few bog bridges. It passes a viewing platform, with great views over the Basha Kill, before it rejoins the rail-trail.

Stephens Road access to Bearfort Mountain (April 2008)

The P8 parking area at the top of Stephens Road has been moved 3/4 mile down the hill to the bottom of Stephens Road. Hiking trails in and around Bearfort Mountain Fire Tower continue to be accessible from this new parking area as well as from Van Orden Road and from Clinton Road at the various parking locations established by the Pequannock Watershed.

Appalachian Trail (Wawayanda) (April 2008)

The AT reroute at Wawayanda between the Wm. Hoeferlin Trail and Iron Mountain Rd has been completed and is now open. It does now need to be GPS’d.  I think it has shortened the route just a little. The initial section from Hoeferlin to Old Wawayanda road was completed last year. The new section now ascends a ridge at Old Wawayanda Rd, walks along the ridge then crosses it and descends to Kazmer Pond and follows the outlet brook from the pond down to Iron Mtn Rd; a very nice reroute off the woods roads.

Ryker Lake Circle (April 2008)

The ford on Rock Lodge Road at the north end of the Ryker Lake Circle (Hike #9 in Hiking the Jersey Highlands) has been covered by a beaver pond. It is not possible to cross the dam or the ford without getting wet. To complete the circuit of Ryker Lake, hikers may find a dry crossing through the boulder field below the dam. Signs will be posted to show the detour.

Hewitt-Butler Trail (March 2008)

Our Weekday Trail Crew got out on March 11th to complete a mile-plus relocation of the Hewitt-Butler Trail off the north-south powerline in Norvin Green State Forest north of West Brook Road. The new route is mainly on footpaths, entirely in woods along a ridgeline, and features a beautiful westward panorama of Bearfort Mountain.

To access the 7.2-mile northern section of the Hewitt-Butler H-B from the south, shoulder parking is available immediately west of 711 West Brook Road, with the trailhead just across the road. West Brook may run high at times.
The north trailhead, with nearby ample parking, is on the south side of County 511 (Greenwood Lake Turnpike), just east of East Shore Road.

Burnt Meadow Road offers two roadside parking areas. One, about a half-mile south of County 511, is at the Hewitt-Butler east-west powerline crossing (most of this section has also been relocated off-powerline). The other, just over a mile south of County 511, is at the Burnt Meadow Trail crossing, which trail connects with the Hewitt-Butler 0.8 mile to the west.

Long Path (most recent change 8/20/2007)

Shawgunk Ridge Trail (section G1) May 2004

See Long Path Guide, section G1 (High Point to Route 6), page 217.

The trail has been relocated off of roads and onto newly purchased lands (shown in green and yellow). On the map below the thin red line is the new trail while the thick red line is the old (unrelocated) trail. There is also a new side trail starting in the parcel marked in green which is partially open currently. The dotted red lines show the parts that have not been completed yet.

Old relocations now on current maps