A Brief History of the Highlands Trail

Early Vision

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference together with other conservation groups began imagining a long-distance hiking trail weaving together the ridgelines, forests, and public parks of the Highlands – a 4-state Federal Region recognized for its unique habitat, spectacular scenery, and critical importance for providing clean drinking water. The idea was to create a premier hiking itinerary through a region already well regarded for its world class outdoor recreation. 

Building Momentum

In 2000 the Highlands Trail was designated a Millennium Legacy Trail, one of only 50 in the United States. This provided the project visibility and legitimacy. Over the following years, the Trail Conference began stitching together trails linking conservation lands and park systems. The route follows roads where necessary to cover gaps between public open space. 

By the 2010s the route had grown steadily — crossing municipal parks, state lands, preserves, and private easements — forming a more or less continuous path between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers. 

Formalizing the Trail

In 2019 the NY-NJ Trail Conference, under contract with the New Jersey Highlands Council, undertook a special project to promote the trail’s identity. That effort included: 

• Surveying the trail and producing a dedicated map set for prospective hikers. 
• Designing and installing consistent signs to raise awareness of the trail and aid wayfinding 
• Securing agreements with landowners and agency partners to strengthen protection of the trail corridor 

These measures benefitted the trail and provided a platform for the continuing work to realize the objective of a premier long-distance hiking experience. 

Challenges Along the Way

The Highlands Trail faces many of the same obstacles that long-distance trails often do:

Development pressure: As suburban expansion presses into the Highlands region, preserving corridor integrity becomes harder.

Land access and easements: Some segments cross private property, requiring ongoing cooperation and negotiation.

Route continuity: In places the Trail must leverage co-aligned existing trails, local connectors, or roads where no trail land exists.

Signage consistency: Ensuring the teal diamond blaze and signage remain clear, especially where overlapping with other trail systems.

Looking Forward

Today, the Highlands Trail stretches roughly 180 miles from Pohatcong Township on the Delaware River in New Jersey to Cornwall-on-Hudson in New York. Work is underway to extend the trail eastward to the Connecticut state line and improve its continuity.  

The Trail Conference is always working to refine the route of the Highlands Trail and work with local partners to preserve land that supports the trail and reduce segments on road. Further efforts are ongoing to increase hiker amenities along the route and strengthen the trail’s identity in the Highlands Region. 

Join the story.

Your participation helps shape the future of the Highlands Trail — through volunteering to maintain a section of trail, advocating for improvements to the trail, or supporting the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference.  

Help us turn this history into a legacy.