Loop Hike from Kincaid Road
Directions to trailhead
Take I-287 South to Exit 47 (Montville/Lincoln Park) and turn left at the bottom of the ramp onto Main Road (Route 202). Continue to follow Route 202 as it turns first sharply left, then sharply right. In 0.6 mile, just before reaching a fire station, turn right onto Taylortown Road and continue for 3.1 miles to a “stop” sign at Powerville Road (after 1.8 miles, Taylortown Road becomes Rockaway Valley Road). Turn right onto Powerville Road and continue for 1.2 miles to Kincaid Road (Powerville Road bears left at this intersection). Turn right onto Kincaid Road and immediately turn right into a gravel parking area.
Hike Description
At the kiosk at the northeast corner of the parking area, a triple blaze marks the start of the Pink Dot Trail (black dot on pink). Follow a grassy path uphill to a gate in a deer enclosure. Continue ahead (please close the gate) and follow the pink dot blazes on posts through an open field. At the end of the field, go through another gate in the enclosure and enter the woods. The trail crosses a stream on a wooden footbridge and goes over an old stone wall.
After crossing a wet area on a raised causeway, you’ll reach a junction marked by a small cairn. The Pink Dot Trail straight ahead will be your return route, but for now, bear right onto the Pink Trail. The Pink Trail climbs a little and levels off, passing a large raised area on the left.
The Pink Trail resumes a gradual climb, then descends slightly and bears left. The trail now heads northwest, with a deep valley below on the right. It curves to the right and loops around a knoll, ascending gradually, with a ridge visible through the trees on the right in leaf-off season.
After passing through a stand of cedars, the Pink Trail descends. It crosses a stone wall and ends at an intersection with the Pink Dot Trail. Turn left onto the Pink Dot Trail and continue to descend, soon passing an interesting tree on the left with five trunks.
A short distance beyond, you’ll notice several deep cuts, now overgrown with trees, on the left. These large pits are remnants of the Rockaway Valley Mines, excavated about 1870 and last worked in 1880. The ore was shipped to Musconetcong Ironworks in Stanhope via the Morris Canal. An old mining road leads uphill to the right, but you should proceed ahead, continuing to follow the pink dot blazes. The trail now descends rather steeply, with ditches (constructed to drain water from the mine) on either side.
Just ahead, the trail curves to the left and widens to a woods road. On the left side of the road, you’ll notice a stone retaining wall which supported a flat work area and, far above on the hillside, piles of tailings (waste rock from mining operations) may be seen. A short distance beyond, you’ll reach the junction (marked by a cairn) where the Pink Trail begins. Continue ahead on the Pink Dot Trail and follow it back to the parking area where the hike began.