Pleasant trail with an overlook plus building ruins, mine pits, scrambling, and crossing the NJ/NY border.
Perfect hiking weather yet again, low 70s and sunny. We didn’t see another person on this entire hike until we were done, and it was just two people checking out the furnace remains.
7.9 miles. Moderate, some uphill scrambling, a few wet sections. Mix of easy woods road with rugged Highlands terrain. West Milford NJ, near Monksville Reservoir. There is a shorter option listed on our hike page.
Route: BLUE DOT (Sterling Ridge)/HIGHLANDS – RED DASH on WHITE (Lake to Lake) – Unmarked woods road – YELLOW (Jennings Hollow) – BLUE DOT (Sterling Ridge)/HIGHLANDS
For detailed hike directions visit our main Long Pond Ironworks page.
There are no real views except for one overlook but plenty of other things to keep you interested. In a swampy area we encountered a heron and a black rat snake.
Remains of the Company Store and water wheel. Furnace at top of page.
And if you are interested in history there is plenty here, plus a nice visitor center.
The Ironworks and the woods roads you are hiking on date back to Revolutionary times when this was a hotbed of iron making activity.
It’s interesting to note that this forest – as well as many of the hiking areas in north jersey – were completely clear cut in the 1700 and 1800s to provide fuel for the furnaces.
The lovely forests we now like to hike through were once barren hilltops and farmsteads.
Small bridge over Wanaque River:
Sterling Ridge Trail (BLUE DOT) co-aligned with Highlands (TEAL):
Old mine pit, Paterson Mine – along an unmarked woods road:
Trail heads uphill with some minor rock scrambles:
Viewpoint:
Crossing the NJ / NY border:
Lake to Lake Trail is muddy and rutted in spots.
Bridge on the Lake to Lake Trail.
Swampy area on Jennings Hollow trail (YELLOW).
Water crossing on Jennings Hollow trail.
Wildlife spotted: At the swampy area on the Jennings Hollow trail we saw a large water bird take off, most likely a blue heron.
As we were standing watching the heron fly off, a black rat snake popped out onto the trail in front of us.
Halfway across the trail his tongue shot out to taste the air, realized something was amiss, turned his head and noticed me – if snakes could have expressions, this one was “DOH!” – he immediately did a 180 and zipped backed into the brush.
Very neat to see just how fast and agile snakes are.