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 Reporter |
Summary: After the heavy rain stopped today I was able to get a short but tough hike in. The trail starts out as a steep climb up to the top of Wawayanda Mt. Along the way up ,especially at the base there are many large boulders that are great for bouldering on. Once on top of the mountain you get some great views of the Vernon Valley, Pochuck Mt, the Kittatinny's, Catskills and the Black dirt region. The trail then traverses the top of Wawayanda Mt to another lookout. This is when you start your Bushwhack along the old Appalachian trail route. It is more like a bushwhack because you cant find the trail most of the way down the Mt. When going down you pass a waterfall and some nice cascades. Be careful on this section due to the many unstable rocks in the area. Here is the route to take: Appalachian Tr. , Right on blue Livingston tr., Come to large creek make a right and try to follow the old AT down. Right onto unmarked path follow along Mt base to Appalachian tr. Trailhead: From town of Franklin NJ. Take rt. 23 north. Go into town of Hamburg and make a right onto rt. 94 toward Vernon. Go into town of Vernon and make a left, Still rt. 94. Go past chain saw woodcarving stand and make the right into the AT lot. If you go pass heaven Hill Farm you went to far. (Lat:41.21876 Lon:-74.45519) Trail Guides for Stairway to Heaven Loop, NJ: North Jersey Trails map by NY/NJ Trail Conference (NY/NJ trail conference) Best Seasons: Year-Round User Groups: Hikers, Ranger Contact: Wawayanda State Park 973-853-4462 Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Shawn Viggiano, who has posted 44 other hikes on this site Trail Reviews Page 1 of 3 Submit your own review 
Reviewed by Marc on 8/10/2009 After reading the other reviews, I was excited to do this trail. However, I have to say I was rather disappointed. In fairness, I have done a good amount of hiking this summer. Some of the trails (in foreign countries) just blow what's even possible in New Jersey. However, two weeks ago I did Breakneck Mountain in NY and found it to be much better than this, both in terms of challenge, scenery (on par with this one), and view from the top. The trail is short and the view is mediocre at best. I did enjoy the forest and scenery. I would rate the difficulty at low, not moderate. 
Reviewed by JAF on 1/6/2009 Awesome hike to top and back. We could not hike the loop. The directions are spot on, take the white blaze (AT) to the top, sign the book, right on to the blue trail... then... get ready for an episode of Survivor Man. Okay, it's not that horrible. The faintly marked blue trail ends at a beautiful overlook, definitely worth a little bushwhacking. It was too late in the day for us to try to make a loop (plus there were no more footprints in the snow to follow). I assume the old AT is the double white blaze trail merging off to the left of the blue trail and down the other side of the mountain. Maybe next time we'll try it, but we were 50 minutes from sunset and didn't want to be stuck in the dark. We had a great time, and we'll go back.
Reviewed by JLM on 10/14/2008 Had this 65 year old suckin' wind!
Reviewed by Eric on 9/28/2008 This hike is a fairly strenuous and steep climb up mainly rocks. I think the difficulty is slightly understated in many reviews. The first half is along the A.T. which is well marked but the blue trail is definitely not well traveled, had to double back several times, its overgrown in many spots which I actually preferred. At the second lookout the trail doesnt seem to clearly continue in any direction so we headed back to the parking lot in the same direction we came up. We hiked in light rain and heavy heavy fog which made the rock climbing slippery (fell twice). I will definitely do this hike again when its less foggy because the view from the top looked like we were looking down into the clouds.
Reviewed by Mel on 8/12/2006 Steve - the AT trailhead down is the same as the way up. When you are going up, just remember where you come out at the top before heading off to the left on the blue side trail. The white blazes on the way down are well marked. And yes, the orange trail down the other side is the old AT.
Reviewed by Steve on 6/17/2006 I have hiked this trail twice and both times I failed to find the correct trail out. I took the white trail up, took old A.T (blue) to the second lookout, then after that I was lost. My friends and I wound up taking a double orange-dot that took us to a lake at the otherside of the mountain then we hitch-hiked our way back to the parking lot (I think it was an old appalachian trail--not maintained whatsoever). Can anyone help me? Where is the trail out because I refuse to believe that this is actually a loop hike, everyone we talked to just did the hike out and back. 
Reviewed by shizenquest on 4/21/2006 Just did it today-Barret rd. to the bull fields and back-bout 6 miles or so-2 hours on the dot-stairway:13 minutes to run down to the woods at the base, 23 minutes back to the top-gotta love it-seeyaouthere
Reviewed by Martin D. on 9/12/2005 I've climbed this trail on 9/11/05 for the first time. The parking was on a bend of RT 94 just before the "Heavenly Hill Farm" in Vernon, NJ. There is a lot for about 6 cars there. You can tell where it is by the sign for "A.T. Parking". 95% of the hike is on the white appalachian trail and at the top of the ridge a blue trail ("PINWHEEL" trail if I recall) starts. This trail - short one of only about 200ft leads to the rocky formation from which you can see the vista of the valley. If you continue on the white A.T. past the blue trail you will reach the top of the hill with a mailbox attached to a tree where you can sign your name etc. There is another blue trail which starts at the mailbox called "Olde Vista" and is .8 mi long Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site. Keys: New Jersey Hiking, New Jersey Trails, New Jersey Hikes, Passaic County Hiking, Passaic County Trails, Passaic County Hikes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||