Blue Mountain Loop/A.T. Longer Loop

Stokes State Forest

View from Sunrise Mountain - Stokes State Forest - Photo credit: Jeremy Apgar View from Sunrise Mountain - Stokes State Forest - Photo credit: Jeremy Apgar

This loop hike follows a woods road through an attractive forest, climbs to the Kittatinny Ridge, and proceeds south on the Appalachian Trail along the ridge, with many fine views.

41.20325, -74.772941

From the kiosk at the entrance to the parking area, proceed ahead on the co-aligned Blue Mountain Loop (blue), Stony Brook Trail (brown) and Tower Trail (green), which follow a woods road. In 300 feet, turn left at a double blue blaze and continue on the Blue Mountain Loop, which climbs gradually on a rocky woods road through an attractive mixed deciduous and evergreen forest. Upon reaching...

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Trip Reports

rate experience
June 12, 2017
5
Great hike, great directions
Hiked on 2017-06-10 following Daniel's excellent (accurate, helpful) directions. Park staff was friendly. Trails, blazes are all well-maintained. Recommend visiting the fire tower. Watch out for ticks.
friedman.samuel
September 01, 2016
0
Hike description has been updated
<p>Thank you very much for posting your comment. &nbsp;I have just updated the hike description to include the new blue-on-white-blazed Blue Mountain Loop Trail, which was blazed in 2015. &nbsp;As for the Trail Conference map, we are about to come out with a new edition of our Kittatinny Trails map set that corrects the various errors that you mention.</p>
Daniel Chazin
August 31, 2016
0
variety is the spice of the hike
<p>Did the hike today (8/31/16).&nbsp; If you're looking for a hike with variety, this is for you!&nbsp; The part north of Sunrise Mtn Road is quite level, leaving you with a peaceful walk through a pleasant woods landscape.&nbsp; Going up the the ridge on the Cartwright Trail is what I would call a moderate climb.&nbsp; (The westward views on this section, indicated on the NY/NJ Trail Conference map 122, are pretty blah.)&nbsp; Note that the initial part of the hike (Swenson, and then Cartwright Trails) are now co-aligned with the Blue Mountain Loop.&nbsp; Not mentioned in Mr. Chazin's excellent writeup, is that the Blue Mountain Loop doesn't (or at least no longer) goes all the way up to&nbsp;meet the AT.&nbsp; At&nbsp; N 41º13'24.4"&nbsp; W 074º43'03.8", there is an intersection, with the blue-blazed Blue Mountain Loop going left to ???.&nbsp;&nbsp;You stay straight on the Cartwright Trail, which now has its brown-red blazes combined with blue blazes with the black dot in the center.&nbsp; The AT section&nbsp;is mostly quite level.&nbsp; The viewpoint to the&nbsp;SE (incorrectly indicated on the Trail Conference map; it's really about 0.07 miles further SW than the map shows it) is really quite stupendous.&nbsp; As Mr. Chazin points out, the viewpoint from the CCC pavilion is not&nbsp;as good.&nbsp; The view from the tower near the intersection of the AT and the Tower Trail is probably quite spectacular during the autumn.&nbsp; As indicated in the writeup, the first 0.2 miles of the descent on the Tower Trail is quite steep (with several rock-scamble sections), so take it slow.&nbsp; A final note:&nbsp; As you approach Stony Lake on the Tower Trail, there appears to be a mistake on the Trail Conference map (2012 edition), which shows 2 parallel trails after the sharp left turn at N41º12'14.3"&nbsp; W074º45'56.3", whereas, in reality, both the Tower (G) and Stony Brook Trail (Br) are co-aligned&nbsp;on the more southerly of the 2 trails shown on the map.</p>
KellnerB
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