Hike Reviews
September 11, 2016
Miss the early years!
<p>I hiked the terrace pond loop today and I'll tell you what a dump that place has become. Below the second rock outcropping ( off the blue trail ) is loaded with plastic bottles, broken glass and empty cardboard packages. Couldn't get to the pond overlook because of a big party going on. I remember back in the day around 2004-05ish this place was a very less visited spot. I remember there was no trash, graffiti and broken glass along the way. The pond itself was peaceful on a Saturday or sunday. Whatever! I'm done with hiking that place during the summer season.</p>
July 31, 2016
Parking at P7 for on Clinton Rd
<p class="MsoNormal">Take Note: There is new signage in place at Parking P7 used for Terrace Pond Trails. Vehicles parked before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m. will be towed by West Milford PD and NJ State Park Police. There is continual problems with illegal swimmers, graffiti and mounds of trash left behind. This affects the enjoyment of others who wish to hike to and around the Pond. This requires State employees and NYNJTC volunteers to continually remove mounds of garbage as well as covering graffiti. Not to mention the need for Search & Rescue on a frequent basis.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Therefore, parking is restricted at P7 to Park hours only. The other parking lot will eventually be completely closed and parking along the road shoulder will be prohibited. </p>
July 01, 2014
Hiking permit is not required
<p>As is made clear in my response to a comment below, Parking Area P-7 is on Wawayanda State Park property. This parking area is not on the property of the Newark Watershed. The hike itself also traverses lands of Wawayanda State Park. Apparently, two years ago, an employee of the Newark Watershed mistakenly placed warning notices on cars parked in Parking Area P-7. When the authorities were contacted, they admitted that this was an error on their part. Hikers may park in this parking area and do this hike without obtaining any permit.</p>
June 30, 2014
Hiking Permit required?
<p>Is a permit required to hike this trail? If so, from whom and how is it obtained?</p>
July 13, 2012
NWCDC office said permit is not required to park at P-7
<p>I called NWCDC office today to confirm the parking is allowed at P-7 and it got confirmed ! They took care of it already.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>--Mei</p>
July 11, 2012
thank you!
<p>Thanks for such a quick response!!!</p>
July 10, 2012
NWCDC permit is not needed at parking area P-7
<p>The issue with the parking tickets (actually warnings) was brought to my attention this morning. I had parked there last Tuesday and did not receive either a warning or a ticket. Our Trails Chair for the area has contacted people from the Newark Watershed, and they have confirmed that parking area P-7 is located on state land and that one may park there without obtaining a permit from the Newark Watershed. I would suggest that you contact the Watershed office again and advise them of the above. </p>
<p>To repeat, a NWCDC permit is <em>not</em> required for parking at parking area P-7. The police officers who issued the tickets or warnings acted on a misunderstanding, which hopefully has been corrected and will not recur.</p>
July 10, 2012
parking notice
<p>Very interesting but strenuous hike. Done on a hot summer's day. It was party time at Terrace pond with swimmers everywhere. The hike down on the blue trail was much more strenuous than the hike up on the yellow.</p>
<p>We parked in the recommended lot P-7 off of Clinton Road, and came back to find a Warning Notice from the City of Newark Water Supply claiming that the lot was on city property. There were no signs posted at the lot telling us not to trespass. Also, the map shows the lot to be on Wawayanda State Park property. I called the NWCDC office (973-697-2850) to complain and was told that P-7 required a permit for parking. The warning tells me that I have 3 days to buy a permit or they will mail a ticket to me for trespassing!</p>
<p>I believe NWCDC is in error, but if not, it is the first time that a NYNJTC description has been this wrong.</p>
July 10, 2012
Ticked in parking lot
<P>We did this hike on Sunday. Nice hike, but when we got back, all the cars in the parking lot were ticketed. The tickets claimed this was part of the Newark Watershed, and permits were required. There were no signs to that effect, although further down the road there were signs.</P>
<P> </P>
July 04, 2012
I wouldn't rate this hike "very easy"!
<p>I did the hike yesterday (July 3rd) and found that very little had changed since I first wrote up the hike about 10 years ago. Beavers have been active at the swamp and have raised its level, and our volunteers have put rock stepping stones over some of the wet areas, but not much else has changed in the last 10 years.</p>
<p>I did not see a bear, or evidence of one, but I did notice a rattlesnake along the trail near the swamp.</p>
<p>As for the rating of the hike, I certainly would not call it "very easy." There is a significant amount of elevation gain and loss, and while some of the hike follows wide woods roads, other sections follow rugged footpaths. There are quite a few spots where the trail climbs or descends so steeply that you have to use both your hands and your feet. Perhaps the trail is much easier than most trails in the State of Washington, but when compared to other trails in New Jersey and New York, I believe that the appropriate rating is "moderate to strenuous."</p>
June 30, 2012
Bears on trail
<p>I did this hike as a trail run yesterday evening (6/29/2012) and saw a bear on the red blazed trail. Luckily I heard it making noise and could see it before I was right on it. I made a lot of noise (city girl that I am I had my rape whistle handy) and while it did show some interest in me it eventually lumbered away. Later in the hike at the lake I met up with some other hikers and they said someone they met at the lake a week or two ago had seen a bear on the red trail as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Earlier in the hike I saw bear tracks on an offshoot of the the yellow trail when I made a navigational error. These were fresh so I'm guessing I was either following the bear or he had been headed my way and I just missed him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Other than the bear sighting this was a great route and I enjoyed it. This was perfect for the limited time I had in the evening. There were a couple places where I had trouble finding the blazes but eventually figured it out. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I wouldn't call the trail "moderate to strenuous". I would rate this as very easy. I come from Washington state and you would be hard pressed to find a hike with this little elevation gain and just generally so mellow with the wide "woods roads" for the path. The only thing that could possibly make me rate it as moderate is that in several places it was a bit technical for me to feel safe running it given that I was out there on my own.</p>