Fresh Air

High Mountain Park Preserve sits in Wayne, NJ, on 1154 acres of protected land established by The Nature Conservancy in 1993. This hike is really close to Manhattan, maybe 35 minutes drive over the GW Bridge in the Preakness Range of the Watchung Mountains. Nine ecological communities and 380 plant species (18 are rare species) have been identified at the site. There are some rock shelters in the area have actually been determined to be sites of pre-historic human habitation and the high points on the ridge were used in the American Revolution as signaling points. The summit ridge sits on some really interesting globally imperiled traprock. As the rock is weathered it form some really interesting patterns in the ground.

The trailhead is on the northern part of the William Patterson University campus directly across from the entrance to parking lot 6. There’s plenty of parking in lot 6 on the map below. The relatively moderate hike offers some really good views of the Manhattan skyline and the boroughs of New York City from the summit.

The first part of the hike kind of feels a little like nothing more than the trails behind the typical college or university; a couple broken bottles and a burned out campfire here or there. Once you get into the hike a little, the evidence of college kids gets less and less. Because of all the recent rain and the heavy winter, the streams are actively bubbling across the trail and leaving a few puddles around. There are a few ups and downs on the hike to the summit, but nothing too strenuous. The final approach to the summit has a pretty steep incline for about the last quarter mile.

The summit is pretty open and grassy. There are a few trees that interrupt the horizon, but on the whole the views of Manhattan are unobstructed. My girlfriend Karen and I hiked up on one of the first really great weekends this spring. There were a few other people with the same idea, the weather was too nice not be outside. There was a little haze in the air that day so the pictures don’t crisply show all the buildings in NYC. It was still pretty cool to get the view.

It was a nice short hike, maybe 3 or 4 miles round trip. It took us about 3 hours but we didn’t take the most direct route. We had a little trouble following the yellow and red blazes the whole time. Paying attention to where the sun is in the sky should help to get you back to the parking lot without too much trouble, the hike isn’t really too long.

There are some longer trail routes that wind through the rest of the preserve, but we just wanted to hit the summit and see the Manhattan view. Take a look at the map to see the rest of the trails.

Keep in mind that this is not the total escape from civilization. There are houses that are vsible surrounding the eastern side of the summit ridge. There are places where you are well outside the world of the paved roads and sidewalks… but it’s not that far away. The bang for the buck is pretty decent though and the view of Manhattan makes it worth the trip.

Directions:

From Eastern NJ/NYC:
Take Route 80 West. Exit at exit 53 onto Route 23 north. Proceed on Route 23 North 1 mile to Alps Rd. Turn right and go 2 miles to traffic light at the intersection of Alps and Ratzer Rds. Turn right on Ratzer Rd. Proceed 1 mile and turn left onto Valley Rd. Continue 2/3 miles and turn right onto Hamburg Tpk. Proceed 1 mile and turn left onto College Rd. (same turn as for Wayne General Hospital). Proceed uphill for 1 mile with the William Paterson University campus on your right. At the top of the hill, turn right into parking lot #6 (at the recreation center). Use the top tier of the parking lot. The trailhead sign is across College Road opposite the parking lot entrance.

From Southern/Central NJ
Take Garden State Parkway North to exit 153B (on left). Follow Route 3 to Route 46 West to Route 23 North. Follow directions from Eastern NJ/NYC.

From Western NJ
Take Route 80 East to exit 53. Proceed 1/3 mile on Route 46 East. Exit on Riverview Dr./Wayne. Go 1 mile to Valley Rd. inue on Valley Rd. and make right at intersection with Hamburg Tpk. Follow directions from Eastern NJ/NYC.

Preserve Guidelines:

[bullets][li]Groups seeking to use High Mountain Park Preserve for an organized event must register with and obtain park permits from Wayne Township's Department of Parks and Recreation.[/li][li]Please stay on the blazed trails.[/li][li]No fishing or hunting, trapping or collecting.[/li][li]Motorized vehicles and aircraft are prohibited.[/li][li]Horseback riding, camping, fires (other than authorized prescribed fires), firearms, rock climbing, spelunking and feeding animals are prohibited.[/li][li]Unleashed pets are prohibited.[/li][/bullets]