New York & the Mid-Atlantic Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

(Elliott) #1
developed Bushkill Falls
(%570-588-6682; Rte 209,
Bushkill; adult/child $12.50/7;
9am, closing times vary, closed
Dec-Mar) encompasses a
miniature golf course,
ice-cream parlor, gift shop
and paddleboat rentals so
it’s far from a wilderness
experience. Nevertheless,
the series of eight falls
surrounded by lush forest
is undeniably beautiful.
Finally, the hamlet of
Shawnee, towards the
southern end of the park,
has a general store with
sandwiches and burgers,
and a large resort with a
golf course along the river.
Nearby Adventure Sports
(%570-223-0505, 800-487-
2628; http://www.adventuresport.com;
Rte 209; per day canoe/kayak
$40/44; h9am-6pm Mon-Fri,
from 8am Sat & Sun May-Oct)
is one of a half-dozen
companies that rent
canoes and kayaks for
trips down the river.

4 p135


The Drive » To reach Old
Mine Rd/Rte 606 on the Jersey
side, get on I-80 east and take
the exit to your right signposted
as Kittatinny Point Visitor
Center (closed indefinitely),
through an underpass, past
a pullout for the Appalachian
Trail and back onto I-80 west.
Then take exit 1, again on
your right, towards Milbrook/
Flatbrookville. Just before the
river veer right onto River Rd.

5 NJ Side of
the Gap
Old Mine Rd, one of
the oldest continually

operating commercial
roads in the US, meanders
along the eastern side of
the Delaware. A few miles
inland, a 25-mile stretch
of the Appalachian Trail
runs along the Kittatinny
Ridge. Day hikers can
climb to the top of the
1547ft Mt Tammany
in Worthington State
Forest (%908-841-9575;
http://www.njparksandforests.org)
for great views (the 1.8-
mile Blue Dot trail is the
easiest route, though it’s
still strenuous) or walk to
the serene-looking glacial
Sunfish Pond. Hawks,
bald eagles and ravens
soar over the hemlock
forest.
The recreated site
of Milbrook Village,
composed of about two
dozen buildings, some
original, others moved
or built here since the
1970s, is meant to evoke
a late 19th-century
farming community.
From a peak of 75
inhabitants in 1875, by
1950 only a blacksmith
remained. On Saturdays
and other select days in
summer, as well as the
first weekend in October
during the Milbrook
Days Festival, costumed
interpreters perform
period skills. Otherwise,
it’s a picturesque ghost
town.
A steep wooden
stairway takes you to the
top of the spectacular
Buttermilk Falls but it’s
equally impressive from
the bottom. It’s accessed

down a dirt road after
turning right after the
cemetery in Walpack
Center.

The Drive » Head towards
Port Jervis, then take Rte 23 to
High Point State Park.

6 High Point State
Park
A 220ft monument
marks the highest point
in the park and New
Jersey at 1803ft. Here
and at several other
viewpoints in the aptly
named High Point State
Park (%973-875-4800;
http://www.njparksandforests.org;
1480 Rte 23, Sussex; h8am-
8pm Apr-Oct, to 4:30pm
other months), there are
wonderful panoramas of
the surrounding lakes,
hills and farmland – the
Poconos to the west, the
Catskills to the north
and the Wallkill River
Valley to the southeast.
Trails snake off into
the forests and there’s
a small beach with a
lake to cool off in during
the summer. If you only
have time for one walk,
try the 2.3-mile Dryden
Kuser National Area
interpretive trail through
a white cedar bog with
a variety of birdlife. In
winter months, contact
the information center
for snowshoe ‘tracking’
programs where you
learn how to search for
the snowy footprints of
weasels, bobcats and
coyotes.

NEW.JERSEY.&.PENNSYLVANIA.TRIPS.

10


(^) DOWN THE DELAWARE

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