Blue Mountain Loop Trail - Northern Section
Directions to trailhead
Take I-80 to Exit 34B and continue north on NJ 15 for about 17 miles. When NJ 15 ends, continue ahead on US 206 North for 8.6 miles and turn right onto Flatbrook Road. In 1.0 mile, turn sharply right to continue on Flatbrook Road. Continue for another 1.8 miles and turn right onto Skellenger Road. Proceed ahead for another 0.4 mile. After crossing a stone-faced bridge over the Big Flat Brook, the road ahead is gated. Park along the shoulder of the road.
Hike Description
This hike follows the northern section of the Blue Mountain Loop Trail, blazed with a blue dot on white. This trail, constructed by the park in the summer of 2015, incorporates a number of pre-existing trails.
Head northeast on the blue-dot-on-white-blazed Blue Mountain Loop Trail, which parallels the Big Flat Brook. In 0.2 mile, you'll reach the start of the yellow-blazed Tinsley Trail. Turn right onto the Tinsley Trail, which climbs on switchbacks, crosses a paved road, and continues on a gated woods road. Several marked trails formerly maintained by the New Jersey State School of Conservation branch off to the left, and one of these trails (the Purple Finch Trail) is co-aligned with the Tinsley Trail for some distance.
After descending to a wetland, the Tinsley Trail begins a gradual climb. About half a mile from its start, you’ll reach a fork, where you should bear right to continue along the Tinsley Trail. The trail now levels off, but it soon resumes its climb.
At the next junction, turn left, leaving the Tinsley Trail, and follow the blue-dot-on-white blazes of the Blue Mountain Loop Trail, which descends on a rocky footpath. You will be following the Blue Mountain Loop Trail for the remainder of the hike.
In a third of a mile, you’ll reach an open area with a locked cabin and an adjacent picnic table. Continue ahead on the Blue Mountain Trail, which follows a level woods road. In about half a mile, after crossing several branches of a stream, follow the Blue Mountain Loop Trail as it turns right, leaving the woods road.
The Blue Mountain Loop Trail climbs on a footpath, paralleling a stream on the left. After crossing the stream on rocks, the trail levels off. Soon, it crosses another stream and continues through a dense understory of ferns. It then climbs a little more to cross the paved Sunrise Mountain Road. The climb steepens on the other side of the road, and, in a short distance, the trail reaches a panoramic west-facing viewpoint from an open rock ledge, with several pine trees. This is a good spot to take a break.
After climbing a little more, you’ll come to another junction. Here, the Cartwright Trail (as well as a side trail with black/blue blazes) begins, but you should turn left, continuing to follow the blue-dot-on-white blazes of the Blue Mountain Loop Trail. Soon, you’ll come to another west-facing viewpoint from an open rock ledge.
In another quarter mile, follow the Blue Mountain Trail as it turns left onto an eroded woods road. After descending some more on this road, the Blue Mountain Loop Trail turns right onto an intersecting woods road. Just beyond, the grey-on-white-blazed Howell Trail begins on the left.
The Blue Mountain Loop Trail now descends gently. In about a mile, it crosses a few short wooden bridges and then a longer bridge over the Big Flat Brook. It continues to descend a little, but after crossing a stream on rocks, the trail begins to climb. After leveling off, the trail descends gradually, then crosses a wet area on puncheons. Soon, it reaches a grassy woods road -– the route of the blue-blazed Parker Trail.
Turn left onto the road, which descends gradually. In about half a mile, follow the blue-dot-on-whte blazes as they turn left, leaving the road, and descend on a footpath.
Soon, you’ll reach the paved Crigger Road, with a piped spring on the opposite side of the road. Turn left onto the paved road, continuing to follow the blue-on-white blazes of the Blue Mountain Loop Trail. The trail crosses the Big Flat Brook on the road bridge, then turns right, leaving the paved road, and continues on a footpath.
For the next two miles, the trail proceeds through a hemlock forest, closely paralleling the cascading Big Flat Brook. This is the most interesting and beautiful portion of the hike, and you’ll want to take your time to enjoy this trail section.
After about 1.2 miles of pleasant walking along the brook, you’ll traverse an open grassy area, with a fenced-in area on the left. A short distance beyond, the Blue Mountain Loop Trail turns right and crosses an impressive wooden footbridge over the outlet of Lake Wapalanne. Just beyond, you’ll pass the ruins of a stone fireplace, and the Brown Creeper Trail joins from the left.
Soon, the Blue Mountain Trail turns left, away from the brook. With a parking area and buildings of the former New Jersey School of Conservation visible ahead, the Blue Mountain Trail turns right and continues high above the brook. In a short distance, joined by the Orange Wood Lily Trail, it descends to the level of the brook, which it follows around a bend.
A short distance beyond, the yellow-blazed Tinsley Trail begins on the left. Continue ahead on the Blue Mountain Loop Trail until you reach the parking area where the hike began.