Wawayanda State Park, in Sussex County, New Jersey, is a great place to hike in the winter. It features dense thickets of rhododendron, which retain their green leaves all through the winter and brighten up the otherwise rather bleak vegetation, as well as evergreen trees. This 3.8-mile hike follows a loop east of Wawayanda Lake, passing the 180-year-old stone Wawayanda Furnace along the way. The hike should take between two and 2.5 hours, depending on conditions. Dogs are permitted on leash. An entrance fee is charged, but only in the spring and summer (from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day).
Wawayanda is higher and cooler than other nearby areas and tends to keep its snow cover longer. Since the trails are often covered with snow and ice in the winter, it’s a good idea to bring along traction devices, such as STABILicers, which provide improved traction when walking on snow and ice.
To reach the trailhead, take N.J. Route 4 West to Route 208 North, and follow Route 208 to its end. Continue ahead on I-287 South, and take Exit 57 (Skyline Drive). Bear right at the fork and take Skyline Drive to its northwestern end at Greenwood Lake Turnpike (County Route 511). Turn right and proceed north on Greenwood Lake Turnpike. When you reach a fork at 8.4 miles, take the right fork to continue on Warwick Turnpike (still County Route 511). Proceed for another 4.6 miles to the entrance to Wawayanda State Park, on the left. Follow the entrance road for about two miles, and turn left at a sign for Wawayanda Lake. Proceed past the beach parking area to the boat launch parking area, and park there. GPS address: 885 Warwick Turnpike, Hewitt, NJ 07421. The trailhead is about 35 miles from Teaneck, and it should take about 50 minutes to get there.
From the parking area, head east (left when facing the lake) along a woods road parallel to an arm of the lake, following the orange blazes of the Lake Loop Trail. At the end of the lake, the blue-blazed Wingdam Trail begins on the right. This will be your return route, but for now, continue ahead, following the yellow blazes of the Double Pond Trail. In a short distance, you’ll cross a bridge and pass to the right of the remains of the stone Wawayanda Furnace, built in 1845-46 by Oliver Ames and his sons. This charcoal blast furnace, which smelted iron ore from local mines, was used to supply the Union Army during the Civil War.
Continue ahead, passing to the right of two small green restroom buildings. You now begin to follow the Laurel Pond Trail, also blazed yellow. This trail follows an old woods road (first laid out as a public road in the beginning of the 19th century). In a quarter mile, the pristine spring-fed Laurel Pond is visible through the trees on the right.
The trail now passes through dense rhododendron thickets and begins to climb. At the top of the climb, the blue-blazed Wingdam Trail begins on the right. You should continue ahead on the yellow-blazed Laurel Pond Trail, which passes interesting rock outcrops on the right. The rhododendron thickets end for now, but you pass some evergreen trees as the trail descends.
In another half mile, the yellow/orange-blazed Lake Loop Connector Trail begins on the right. Turn right and follow this trail, which heads northwest towards Wawayanda Lake. In half a mile, the Lake Loop Connector Trail ends at a junction with the orange-blazed Lake Loop Trail. Bear right and head north on the Lake Loop Trail, a rocky footpath which runs parallel to the lake. Soon, you’ll notice dense rhododendron thickets along the trail. After passing through a “tunnel” of rhododendron, the trail comes out on a rock ledge that overlooks Wawayanda Lake, with panoramic views across the lake.
In another quarter mile, follow the Lake Loop Trail as it turns left and joins the blue-blazed Wingdam Trail, which follows a woods road. In a short distance, you’ll cross a wide wooden bridge over an outlet of the lake, with the “wingdam” (a secondary dam of the lake) on the left. Just beyond, the Lake Loop Trail leaves to the left, but you should continue ahead on the blue-blazed Wingdam Trail.
The Wingdam Trail ends at the main dam of the lake. Continue ahead, crossing the dam, then turn left, now once again following the orange-blazed Lake Loop Trail, and retrace your steps back to the boat launch parking area, where the hike began.
This hiking article is provided by Daniel Chazin of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. The Trail Conference is a volunteer organization that builds and maintains over 2,000 miles of hiking trails and publishes a library of hiking maps and books. The Trail Conference’s office is at 600 Ramapo Valley Road (Route 202), Mahwah; (201) 512-9348; www.nynjtc.org. Daniel Chazin can be reached at [email protected].
