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Sunfish Pond - Delaware Water Gap


Highlights:

Great Views of Delaware Water Gap. Glacial Pond. Appalachian Trail
Near:Midland Park, NJ
Scenery:
Distance:5 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:1150 ft
Hike Time:3 hours
Difficulty:Moderate
Trail Condition:OK, but a few difficult spots
HikeType:Loop



Summary: From trailhead, hike a tenth of a mile north. On the right hand side of the road, you will see a gate, and a trail going up. Climb the trail. The first area will be grassy, quickly followed by a young forest. This part of the trail will be marked by a green dot on a white rectangle mark on tree trunks. When you intersect with the orange rectangle marked trail, turn left onto it, until you climb to the Appalachian Trail intersection (AT is marked white rectangles).
On the AT turn south (right), and on the next intersection, turn left into a trail that will border the pond, and will start to amaze you with how beautiful this area is. Keep walking. You will find a wood road where you turn right, and walk for a while until you join the Appalachian trail again, this time traveling north (right). Here is where you will truly enjoy the pond. There are several rocky overlooks to the left, where you might want to lunch.
Reach orange trail, and retrace to car.

Trailhead: Old Mine Road, on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap.
Parking spot on the river side of the road, just south of the trailhead. PK Coordinates: 41.01748N, 75.07010W. Most direct route is on I80, just on the New Jersey side, there will be an exit to the recreation area. Take Old Mine Road North for 4.5 miles. Trailhead will be on your left. Alternatively, if you come from the north, it is 7 miles south of Millbrook.Trailhead is about a tenth of a mile north of the parking area. There is a metal gate in front of the trailhead. (Lat:41.01748 Lon:-75.0701)

Trail Guides for Sunfish Pond - Delaware Water Gap:
Appalachian Trail Guide to New York - New Jersey
by Daniel Chazin (Appalachian Trail Conference)

Best Seasons: Year-Round
User Groups: Hikers, Dogs,
Ranger Contact: Worthington state forest 973-841-9575, NPS DWGap - (570) 588-2435
Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Jose Anes, who has posted  25 other hikes on this site. To visit this reporters web site, click here.
Trail Reviews  Page 1 of 2   Submit your own review
Reviewed by Josh on 3/21/2010
The hike itself was nice. I think the views of Sunfish Pond are overrated. If I were to do the hike again, it would definitely be in early-mid October.

Reviewed by joe on 6/18/2009
Hiking from old mine road is steep and taxing. Once there sunfish pond is beautiful when spring mountain laurels bloom. The fragrance is intoxicating. As previous comments suggest it is a one time only experience unless you own a helicopter.

Reviewed by SalC on 9/8/2008
This is a beautiful hike along side dunnfield creek to top of tammany hill. Sunfish pond is CLEAR and cool, no garbage in the pond. I met up with a couple of appalacian trail hikers, one who was about sixty and using metal crutches to hike. He looked like he was thirty years old. Because of the difficulty (for first timers) not many hike up to the pond, which is good. Last time I hiked this trail was about five years ago.

Reviewed by missy on 4/1/2008
This was my first time on a "real" hike and loved it! First 1/2 mile a bit hard until your body loosens up, but the pond was worth it. You need to have a good pair of shoes with hard soles, no sneakers. We followed the light blue trail back down and thought that was fun, crossing over the creek a few times and the water falls were nice surprises along the way.

Reviewed by Mike on 9/6/2007
I hiked the Appalachian trail from the Dunnfield Parking Area to Sunfish Pond and back. The trail was scenic, but I found the rocky uphill conditions to be very challenging. As a novice hiker, I made the mistake of wearing sneakers rather than hiking boots. This trail requires boots! Even wearing sneakers, I managed to complete the round trip in just over 3.5 hours, which included 30 minutes of sightseeing around Sunfish Pond. The water was extremely clean, and the pond was beautiful. I highly recommend the effort.

Reviewed by Ann on 8/20/2007
As a beginner I was a bit challenged with the rockiness of the trail up to Sunfish Pond. The Scenery was great but I thought I really had to pay attention to stepping or twist my ankle. Wear good hiking shoes. On the way back we took the green path (yes I wimped out!) I have to say, The beauty and richness of this trail topped going up and was just breathtaking! Really incredible. Small waterfalls and tiny pools to cool yourself. I'm going back in two weeks and can't wait!

Reviewed by Peter on 8/6/2007
Very nice glacial lake. Hard to resist taking a dip on a hot day. We compromised by keeping our dog out of lake, and wading our bodies in gently, to leave minimal trace at least! Round trip hike from Water Gap Information office is all of six hours if you stay at Sunfish Pond for one hour and take liesurely pace. Not strenuous, but rocky/jagged trails warrant sturdy hiking shoes and some patience.

Reviewed by njgal on 6/13/2007
a true beaut...but folks aren't supposed to swim in the pond. Leave no trace.


Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site.
Keys: New Jersey Hiking, New Jersey Trails, New Jersey Hikes, Bergen County Hiking, Bergen County Trails, Bergen County Hikes

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