For those looking for an easy trail to go mountain biking with the kids on, the section of the McDade Trail between the Schneider Farm and Jerry Lees trailheads in Dingmans Ferry, PA may be to your liking. To continue my quest to hike the entire
McDade Trail, I took the liberty of hitting this part of the McDade hiking trail on a cool and gloomy May morning.
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| Hiking the McDade Trail - Schneider Farm to Jerry lees |
This segment of the McDade Trail starts off with a hike down the Schneider Farm spur trail and around a large cornfield. Just the path to get to the other side of the cornfield is nearly a mile of hiking. From there the trail follows a mundane gravel path with little more than brush to your left and cornfields to your right. The rest of the cornfield trail, that seemingly never ends, is about 2 miles long.
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| McDade Recreational Trail |
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| First bridge |
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| View from the second bridge |
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| Hornbeck Creek |
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| Hiking the McDade Trail |
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| Cornfields along the McDade Hiking Trail |
At N41° 11.498' W74° 52.864' you come across the first of four bridges that allow you to pass over various creeks, some of which were flowing well and others that were totally dry. The second bridge, which crosses over Hornbeck Creek, is just a 1/3 of a mile later. Oddly enough, even though there is no camping or fires allowed along the McDade Trail, you will find the first of two camp sites at N41° 10.624' W74° 53.225'. This campsite wasn't much more than a steel fire pit near a small path that leads down to the river. There was also the remains of what appears to be an old stone chimney at this location. If anyone knows what this structure originates from please let me know in the comments.
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| McDade Trail mile marker |
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| First campsite |
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| Path to the Delaware River |
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| View of the muddy Delaware River |
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| Old stone chimney? |
After hiking for 3 miles along cornfields the trail finally dives into
the woods. From here the path travels anywhere from down near the river
to up near the road and everywhere in between. With its large old trees
and thick woodlands, this part of the trail definitely reveals its
historic past. Early along this segment is a hand made log bench that gives you a spot
to rest while enjoying views of the Delaware River that lies just down the hill.
1/4 mile later you'll come across another bridge that covers the well
flowing Spackmans Creek. A few feet from that bridge is another log bench.
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| Finally done with the cornfields |
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| Forest path |
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| McDade Recreational Trail |
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| Scary old tree |
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| Stream view |
The second campsite at N41° 09.994' W74° 54.081' was outfitted with multiple picnic tables, a fire pit, a bear box and bear proof garbage bins. That particular campsite had a sign stating that it was reserved for "those who contributed to the mission Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area". Just south of the second campsite at N41° 09.953' W74° 54.133' is a restroom that looks to have been recently built.
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| Another bridge |
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| Spackmans Creek |
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| Concrete foundations |
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| Reserved Campsite |
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| Campsite |
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| Campsite closeup |
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| Benches and Fire Pit |
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| McDade Recreational Trail |
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| Trail to the right, kayak launch to the left |
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| Restroom |
The Mcdade hiking trail meanders for a while before coming to the Jerry Lees trailhead. Here there is a large parking area and a kayak launch. Overall my hike along the McDade Trail on this day was 11.6 miles round trip.
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| Hiking Trails in Pennsylvania and New Jersey |
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| Last Bridge |
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| Path to Jerry Lees Trailhead |
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| Jerry Lees Trailhead |
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| Kayak launch behind Jerry Lees Trailhead |
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| McDade Recreational Trail |
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| The sun finally comes out! |
If you'd like to follow my steps through the McDade Trail from Schneider Farm to Jerry Lees,
check out the map of my trip and download the GPX file below. It
contains the route I took as well as some important waypoints.
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| McDade Trail - Schneider Farm to Jerry Lees Elevation Graph |
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