Hiking the Conashaugh View Trail South

Conashaugh View Trail Trailhead

The Conashaugh View Trail is hiking trail located in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area between Milford Rd. and Route 209 in Milford, PA. For those who aren't versed in the area's history, the Zimmerman Farm was first owned by the Van Etten family who purchased the land from Wm. Allen in 1745. The Van Ettens lived peacefully alongside the local Native Americans for 35 years before the Battle of Conashaugh occurred on the north end of the property in 1780. Afterwards, the Van Etten family thrived on this property for generations to come before finally selling the land to the John Zimmerman in 1882. The Zimmermans owned the property until Marie Zimmerman, at the age of 90, moved to Florida when the government was looking the acquire the property for the Tocks Island Dam Project.

Beginning of Conashaugh View Trail

Conashaugh View Trail Along Zimmerman Rd.

Trail Markers on the Conashaugh View Hiking Trail

The Conashaugh View Hiking Trail offers nearly 10 miles of trails that are suitable for hikers and horse riding. Thankfully, it is divided in half by a cutoff trail that allows you to hike shorter distances over multiple trips. The two trails are commonly referred to as Conashaugh Trail North and Conashaugh Trail South. Today I decided to try out the south trail for the first time starting at the trailhead on Conashaugh Rd. The hiking trail starts off fairly flat and very well groomed. You just have to keep an eye on the trail ahead of you for the tons of horse manure that litters the entire trail. The trail starts at around 890 ft. in elevation and continually drops off right until you get to the cutoff trail, then things begin to go back up. If you are taking the same route as I did, don't miss the cutoff trail on your left while hiking on Zimmerman Rd. From there the trail goes up for a bit until you drop down into the valley where the Zimmerman Farm is located. Just before the farm you will come across a small waterfall and the Dry Brook stone bridge. It is unclear when this structure was built but with a little effort you can carefully climb down the hill along the trail to get the best view of it.

Waterfall on the Conashaugh View Trail

Stone Bridge on the Conashaugh View Trail

The Zimmerman Farm is the gem of this trail. It features an old farm house, a huge barn, multiple hen houses, old machinery and a beautiful landscape. Although you aren't permitted to go in any of the buildings, you could easily spend hours here soaking up the historical structures on this property. Eventually you'll have to move on and then the work begins. The elevation starts to rise quickly as you ascend the trail along the mountain just behind the barn. At the top of the first hill is the perfect spot to stop and take a breath. This area provides a gorgeous view of the Delaware River and Route 209, and thanks to some trail angel, a custom made log bench lays in the perfect spot for you to take a few minutes to enjoy it all. Afterwards, it is up, up and up some more before you finally get back to where you began. Along the way you'll come across what feels like miles of hand made rock walls, a swamp and a large pond. Again, you could spend hours studying it all.

Zimmerman Farm

Zimmerman Farm Silo

Zimmerman Farm Machinery

Old Gas Pump

Zimmerman Farm House

Zimmerman/Van Etten Farm House

Inside the Farm House

Farm House Kitchen

Old Mayo Jar

Conashaugh Trail Behind Zimmerman Farm

Conashaugh View Trail Overlook Bench

Swamp along the Conashaugh Trail

Conashaugh View Trail Pond

At the end of the trail you'll have to walk over a mile along Long Meadow Rd and Conashaugh Rd. to get back to the trailhead you started at. Overall, it was an amazing trail with a good workout and tons of awesome scenery and history. I think this may have overtaken the Milford Knob as my favorite trail of the area. For those of you looking for a great hiking trail in Pennsylvania and near the NJ border, be sure to put this one on your list. If you'd like to follow my steps through the Conashaugh View Trail, check out the map of my trip and download the GPX file below. It contains the 6 mile route I took as well as some important waypoints.

Horse Riding Along the Conashaugh View Trail

Conashaugh View Trail Map

Conashaugh View Trail Elevation Graph

Download the GPX file for my trip along the Conashaugh View Trail here. (right click save as)