Recently I had the chance to hike along the old Hamilton Ridge Trail located on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area. Hamilton Ridge was once a paved road that parallels historic Old Mine Road. To this very day you can still see the pavement, which is now heavily covered with thick moss. About a mile up Hamilton Ridge Hiking Trail you come to the intersection that gives you the choice to continue on this trail, or get closer to the Delaware River via the Pioneer Trail. The hiking trails converge before leading you back to Old Mine Road. Overall the trip is 3.7 miles.
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| Hamilton Ridge Trail trailhead |
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| Hamilton Ridge Trail Paved Moss Covered Roads | |
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| Hamilton Ridge Trail Downed Tree | |
To start, I parked at the eastern Hamilton Ridge trailhead located at N41° 04.885' W74° 57.692' off of Old Mine Road in Hardwick, NJ. There really isn't much of a parking lot here, just a small recessed area of the road that you can park along. Just don't block the entrance to the trail and you shouldn't have any problems. The first section of the Hamilton Ridge Trail is very easy to follow because it is wide, level and mostly paved. You just have to be careful not slide on the slippery moss that seems to cover everything. About a mile down the trail, near N41° 04.407' W74° 58.720', keep an eye open for the Pioneer Trail on your right. I somehow missed it and had to double back a half mile.
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| Pioneer Trail trailhead |
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| Hiking on the ridge |
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| Pioneer Trail stream |
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| Giant tree on the Pioneer Trail |
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| Hiking the Pioneer Trail |
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| Power lines on the Pioneer Trail |
The Pioneer Trail starts off pretty easy but quickly begins ascending to the top of the ridge. From there you'll follow the ridge for about a 1/4 mile before descending to the other side. On your left you'll get a glimpse of a beautiful stream and waterfalls. Another 1/4th mile and you'll finally get a look at the Delaware River. From here the trail levels out and continues for another 1.5 miles south-west back to Old Mine Road. Along the way you'll come across a few old stone foundations and what appear to be old wells. This later section of the trail was very wet and muddy when I visited in April.
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| Muddy trail |
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| Old foundation |
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| Another old foundation |
At the end of the hiking trail, you'll have to decide how you want to get back to your car. You could retrace your steps along the Hamilton Ridge Trail, walk about 2 miles along Old Mine Road, or do like I did and get on the nearby
Van Campens Glen Trail. If you'd like to follow my steps through the Hamilton Ridge Hiking Trail and Pioneer Hiking Trail,
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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| Hamilton Ridge Trail Elevation Graph |
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