Parks and Recreation

Deer Path Trail
Allamuchy Mountain State Park

DIRECTIONS: Starting at the main entrance to Panther Valley take CR 517 South to Deer Park Road and turn left.  Follow this road past several private residences and you will enter the main parking area of the park. (NOTE: there is a bulletin board with a map display of the park and there are pockets for free maps, I suggest you take one) You will continue along the road to the second parking lot, passing by the Rutherford Family’s Deer Park House and its small lake just off to your right. (The house and lake are now part of the State Park.) Park your car at this second lot and this is where your walk begins. 

TRAIL INFO:  You will continue on this road which will take you to the beginning of ‘Deer Path Trail’ which runs off to the right of the road and is clearly marked by a nice new sign.  NOTE: as you walk along this road you will come across a small but clearly seen path off to your left that will take you in about 75 feet to what I believe is remnants of an old mine.  The ‘mine?’ in the past had been hidden by a pile of dirt and debris, but the Park Service has done an excellent job in cleaning this up and making it into an interesting place to visit. After a few photos, you did bring a camera?! You will continue a short distance to the trailhead where you will head into the woods.
 
Immediately after you enter the woods you will come into the edge of a swamp. Take a few minutes and look at the totally different fauna within this area. The trail turns right and you will be paralleling back along the road you came in on but you will be gradually dropping down and away and eventually get to a stream running along the valley floor. Crossing over the stream you will start a gentle climb up another wooded rise until you come to the beginning of a dirt road that heads down hill.  (NOTE: at this point the trail goes to your left uphill, the road continues straight and downhill and off to your right a short walk into the woods is a stream and some interesting rock formations. If you were to take the road, you would go about ¼ mile and be on Waterloo Rd. just South of old Elsie’s Tavern, which is at Lock #4 on the old Morris Canal along the Musconetcong River.

We will be continuing on ‘Deer Path Trail’, which continues gently uphill giving you some nice views of the valley you just walked thru and looking back along the trail further up you can see some distant mountains.  This trail levels off and you begin a very gentle descent towards the dam area of Deer Park Pond.  (NOTE: at the point where this trail levels off if you look right there is still a small hill and if you leave the trail and go to the hillcrest you get some interesting views of the Musconetcong River as it passes through the gravel pits off Waterloo Valley Rd. just South of I80. The river appears more like a series of small lakes and the color of the water is a remarkably beautiful shade of blue.  There is actually a small path along this rise.  From this vantage you can also see the BASF Headquarters on the other side of I 80. One thing to also keep in mind, this hike I am describing was taken in March with no foliage on the trees so depending on when you hike these views may be somewhat limited but still worth the effort!)

Once our trail starts going downhill you will begin to see Deer Park Pond through the trees and you will come out of the woods onto a road near the dam located on the NE corner of the lake.  Make a left onto the road and this will be your return trip to your car. Your return trip offers some nice views as it travels along the East and Southern Shore of Deer Park Pond and you will again pass by the Deer Path Trail entrance and the old mine. 

One of the great features of Allamuchy Mountain State Park is that almost all these trails intersect allowing the hiker to literally create many different trips.  For those who don’t like or can’t walk uphill this trip could be modified, by using two cars.  Leave your first car at Lock #4 on the River.  Take the second car and park as earlier instructed and then walk to Deer Park Pond via the road turn into the woods near the dam and then follow the Deer Path Trail (up a very gentle hill) and continue down until you meet road that goes downhill to Waterloo Rd.

Have a great walk!, remember to be observant and take the time to look at and wonder about all the interesting sights you come across. We are truly very fortunate to this as our back yard!!

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