places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Bloomingdale NJ
The Park
This area supported active mining through the 1800s but officials began eyeing the Wanaque River as a potential water source as far back as the 1870s. Construction on the Wanaque Dam began in 1920 and a decade - and $25 million and 70 homes - later New Jersey communities began tapping into the some 30 billion gallons of water held in Wanaque Reservoir. The state forest is named for its donor, Norvin Hewlett Green. Most of the trails across the 4,210 acres of forest were cut by the members of the Green Mountain Club in the early 1920s.
The Walks
The attraction at Norvin Green are numerous viewpoints on hilltops ranging to 1,300 feet, most reached via some of the best, albeit rugged, canine hiking in New Jersey. There are many places to spend the day with your dog in the northern highlands and if this isn’t first on your list it should be in the discussion. Past the mines the climbing begins on sometimes rocky and rooty woods trails. High Point, at 960 feet far from the tallest peak in the park, rewards you with 360-degree views after a steep last ascent. If you choose to penetrate deeper into Norvin State Forest there is a Coney-Island type rollercoaster trail to Carris Hill and more views in every direction. Down the hill on the White Trail is the split plunge of Chikahoki Falls.
Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Rock-spiked dirt
Workout For Your Dog - Many energetic climbs
Swimming - The mountain streams are suitable only for splashing but a detour can lead to the shore of Wanaque Reservoir
Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs on the Weis Environmental trails
Something Extra
The nearest destinations to the parking lot are the remainders of the mining era of the 1800s along the Red/Yellow Trail. A short detour climbs to Roomy Mine that you can actually explore with your dog in the warmer months when bats are not hibernating. Bring a flashlight and you can enter for 50 feet or so. Up the trail is the flooded Blue Mine that produced tons of ore before the encroaching water could not be abated in 1908.
Phone - (973) 835-2160
Admission Fee - None
Directions - Bloomingdale, Passaic County; take I-287 to Exit 57. Follow Skyline Drive to Greenwood Lake Turnpike to West Brook Road to Snake Den Road. Follow signs to Weis Ecology Center. Park in the lot before the center or along Burnt Meadow Road and Glen Wild Road.
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