Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / New Jersey / Kittatinny Valley and Highlands

Appalachian Trail: High Point to Wawayanda

Appalachian National Scenic Trail, High Point State Park, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, Wawayanda State Park

After High Point, the Appalachian Trail turns east, drops off Kittatinny Ridge, and crosses the farm fields and wetlands of the valley below before climbing into the Highlands at Wawayanda State Park. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) singles out two features here: the Pochuck boardwalk and the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge.

This page follows the three-day trip South Jersey Trails published in 2016, from the High Point hiker lot on Route 23 to the Wawayanda State Park office.

The hike

From the hiker lot, South Jersey Trails walked 0.3 mile to the AT, crossed a road and a field, and climbed gradually to a raised wooden viewing platform with views of the High Point Monument. The state says the monument marks New Jersey’s highest point, 1,803 feet; a steep 0.3-mile side trail leads up to its parking lot. High Point Shelter sits 0.1 mile off the AT on a blue-blazed trail, 2.7 miles from the car in that writer’s count.

Day two, 12.6 miles, leaves the ridge at Route 519 and works across the valley on farm roads and through woods. Vernie Swamp is crossed on 112 bog bridges, an old railroad bed carries posts marked “JC 73,” and the Oil City Road bridge crosses the Wallkill River into the refuge, where the trail follows the Liberty Loop along the edge of a large swamp. The ATC says hikers often see the eastern goldfinch, the state bird, in the refuge. The day ends with a steep climb to Pochuck Shelter.

Day three, 12.2 miles, crosses Pochuck Mountain past old cars visible off the trail, an area SectionHiker described in 2011 as a dump of abandoned cars and refrigerators. Below it is the Pochuck boardwalk. South Jersey Trails describes three boardwalk sections and the suspension bridge over Pochuck Creek, which the ATC lists at 144 feet. After the boardwalk come stream bridges, active railroad tracks, and a cow pasture before NJ 94.

Across the road is the Stairway to Heaven, about 550 feet of climbing in under a mile, according to South Jersey Trails. A flat side trail of about 0.1 mile at the top leads to Pinwheel’s Vista, with views back to High Point and Kittatinny Ridge. The last 3.8 miles pass an 1890s bridge, a lake, and Wawayanda Shelter before a woods road leads to the park office. The writer reported seeing a bear near the end.

For the ridge south of High Point, see Culvers Gap to High Point.

Tips

Camping

The ATC says camping on the New Jersey AT is restricted to designated sites and campfires are prohibited. The state’s AT sheet lists High Point Shelter in High Point State Park and Pochuck and Wawayanda Shelters in Wawayanda State Park, each with a bear box; Pochuck and Wawayanda also have pit toilets. Groups are limited to 10 per shelter, the stay is one night per site, and no fires are allowed on state property.

South Jersey Trails describes High Point Shelter as “old, small, and beat up,” with a newer privy and a sign that reads “No camping allowed in this section outside of this site.” It calls Pochuck Shelter small, about six people, with a picnic table and “nice latrine,” and more limited tent space than High Point.

Inside Intel: South Jersey Trails recommends the tent spot between the two streams at High Point Shelter, where water is easy to get. SectionHiker’s Philip Werner found High Point Shelter “surrounded by fresh water streams on three sides” in 2011. At Pochuck, the 2016 writer’s water came from an outside tap “1/2 mile away, steep drop and climb back up”; the ATC now says that spigot is off, so arrive with what you need.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

Up the Stairway to Heaven from NJ 94:

Across NJ 94, the Stairway to Heaven climbs about 550 feet in under a mile, a day after the steep climb to Pochuck Shelter. See how shortening your poles and choking down can make pitches like that easier.

See the pole tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.