Sunday, March 11, 2012

High Mountain

High Mountain Park Preserve,
Preakness Range,
Watchung Mountains
Passaic County,
New Jersey

Trails:

Red Trail
Yellow Trail

Total Time: 1.2 hours
Estimated Distance: 3.7 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Level of Recommendation: Recommended, though a boring hike until the view
Points Of Interest: Good view close to densely urban area

Google Maps of Parking:


View 2012 Hiking in a larger map


High Mountain is the highest point in the Watchung Mountains, hence its name. However, it is not a very high mountain, topping out at 885 feet. The Watchungs are a range of ridges and hills in northern New Jersey composed of volcanic basalt. I started at the parking area at William Paterson University, which provides trailhead parking at the northernmost part of the university. The Red Trail starts here, and I took the Red Trail to the Yellow Trail, which eventually climbs the mountain with an easy climb. The workout isn't great but the view is, with a view of the entire area including the dense urban area to the south around Paterson. From there I turned around and took the same route back, though cutting through some shortcut switchbacks.

Map of the Route

High Mountain Summit. Facing East.

High Mountain Summit. Facing southeast
towards Haledon and the NYC skyline in the distance.

Dry Grassy area at the summit.

Another summit view looking towards Paterson and the city skyline.

A more zoomed in view of the Manhattan skyline.

Another view.

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