Home ⎟ Hikes & Wanderings ⎟ New Jersey ⎟ Pochuck Boardwalk
Distance: 4.2 miles, out & back
Time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Elevation Gain: 300 feet
Hike Directions: From the Appalachian Trail roadside parking on Route 517, follow the WHITE BLAZED Appalachian Trail markers through the fence (East) and onto the raised boardwalk. Continue on the boardwalk through open fields for 0.69 miles before reaching a suspension bridge over a creek. Cross the bridge and continue another quarter of a mile to where the boardwalk ends and the woods begin.
Continue on the white blazes as you enter the woods and are immediately met with a fork in the road. Turn LEFT at the fork, though going either direction will lead you to your next destination, Canal Road. After another 0.4 miles you’ll reach Canal Road, a short bike path going from New Jersey to New York. Turn RIGHT toward an iron foot bridge over Wawayanda Creek. Cross the bridge and depart from the bike path through a wood fence to your LEFT, sticking to the white blazes. For the next 0.2 miles the trail opens up to overgrown fields. In the spring, summer and fall you’ll find yourself walking amidst colorful wildflowers in every direction as far as your eyes can see. Arrive at another foot bridge over a small creek, lovingly named by locals “Lover’s Bridge.”
As you continue beyond the bridge for another 0.45 miles, the trail remains flat and field-like as Wawayanda Mountain and the cliffs of Stairway to Heaven come into view. You’ll cross long tracks of puncheon built by amazing trail conference volunteers. During the wetter seasons, the puncheon boards allow you to walk through otherwise wet and mucky areas. You’ll leave the puncheon and continue up a small hill in a more wooded area. As you descend the other side of the hill you’ll cross through a fence with a stile (a set of steps tat provide passage through an otherwise closed fence). In a few hundred feet, leave the woods and continue on puncheon boards for about a tenth of a mile along the AT to railroad tracks (a freight/cargo railway).
Cross the stile, tracks and yet another stile. You’ll find yourself (most days) in a field of (friendly) cows. Continue 0.18 miles to Route 94, the road buzzing with cars, opposite the field. From here, you can either turn around and retrace your steps, or continue up the “Stairway to Heaven,” a 45-minute climb with an elevation gain of 800 feet to the scenic westerly cliffs of Wawayanda Mountain. For more information about that hike and directions, click here.
The Rambling Wanderer 