This Mountainous New Jersey Route Is One Of The Best Beginner Trails In America, According To New Research

It might be hailed as the Garden State, but New Jersey actually has the third-lowest rural population of any territory in the USA. Yep, a mere 6.3% of people here live in the countryside, and the line-up of attractions is more about popular party beaches on the Jersey Shore and artisanal eats in Newark than it is the great outdoors. But there are places to breathe fresh air and hit the trails. In fact, recent findings put one particular hiking path in NJ in the top three beginner trails in the whole dang country.

The hike in question? Mount Tammany via the Red Dot and Blue Dot loops. According to the folks over at InsureMyTrip, the 3.6-miler ranked among the most accessible and suitable trails for beginner hikers in the stars and stripes. It comes from a dataset that used metrics from a number of sources, ranging from good old Google reviews to the AllTrails app — a database of nearly half a million hiking paths all around the world.

One of the things considered was how easy the route was to reach from a nearby town. That's why you'll only need to drive a mere five minutes north from Columbia along the Delaware River to reach the trailhead. Or, it's a quick one-hour cruise westwards from Newark, the largest city in the state and the home of the main airport serving New Jersey, the Newark Liberty International Airport.

It might come as a bit of a surprise to hear that the trail to the top of Mount Tammany is actually one of the hardest routes in the whole Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, the reserve of which it's a part. Don't worry, it's still got nothing on the ultra-dangerous hikes of Yosemite, but it does involve some scrambles on exposed sections, and is generally best for beginner trekkers looking for a bit of a challenge.

There are two parking lots ready and waiting just off Interstate 80. Leave the car in either and proceed past the trailhead heralded by the Red Dot marker, going uphill through woodlands to a first lookout point where you get a head-on panorama of the snaking Delaware River below. You'll need to hop some boulders as you zigzag through the forest from there, but the reward will eventually become clear: A wonderful sighting of Mount Minsi's ridges rising in the state of Pennsylvania opposite.

Coming down, hikers will need to swap the red dot markers for the blue ones. This brings you onto a steady descent that's easier on the hamstrings than the way up. It even boasts a swim spot along Dunnfield Creek where you can cool off to the sound of gurgling waterfalls — just remember to bring a change of clothes and check it's not among the most snake-filled rivers in New Jersey before you get wet!