This hike follows a section of the Morris Canal, which connected the Hudson and Delaware Rivers via a route that traversed Morris County. When it was opened in 1831, the canal was considered an engineering marvel. It used 23 locks and 23 inclined planes to ascend from sea level to the 914-foot-high Lake Hopatcong and then descend to the Delaware River. Railroads made the canal obsolete, and...
Hike Description:
This hike follows a section of the Morris Canal, which connected the Hudson and Delaware Rivers via a route that traversed Morris County. When it was opened in 1831, the canal was considered an engineering marvel. It used 23 locks and 23 inclined planes to ascend from sea level to the 914-foot-high Lake Hopatcong and then descend to the Delaware River. Railroads made the canal obsolete, and much of the canal was obliterated when it was abandoned in 1924.
Begin the hike by proceeding ahead along the long, narrow parking area, which is actually a filled-in section of the old Morris Canal. Soon, you will reach a section of the canal that has been restored. Signs along the towpath relate the history of the canal and include a map of the canal in Wharton. Continue ahead on the canal towpath, with the Rockaway River below on the right. As you walk along, look up at the hillside across the canal and note the extensive stone retaining wall. This wall was built to support the tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey’s High Bridge Branch. The railroad was abandoned many years ago, and this section of the roadbed has been converted to a hiking trail and will be your return route.
Soon, you’ll reach Lock 2 East of the Morris Canal. When the canal was abandoned in 1924, the lock was buried in debris, but it has since been restored. Most of the stone used to reconstruct the lock is original. The Lock Tender's House (occupied as late as the 1970s and restored in 2022) is across the canal.
Continue ahead on the grassy towpath. The wetland on your left formerly served as a basin for the canal. A short distance beyond, the canal towpath ends at a cinder slope. Climb the path leading up the slope to the railbed of the abandoned Lake Hopatcong Railroad, a subsidiary of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The scrap-metal yard west of the railroad has obliterated the remains of the canal in this area (before it was abandoned, this was the site of Inclined Plane 4 East of the canal).
Turn left and follow the railbed. In a short distance, bear left at a fork and follow this branch of the railbed as it curves to the left. Just ahead, you begin to follow the former High Bridge Branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey.
The right-of-way now emerges onto the power line clearing, with the former canal basin below on the left and the canal itself beyond. From this high vantage point, you can get a good view of the Lock Tender's House and Lock 2 East. Beyond the clearing, the right-of-way enters a wooded area, with an attractive forested slope on the right, and the canal and towpath below. This is a particularly beautiful section of the hike.
Towards the eastern end of the parking area, the railbed ends as it approaches a home which has been built on the right-of-way. Bear left and follow a wide gravel path which descends to the parking area where the hike began.
Publication: Submitted by Daniel Chazin on 06/13/2013 updated/verified on 08/23/2022This loop hike parallels a restored section of the historic Morris Canal and returns on the embankment of an abandoned railroad.