Hiking Fairy Stone State Park

 Hiking is one of things Paul and I love to do. We have been fortunate to have hiked many areas in New Jersey and other states. I find it interesting how different the rating system can be for trails in different places. In North Jersey, when a trail says difficult it means lots of rocky outcrops, very steep grades and high elevation. We have hiked some where it's a good thing we were going down that stretch or I would have not been able to continue, the rock face just to high. Yes, Paul had to catch me as I dropped down from a seated position. And those trails weren't even considered the Challenging Rate, just Difficult.

Fairy Stone State Park has several trails rated easy, moderate, and difficult. We were able to sample each rating. All were fun, well marked, most ran into to others so you could make loops, extend or shorten your hike and all on our side of the highway could be reached from the campground without the need to drive. Having had the experience of New Jersey and being in the mountains of Virginia, we were a bit concerned about the Little Mountain Falls Trail as it had a rating of Difficult, but it had a waterfall! I love Waterfalls. We hemmed and hawed and decided we would do the Lakeshore Trail and Turkey Ridge Trail as they both had a Moderate rating and would be about 3 miles total, figuring we could get an idea just how tough the trails were. That was the idea setting out. Off we went. Lakeshore is as it says, a trail that runs along the lake for a long section of it. We found the going easy, not to many inclines, none real steep, and the views beautiful. From Lakeshore, we were able to pick up Turkey Ridge. That too was a relatively easy, wide trail with more but still not overly steep inclines/declines. By taking that trail we were able to detour over to the spillway with even more beautiful views. Backing tracking from there we once again picked up the Turkey Ridge trail. It was a perfect hiking day, the weather in the low 60's and sunny, we were in our glory. We came to the junction of Turkey Ridge and Little Mountain Falls Trails, looking at the signpost it was a mile to the Falls.
Hmm, well, it's just a mile, we can certainly do that and can always
backtrack if we find the trail to difficult. So, of course, off we went.
The trail map mentioned a 20 foot steep decline right after reaching
 the falls, that was our concern with as mentioned, our hiking
 experience. Of course, we were were doing the trail in reverse of
the usual way (Yes, we do most things backwards, LOL)
which meant an incline of a steep 20 feet, just what do
they mean by steep?? We would soon enough find out. What the
 trail map didn't mention was the 5 or 6 times you had to cross the
stream in order to get to the falls. Fortunately, there hadn't been much rain of late so while we did have to rock step, lucky, we didn't get our feet wet! There was an almost when the rock Paul chose to step on was a wee bit rocky. I actually find the challenge of stream crossing fun, deciding which rocks to use and hoping they are sound! We did well with both that and the slightly steep inclines/declines of the trail and manage to get to the falls without incident. The Falls was a little bit of a letdown, more of a cascading and not much power behind it. I am sure in the springtime and after a big rain it would be more dramatic, but still it had it's beauty and was the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. We started back out and
while the trail ahead of us was steeper than it had been it was
 definitely manageable (even if my thighs wanted to tell
me different, haha) That couldn't have been the “Steep” mentioned
could it? No, but yes that was it, I like this rating system, one I can
manage even on “Difficult” trails. On we went enjoying the trails,
 the trees, the beautiful views of the valley. We got back to our
campsite and all but collapsed into our chairs. Our 3 mile hike turned into a 6 and ½ mile one. Such pleasurable exhaustion, and so worth every step.

During our stay at the park, we managed to do all the different trails, each having their own special beauty and several we were on
several times, at least portions. The Beach Trail was an easy walk and allowed us to lunch overlooking the lake.

The only one we couldn't finish was the trail to the Horse Camp.
We did fine with the ups and downs but the stream was our downfall. Just too wide and not enough rocks clearing the water for our comfort. Hiking in wet boots in cold temperatures isn't something I want to do.

Though disappointing, there was a positive besides the beauty of
the hike itself. We met up with five people on horseback;
what gorgeous horses. Chatted with them a bit and headed back to camp.

This life style so lends itself to being able to take advantage of our love of hiking and Fairy Stone State Park has been the best yet.