7.8 miles | 1,309 ft gain | Difficulty: Medium | Rating ★★★★★

It was nearly a virgin trail. Last October the New York New Jersey Trail Conference reblazed the blue trail, making it a full loop around Terrace Pond. Previously, you would have to take the blue to the yellow to the white…there was some red it there…and even still, not a full loop. This new trail was gorgeous and provided a variety of woods, water crossings and wide carriage like meadow paths, pretty much everything you can ask for in a single trail.

Starting off from the Warwick Turnpike was a bit dicey. There was a small lot that could hold about 6-8 cars, only half full. The trail head was across the street. It took us a few minutes to find a break in the zooming cars, hold our breath and just run.

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The assent was immediate on the blue-black trail we would follow to the start of the blue trail. First we climbed steeply in the woods, then along the cliff sides with views of the suburbs below and mountains far in the distance. After about a mile, we met up with the blue trail and followed the loop counter clockwise.

We circled Bearfort Mountain, but never actually got to its summit. About 3 miles in, we briefly skirted Terrace Pond, giving us a nice rock surface for our sandwich break. Being at close to 1,500 feet, the pond was clearly glacier-formed. Across the water, we could see its high walls dropping off into the water. The environment was a bit of an amplifier. We saw a few groups on the other side of the pond and could hear them as though they were speaking right next to us. I don’t think they were yelling particularly loudly, it’s just the effect that the space created.

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When we hit the lake, we were practically at our highest point, but the rest of the trail followed some steep up and down sections as we continued to wind around. At one point, we came to a body of water easily 12-18 inches deep from what we could see, and certainly deeper in the middle. My heart sank as I looked for the trail markers, staring back at me from across the lake. We were supposed to go through. Apparently area beavers had been VERY hard at work recently creating a very intricate dam.

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I’m curious if the water level was due solely to the recent dam, or compounded by the snow melt and typical spring water levels. I (fondly?) remember attempting Street and Nye in the Adirondacks one spring, and contemplating how to cross Indian Pass Brook for nearly an hour, getting as far as the center of the brook, before admitting defeat and turning back. When we revisited the next fall, the babbling brook was barely a trickle and we walked right across.

We skirted off to the right along the water’s edge and luckily found a bit of a bushwhack that previous hikers had established. We were then able to rock and log hop to safety. We continued on our journey through the woods, across a few ridges, back to the intersection of the blue-black trail.

The trail was listed as hard, but felt more moderate. There were a few bursts of steep up and down but mostly gradual gain. Perhaps it was the water crossings that ticked up the difficulty level. Regardless, I found it to be a perfect spring trek.