Appalachian Trail: Delaware Water Gap to Mount Tammany via Red Dot Trail (April 2008)
About the trip
I hiked the Blue Dot trail last weekend and returned this weekend with Joe to go the Red Dot trail. This time, we took the right trail to the top.
The hike up via the Red Dot trail is a little more difficult than the Blue Dot Trail, but we pretty much took it easy and didn't go too hard. Saw a couple of hawks again this weekend, but not as close as last week.
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The Waterfall at the break between the Blue and White Trails.
The Green Trail (Dunnfield) going towards the Holly Springs Trail
My Travelling Companions
- Joe
Trail Map
About the Delaware Water Gap Section of the AT
The Delaware Water Gap is on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River traverses a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. A water gap is a geological formation where a river cuts through a mountain ridge.
The Delaware Water Gap is the site of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which is used primarily for recreational purposes, such as rafting, canoeing, swimming, fishing, hiking and rock climbing. With a fishing license, one can fish in the Delaware for carp, shad and other fish.
The ridge of the Appalachians that the Delaware crosses is called the Blue Mountains in Pennsylvania and the Kittatinny Ridge in New Jersey. The New Jersey mountain is Mt. Tammany (located in Worthington State Forest); the Pennsylvania mountain is Mount Minsi. The summit of Tammany is 1200 ft (360 m) above the river. The Appalachian Trail threads the gap, and climbs the Kittatinies alongside Dunnfield Creek.
The Worthington State Forest is to the immediate northeast on the New Jersey side of the river. Interstate 80 passes through the gap on the New Jersey side via the Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge, while the New Jersey Cut-Off mainline of the old Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad—now owned by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority and operated by the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad—passes through on the Pennsylvania side. Pennsylvania Route 611, which is adjacent to the railroad for most of way through the Gap, occupies the right-of-way of a former trolley line. Interstate 80 occupies the former right-of-way of the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway.
Red Dot Trail
Difficulty: The Red Dot is challenging, due to rocky trail conditions and a rapid rise in elevation. Hikers must be in good physical condition and willing to hike over large rocks and boulders. Care must be taken during warmer weather to avoid rattlesnakes, often present among the rocks.
Length: The trail rises 1200 feet in 1.5 miles to top of Mt. Tammany, 3 or 4 miles total depending on return route.
Trailhead: The Worthington State Park trail, marked by red blazes in a white circle, begins at the Dunnfield parking area on I-80 West just before the last exit in New Jersey. The Red Dot Trail can also be accessed from the small picnic/rest area located just before the Dunnfield parking area on I-80.
The climb up the Red Dot to the summit of Mt. Tammany on the NJ side of the Delaware Water Gap involves traversing rocks and boulders. The trail begins its sharp rise immediately via a series of timber-and-rock stairs. The steady ascent approaches an overlook high over I-80 and the Delaware River a few hundred feet below cliffs that drop nearly straight down.
The trail heads a short distance away from the cliffs for a while, going through a very wet, rocky area, near the base of a very steep, rocky climb, probably the most difficult of the hike. At a few places here, you can tell where the "trail" is only by looking for the blaze marks painted on the rock surface. The trail again traverses woods until it reaches the open, rocky summit of Mt. Tammany, 1549 feet above sea level. By carefully maneuvering down the bare rocky slope at the top, you will get a most spectacular view to the north, west, and south. Chances are excellent that vultures, hawks, and occasional eagles will be soaring below you. Enjoy it.
An alternate return route brings you down the Blue Dot, over a wider, gentler route that merges with the white blazed Appalachian Trail a short distance from the Dunnfield parking area.
