Customer Reviews

Hiking the Jersey Highlands: Wilderness in Your Back Yard

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I hike the Hacklebarney trails almost daily and was interested to read Petty's description of this most beautiful place. He captures the hike succinctly and accurately. I brought this book home from the library and after reading a few of the hike descriptions I decided I must have this book.

This would make a great welcome gift to new neighbors in the Highlands area.

So much more than a typical Point "A" to "B" hiking guide,George is an astute observer of all things around him as he traverses the wonderful trails of the Highlands. He is not only an expert on the local botany, he discourses on the fauna as well, while commenting on the surrounding topography and geology. If you are a beginning or a seasoned hiker in North New Jersey, I urge to purchase this book.....you're gonna love it.

This is a very useful guide to the trails of the NJ Highlands. New and old trails are well-covered, including the Highlands Trail, and there are very informative sections on the region's geology, plants, and animals.

George Petty is a naturalist at Weiss Ecology Center in Ringwood and a long time hiker. His book includes 35 hikes with maps, photos, directions to the trails by car and by public transportation, trail overviews with information on the area's history, forests and geology, and wildlife and plants.

Petty describes a dozen "Starter Hikes", including Pyramid Mountain in Kinnelon and Ringwood Manor in Ringwood. He writes that the three-mile Manor Loop is "a pleasant family woodland walk, with a sprinkling of wildflowers at all green seasons, and migrating birds on Sally's Pond."

Petty includes eleven "Longer Hikes, Climbs, and Scrambles" including steep trails in Norvin Green State Forest in Ringwood, Wanaque, West Milford and Bloomingdale; Long Pond Ironworks State Park in West Milford; and Wawayanda State Park in West Milford and Vernon.

Finally, Petty describes a dozen "Challenges" featuring strenuous hikes, including Abram S. Hewitt State Forest in West Milford with spectacular views of Greenwood Lake. (One of my favorite hiking memories is resting on a rock above the lake and watching a hawk laboriously flying across the water 500 feet below me. Suddlenly it hit a thermal, stopped flapping its wing, and rose effortlessly past me, not five feet away. Thrilling!)

Petty's goal was provide "an introduction to recreational hiking in the Highlands develop support for the continued protection of its water resources." He includes a 16-page color insert of photos of wildflowers found along the trails to buttress his argument and the goals of this superb guide.

Petty is a New York-New Jersey Trail Conference trail maintainer, and this is first guide focussing on exploring the Highlands region's trails, forests and watercourses. My sales pitch for supporting the Conference appears in the first Comment, as does a description of the Weiss Ecology Center. Petty's book of poetry is Boulder Field, which has received several favorable reviews here on Amazon and elsewhere.

Robert C. Ross 2008

I have had a copy of this wonderful book for awhile. It is informative, concise and almost lyrically written. So when I heard George was speaking about the Highlands at the Campmor store at 810 route 17 N in Paramus NJ I had to go. He is a marvelous speaker and extremely knowledgable about the Highlands and it's trails. If you want to hike the highlands in NJ or just learn the geological history of the area this book will not disappoint.

rmw