Allamuchy Mountain State Park
Allamuchy Township, Sussex County, New Jersey
8,900 acres

Directions:

Exit 19 off I-80; NJ 517 south towards Hackettstown; travel exactly 2 miles south of I-80 to find the access road to the park; it is not marked; the road is on the left near a brick house; there is a wooden post in the ground at the corner; turn left here and drive .6 mile over small hills and many potholes to the park entrance which is only a parking area and a directory; keep going for another mile, past a residence and through a gate; about .5 miles after this gate is a second gate and a large field for parking on the left.

At present, access to the park is unmarked. The drive to the parking area is over a rough, bumpy dirt road. Because of this, the park is rarely crowded.

Geology:

The Musconetcong River meanders through the heart of the park. Part of the park is preserved as the Deer Lake Park Natural Area.

The Musconetcong Valley is an outlier of synclinal structure within the New Jersey Highlands as it is bounded on both sides by faults. Underlain mostly by Kittatinny limestone, some younger Ordovician Martinsburg shale is also preserved at the center of the valley in the hill south of Hackettstown. The fertile shale and limestone bedrock is in sharp contrast to the generally uncultivated uplands of the Reading Prong.

History:

Allamuchy Mountain inherited its name from among the first inhabitants of the area -- the Delaware Indians. The leader of this particular settlement was a man known as Chief Allamuchahokkingen, whose name means, "place within the hills." This name was given to the first settlement in 1715. Allamuchahokkingen was later shortened to Mamuchahoken and then changed once more to Allamucha.

The majority of the land, 8900 acres, that composes Allamuchy Mountain State park was part of the Rutherford and Stuyvesant estates. These families are distinguished as the direct descendants of Peter Stuyvesant, the last governor of New Amsterdam.

In the early 1970's, the State of New Jersey purchased this property with Green Acres bond funds.

21-acre purchase, Mt. Olive Twp., transferred to Morris Co. Park Commission; headwaters of Mine Brook which feeds Hackettstown Reservoir and Musconetcong River; connects the County’s Patriots Path trail system with Allamuchy Mt. State Park; funded by MLC. (Source: The Highlands Coalition’s quarterly newsletter "High Grounds" Winter 2002 published by the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC); http://www.highlandscoalition.org/highground.htm)

Trails:

The Allamuchy Natural Area is a patchwork of different natural habitats with some 15 miles of trails criss-crossing the land. From these trails, visitors can see mixed oak hardwood forests, hemlock-spruce forests, successional fields, swamp-hardwood forests, and northern marshlands.

Deer Park Pond and Allamuchy Pond are filled with bass and pickerel.

Brian Morell has an interesting website where he talks about the construction of the Morris Canal Trail. One of the sights he talks about is the Waterloo Valley Overlook. He writes that you can take a hiking trip in Allamuchy Park and take a trail up to the Waterloo Valley Overlook. You can see the overlook from Stanhope and the surrounding area. The overlook provides a great view of the entire valley with the village and Musconetcong River below. He adds that you can see from the overlook the inclined plane starting at the Musconetcong River and going up into the forest. Also seen is the town of Waterloo. Furthermore, you can see where the trail crosses under the US Route 80 Interstate bridge where the newly opened trail section begins.

At Deer Park Pond, beavers have been introduced and have established themselves in a few areas. See if you can spot a beaver lodge.

Northward along the Musconetcong River is Stephens-Saxton Falls State Park.

PLANT LIST
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula alleghaniensis (yellow birch)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carpinus caroliniana (musclewood)
Carya ovata (shagbark hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Cornus florida (flowering dogwood)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Picea sp. (spruce)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs:
Alnus serrulata (smooth alder)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Chimaphila maculata (spotted wintergreen)
Comptonia peregrina (sweetfern)
Cornus amomum (swamp dogwood)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)
Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry)
Rhododendron viscosum (swamp azalea)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Spiraea tomentosa (steeplebush) 8/07/95
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Vaccinium pallidum (hillside blueberry)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)

Vines:
Amphicarpaea bracteata (hog peanut)
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Dioscorea villosa (wild yamroot)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow) 8/07/95
Agrimonia parviflora (small-flowered agrimony) 8/07/95
Anemone virginiana? (thimbleweed)
Apocynum cannabinum (Indian hemp) 8/07/95
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Arctium lappa (great burdock) 8/07/95
Arisaema triphyllum (jack-in-the-pulpit)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)
Aster spp. (asters)
Bidens sp. (beggar-ticks)
Boehmeria cylindrica (false nettle) 8/07/95
Brasenia schreberi (water shield)
Centaurea maculatum (spotted knapweed) 8/07/95
Chelone glabra (white turtlehead) 8/07/95
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) 8/07/95
Cicuta bulbifera (bulb-bearing water hemlock)
Cimicifuga racemosa (American bugbane)
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade)
Cirsium discolor (field thistle)
Collinsonia canadensis (horsebalm) 8/07/95
Cryptotaenia canadensis (honewort)
Cuscuta sp. (dodder)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) 8/07/95
Desmodium glabellum (Dillen's tick-trefoil)
Desmodium glutinosum (pointed-leaf tick trefoil) 8/07/95
Desmodium nudiflorum (naked-flowering tick trefoil) 8/07/95
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink) 8/07/95
Epilobium strictum (downy willow herb) 8/07/95
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane) 8/07/95
Eupatorium maculatum (spotted joe-pye-weed) 8/07/95
Eupatorium perfoliatum (boneset) 8/07/95
Eupatorium purpureum (sweet-scented joe-pye-weed) 8/07/95
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Euthamia graminifolia (grass-leaved goldenrod)
Galium sp. (bedstraw) 8/07/95
Geranium sibiricum ? (geranium)
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting) 8/07/95
Goodyera pubescens (rattlesnake plantain)
Helenium sp. (sneezeweed) 8/07/95
Hieracium sp. (hawkweed)
Hypericum perforatum (common St. Johnswort) 8/07/95
Hypoxis hirsuta (yellow stargrass) 8/07/95
Impatiens capensis (orange jewelweed) 8/07/95
Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco) 8/07/95
Ludwigia palustris (marsh purslane)
Lycopus americanus (American water horehound)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover) 8/07/95
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) 8/07/95
Mentha crispus (wild mint) 8/07/95
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot) 8/07/95
Nuphar variegata (spatterdock) 8/07/95
Nymphaea odorata (fragrant white water lily) 8/07/95
Oenothera biennis (common mullein) 8/07/95
Pedicularis canadensis (wood betony)
Penthorum sedoides (ditch stonecrop) 8/07/95
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) 8/07/95
Polygonum sp. (smartweed)
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed) 8/07/95
Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed) 8/07/95
Potentilla sp. (cinquefoil)
Prunella vulgaris (self-heal) 8/07/95
Pycnanthemum sp. (mountain mint) 8/07/95
Ranunculus acris (tall buttercup) 8/07/95
Rudbeckia hirta v. pulcherrima (black-eyed Susan) 8/07/95
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Sagittaria latifolia (broad-leaved arrowhead) 8/07/95
Satureja vulgaris (wild basil) 8/07/95
Scutellaria lateriflora (maddog skullcap)
Sedum sp. (sedum)
Silene latifolia (white campion) 8/07/95
Solidago canadensis v. altissima (tall goldenrod) 8/07/95
Solidago spp. (goldenrods) 8/07/95
Sparganium sp. (burreed)
Triadenum virginicum (marsh St. Johnswort)
Trifolium aureum (yellow clover) 8/07/95
Trifolium repens (white clover) 8/07/95
Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Uvularia perfoliata (perfoliate-leaved bladderwort)
Verbena urticifolia (white vervain) 8/07/95
Veronica sp. (speedwell)
Viola sp. (violet)
some kind of water parsley

Rushes and Sedges:
Carex comosa (sedge)
Carex laxiflora (sedge)
Carex stricta (tussock sedge)
Carex strigosus (umbrella sedge)
Eleocharis sp. (spikerush)
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Scirpus atrovirens (dark green bulrush)
Scirpus cyperinus (woolly grass bulrush)

Grasses:
Elymus sp. (rye grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer-tongue grass)
Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)
Phleum pratense (timothy grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Adiantum pedatum (maidenhair fern)
Dennstaedtia punctilobula (hay-scented fern)
Equisetum sp. (horsetail)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Osmunda claytoniana (interrupted fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern)
Thelypteris noveboracensis (New York fern)
Thelypteris palustris (marsh fern)