Mountainside Park
Mountain Avenue, Pequannock Township, Morris County, New Jersey

No Dogs Allowed.

Directions:

Tappan Zee Bridge, US 87 north; at highway mileage marker 30 take US 287 south for New Jersey; get off at Exit 52 for Route 23 south; drive about 1.0 mile and turn right onto West Parkway; drive 1.7 miles and turn right onto Mountain Avenue; follow Mountain Avenue to its end where there is a parking lot near US 287.

History:

This trail, kiosk and staircase was constructed by Boy Scout Troop 144 under the direction of Tyler Van Kirk for his Eagle Project on March 21, 2004.

Trails:  

4/11/2005.  Ceferino Santana and I parked in the parking lot at the end of Mountain Avenue.  We noticed that the south bound traffic on US 287 was just about 100 yards from where we parked. The yellow-blazed trail starts at the parking lot while the red-blazed trail starts at the short connection to the gas-line power cut.  We took the yellow-blazed trail heading north.  The trail heads parallel to the cliffs on the left with US 287 on the right, sometimes too close, but other times not noticed. 

We entered a narrow valley at one point with a small stream heading downhill.  We joined with the red trail coming uphill from the right and then going together with the yellow-blazed trail. Where the yellow trail splits from the red, it  heads downhill into a swampy area so we decided to take the red trail and avoid the down slope and wetness.  We soon reached the gas-line power cut and turned left.  It was power-cut all the way back to near the parking area.  There was only one marshy area (with giant reed grass) and it was easily gotten around by the two of us.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plant found in bloom on date of field trip, 4/11/2005

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple) *
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Poplar sp. (poplar)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)

Shrubs and Sub-Shrubs:
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) 11/10/01 waning
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) *
Rhus sp. (sumac)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Vaccinium sp. (hillside or low bush blueberry)
Viburnum prunifolium (blackhaw viburnum)

Vines:
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Smilax sp. (greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Allium vineale (field garlic)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)
Lespedeza capitata (round-headed bushclover)
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Potentilla sp. (cinquefoil)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)

Sedges:
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)

Grasses:
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Setaria sp. (foxtail grass)

Other:
British soldiers