Stairway to Heaven

Vernon Township, New Jersey

4.8/5

based on 5 reviews

Save

View all 6 photos

All 6 photos

Save Review Directions Add Photo

Details

Distance

6.8 miles

Elevation Gain

1089 ft

Route Type

Out-and-Back

Description

Added by Catherine Elena Callari

Hike part of the Appalachian Trail through marshlands, forest, and meadows to a beautiful lookout above the mountains and valley.

This popular hike starts out on the Appalachian Trail (AT, white blazes). You begin on a boardwalk that crosses over a marsh, then you leave the boardwalk and enter a forested area. At around 1.4 miles, follow a bicycle path, Canal Road, then turn right, cross over a bridge, and take a left through a gate.

At 2.2 miles you begin the climb up Wawayanda Mountain – to get there, you will need to cross over a number of stiles, as well as the railroad tracks, as you head to a parking lot across Route 94.

Once you enter a large boulder field, the trail becomes more difficult and pick up elevation. When you see the rock steps, you will have reached the “Stairway to Heaven”!

At 3.6 miles, turn left onto the Blue Spur Trail, marked by a “Lookout 100ft” sign. Continue to the Pinwheel Vista, a rock outcropping, where you can enjoy the views.

This hike can also be shortened by driving up to the parking lot on Route 94, to complete only the Stairway to Heaven Shorter Route (2.5 mile roundtrip).

Download the Outbound mobile app

Find adventures and camping on the go, share photos, use GPX tracks, and download maps for offline use.

Get the app

Download GPX File

Features

Hiking

Forest

Scenic

Waterfall

Reviews

Joey Jalkh

Stairway to Heaven

06/20/22

Always been a good hike and one of my favorites

5.0

Cynthia Sularz

Stairway to Heaven

08/15/17

Easy trial. Good for a walk not a hike

4.0

Jillian J

Stairway to Heaven

04/24/17

My friend and I did this hike on new years day 2017 with our two miniature poodles who fared just fine (even though they were muddy messes by the end). I carried my senior pup up the mountain due to the conditions (icy), but it was a great hike. There were a lot of other people with pups on the trail too. Definitely recommend!

5.0

Shelby Meyers

Stairway to Heaven

06/21/16

Hike can be split in half, but the boardwalk to Pinwheel Vista is one of my favorite hikes. The boardwalk is an interesting feature and let's you relax for the steep ascent to the Vista, a stretch of it even goes straight through a cow pasture. The views from the top are more than worth the work! Recommended to everyone looking for a hike in NJ.

5.0

K R

Stairway to Heaven

03/07/16

Although the hike can be split in half to do the more difficult hike of u do the boardwalk it gives u a nice walk on a boardwalks

5.0

Leave No Trace

Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations. Please explore responsibly!

Nearby

Enjoy a Film at the Historic Warwick Drive-In

Take a trip back in time at the Warwick Drive-In and watch a feature film on the big screen. The Drive-In shows movies just in theaters and older films with three different screens / options to chose from. The theater sells tickets for both one movie and for double features, i.e. watch two movies in one night with the double feature ticket. There are two concession stands on the site where you ...

Hike the Terrace Pond North - South Loop

From Warwick Road, parking at the northernmost road side parking area, cross the road, and the Terrace Pond North trail (marked with blue blazes) begins as a steady climb until you gain a ridge that offers some great views for several miles. Eventually, you'll reach a power line where you turn right. Keep an eye out when to re-enter the forest on the left. Once back in the forest, follow the tr...

Hike Bearfort Mountain

Bearfort Mountain is a great weekend morning hike that borders NJ and NY. Parking can be tricky as the entrance to the lot looks like it is Greenwood Lake Marina's boat storage area. Once parked, find the trail entrance at the top of the little hill and continue to the blue on white marked trail. As the trail steeply climbs (1,200-1,250ft in 0.8 miles), be on the look out for the Ernest Walker ...

Hike the Iris Tail - Appalachian Tail Loop

Start this hike from the Appalachian Trail parking area off route 23, south bound side, south of the park office. Follow the Blue Dot trail until is intersects with the Iris Trail. The Iris Trail (marked with red blazes) is a through hike that is about 5 miles long. It parallels the Appalachian Trail for the same distance, intersecting with it once until it meets again at a small parking area. ...

Hike the Hank's Pond Loop

Hank's Pond loop can be accessed from the south at the corner of Clinton road and Van Orden road or from the north, parking at the lot on Stephens road. I hiked from the south on this trip. Follow the wide trail known as Hank's East trail marked with white blazes. Soon you will reach a trail connected marked with blue blazes. Along this connector are several short access trails to Hank's Po...

Camp at High Point State Park

You'll need at least a weekend to sample all that High Point State Park has to offer. One of the park's must-do hikes is to High Point Monument (1,803 ft), where you have panoramic views of the Pocono and Catskill Mountains, and the Wallkill River Valley. Additionally, there are 50 total miles of trail here, some of which is open to mountain biking, horseback riding, and in the winter, snowshoe...

Stairway to Heaven

Details

Description

Download the Outbound mobile app

Features

Reviews

Leave No Trace

Nearby

Enjoy a Film at the Historic Warwick Drive-In

Hike the Terrace Pond North - South Loop

Hike Bearfort Mountain

Hike the Iris Tail - Appalachian Tail Loop

Hike the Hank's Pond Loop

Camp at High Point State Park

Discover

Community

Company

Follow Us

Mobile Apps