Season Visited: Summer
Trail Length: 7.6 miles there-and-back
Time to Hike: 4.5 hours
Difficulty Level: 3
Sunfish Pond is a fascinating stop along the Appalachian Trial in northern New Jersey. A beautiful pond created by a glacier, this lovely spot was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1970. The trail there and back is a perfect half-day hike, and there are many options for extending the trip, including at least one loop and, of course, simply continuing on the AT.
Begin your hike at the Dunnfield Creek Natural Area parking lot and head straight to the AT, which is number 1 on this map. Hike an easy gravel path until you come to the sign shown above, where you will be veering left at the fork to stay on the AT. You will begin a steady uphill incline of 1000 feet in the next 3.7 miles. It's perfectly manageable.
The trail looks mostly the same for the majority of the trip, but it never becomes boring. The woods are gorgeous and peaceful. On an absolutely perfect Friday in late summer when most people are still at work the trail is almost silent except for the sounds of birds and the wind in the trees. Every time I got a little tired I sat on a rock and watched the sunlight play on the ferns and felt rejuvenated.
There is one very interesting place before you come to Backpacker Site #2 on the map, which is where the scenery starts to change a bit. This is a rock garden filled with interesting little cairns. There are several other cairns along the trail, but this is a particularly large gathering of them. There are even more at the pond itself.
Cairns.
Once you hit Backpacker Site #2 be sure to stay to the right or you'll end up on the wrong trail. The site itself is maintained by a national park ranger who keeps an eye on things.
The forest looks different here, right past the backpacker site.
Not long after this you come to the pond itself. Take the AT past the NNL monument and enjoy exploring around the pond for a while. Go right to the water's edge as slowly and quietly as possible and you will see more frogs than you can count. There is also a wonderful little place to rest on some logs.
Pose at the pond.
Cairns across the water (cairns across the sky... nevermind).
Sean and Cleo taking a break.
So many frogs!
When you've rested up and taken in the beauty of the pond you can simply head back the way you came. There is also the option of taking Dunnfield Hollow Trail. I did not take this because of time constraints, but I would like to go back and do it this way at some point. It is supposedly much more difficult and makes an 8.2-mile loop. It also apparently has some lovely water cascades and a few stream fords. I'll update this post if I ever take that way.
If you are so inclined, feel free to make a brief stop at the little waterfall where the AT intersects with the Blue Dot and Dunnfield Hollow trails, where you made the left turn in the beginning of your hike. It's a nice way to end the day.
From here it's the same easy hike back to the parking lot. Hopefully you have had a great time hiking.
Never stop wandering.
UPDATE - 11/5/13
Back in September I decided to take the 7.9-mile loop by connecting the Appalachian Trail and Dunnfield Creek Trail - and was so glad I did. Although it only adds .3 miles to the trip, Dunnfield Creek Trail (or Dunnfield Hollow Trail, depending on the map you're using) adds a whole new dimension to the Sunfish Pond experience with quite different terrain. It is extremely rocky and a bit more difficult than taking the AT back, but, as I said, is definitely worth it for the change in scenery. I will strongly advise, however, that you do what I did and take the AT up and Dunnfield Creek back. I pitied the few people I saw taking Dunnfield to the pond. That would be quite an arduous trip.
The pond is absolutely beautiful in early fall. The only thing I missed was the green of the ferns and the seemingly endless amount of frogs hopping around. In late September, though, the trails have a charm of their own. Here are a few pics of the AT up to the pond in September.
After taking the AT to the pond and enjoying the view, it's time to walk to the Dunnfield Creek Trail, which is clearly marked right past the pond.
Dunnfield Creek Trail to the right of the Sunfish Fire Road. Cleo the amazing hiking yorkie-poo in the foreground.
The trail is immediately beautiful, and quite different from what you experienced on the AT. Right past the bend pictured above is a short section of extremely closely-packed trees and shrubs, leaving only about a foot of breadth on the trail. It is a very different feel from the open undergrowth of the ferns on the AT. You then come out to an open section and get a sense of your elevation.
Beyond another ferny section and some relatively steep downhill hiking comes one of the highlights of this trail: Dunnfield Creek. While really only a little trickle of water, it is enough to form some peaceful cascades that keep you company while you hike. There are a few nice places to sit amongst the rocks. Keep in mind that there are also a number of places where you will need to cross back and forth across the creek on these rocks. It will be obvious where you need to cross.
This eventually leads you right back to where you started at the Appalachian Trail. Take this back to where you parked and your hike is complete!
Hopefully you have enjoyed this update. If you're going to Sunfish Pond I highly recommend taking this loop. It adds a negligible amount of mileage and no extra time. Keep on wandering!
