Jun 09, 2016 — Worthington State Forest is a gorgeous swath of nature along the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap. This hike visits some of the more famous, featured spots in the park when starting out from the Dunnfield Creek / Mount Tammany Trailhead, including the great viewpoint from Mount Tammany, delightful Dunnfield Creek Falls and swimming hole, and Sunfish Pond. Most hikers seem to like doing Mount Tammany as a separate hike from Sunfish Pond, but since that hike's a bit short for my taste, I recommend grouping them together as one great hike to see the best stuff in the area.
My route started up to Mount Tammany, going counter-clockwise by following the Red Blaze Trail. The hike is forested for its majority with a couple of overlooks along the way. A short section of light Class 2 along the trail makes it slightly more intersting, and the trail is generally pretty steep. The viewpoint of Mount Tammany down toward the Delaware River and Mount Minsi on the Pennsylvania side is great. This is a very popular hike, but the views make it obvious why.
I continued east along the Blue Blaze Trail, veering left to start descending down to Dunnfield Creek. This section of trail is wider and a lot less steep than the approach to Mount Tammany. Aside from just being pretty forest, it's not particularly notable. The Blue Blaze Trail intersects with the Dunnfield Creek Trail. Now is when I would add on the Sunfish Pond Loop. Rather than ascend via the Dunnfield Creek Trail to get to Sunfish Pond, I decided to first check out the falls and then ascend using the Appalachian Trail, meaning I'd be coming back via the Dunnfield Creek Trail. I headed west for a short time, passed Dunnfield Creek Falls, and starting along the Appalachian Trail from its junction with the Dunnfield Creek Trail. While pretty, the A.T. during this stretch mostly uses an old roadbed and feels pretty long. I was more excited for Dunnfield Creek later.
I reached Sunfish Pond and then continued along the Dunnfield Creek Trail. This is a very pretty trail. It crosses the creek many times via bridges and rock hops as it wanders through a cozy forest setting. I made it back to Dunnfield Creek Falls. From here I continued to the Dunnfield Creek Trailhead and took a cutoff trail back to my car at the Mount Tammany Trailhead.
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